Vityaz’s first cup victory in history, Dynamo Minsk’s strong-willed victory over an awkward opponent, Admiral’s victories in Ufa and Neftekhimik’s victories in Kazan. Three games went to extra time, but they ended very quickly.
“Silver” trailed – “Admiral” won
Sailors goalkeeper Nikita Serebryakov saved 55 shots. He neutralized the secret weapon of the Yulaevites in the person of Canadian striker Joshua Ho-Sang, who was injured on September 3 and had to recover for six months (!)
Ufa McDavil made his way several times to the guest doors, but collided with the bouncer.
It seemed that the goal of the hosts in extra time is a matter of time. However, the decisive shot remained in the hands of the “sailors”, who desperately fought off the somewhat chaotic attacks of the “greens” throughout the match. Forward Pavel Shen conveyed regards to his former team, laying a miraculous pass to Prokhor Korbit from behind the gate.
Historic victory of “Vityaz” at the price of a record
In Yaroslavl, the opponents patiently waited for each other’s mistake. There were almost no scoring chances. Goalkeepers Daniil Isaev and Maxim Dorozhko, the heroes of the regular season, were not given insoluble tasks. The outcome came in the second 26 of the extension. Vityaz striker Alexander Yaremchuk prudently shot from the blue line to the front backboard, and the first to rebound was the experienced Vladimir Galuzin and drove the puck, which jumped in a patch across the goal area, to the grid.
Lokomotiv head coach Igor Nikitin cast a reproachful glance in the goalkeeper’s direction before heading off to the locker room. Like, why did I forget about the stick, because I could have intercepted the puck…
Let’s congratulate Vityaz on a historic victory, the first in the playoffs in the club’s history. The head coach of the Moscow Region team, Vyacheslav Butsaev, responded with facts to the claims of the wrongdoers. First he took off with a low-budget club to 6th place in the Western Conference, and now he beat one of the favorites.
Goalscorers Festival in Saint Petersburg
Much more fun events developed in St. Petersburg. The local army team, which won the Viktor Tikhonov Continental Cup ahead of schedule, put prejudices aside, on February 23 it did not shy away from the trophy, but voluntarily clutched it and posed with it. Since then, they have rested and prepared for the start of the playoffs. It can be seen that a long pause played a cruel joke on them. Roman Rotenberg’s charges seemed somewhat inhibited, lethargic. They were not encouraged by the goal of captain Dmitry Yashkin, the 41st of the season.
Losing to SKA in two previous series by a total score of 1-8 and all four meetings this season, the Zubrs sensed the mood of their rivals and dominated. The Minskers restored the balance twice, and in the third period the score 2:2 became 5:2 (in their favor). The key was the fourth goal of Vladimir Alistrov in the 53rd minute. A light throw from a “shovel”, a spike and even from a zero angle, caught goalkeeper Dmitry Nikolaev by surprise.
The locals fought until the end, they changed the goalkeeper for a field player, they scored twice, but they scored the same number of times into an empty goal. Will the fiery finale be a bridge to the second game, which will take place on Friday, March 3? And who will be entrusted with the goal: today’s loser Nikolaev, who missed his debut in the playoffs, or the experienced, but crouching on the bench, Vladislav Podyapolsky?
The winner of the East counterattacked, but did not save the game
In Kazan, the number one favorite “Ak Bars” recovered the 0:2 handicap provided by “Neftekhimik” in the first period. In the second and third 20 minutes, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s wards scored a puck and were going to turn everything upside down in overtime. He was not there! Their hopes 5 minutes before the end of the first extra time were buried by Pavel Poryadin and Andrei Chivilev in a fast counterattack. The first gave way to an empty corner, the second did not miss and scored a brace. By the way, this “sweet couple” also arranged the second goal, using the shotgun of the honest Vyacheslav Voinov.
Tomorrow we are following with particular interest the clashes in Nagorny Nizhny Novgorod, where Igor Larionov’s Torpedo will face Alexei Kudashov’s Dynamo Moscow, as well as the adventures of the Cherepovets Lynxes at the CSKA Arena.
MARKER
“Salavat Yulaev” – “Admiral” – 1:2 AT,
Lokomotiv – Vityaz – 0:1 OT,
SKA – Dynamo (Minsk) – 4:6,
Ak Bars – Neftekhimik – 2:3 AT.
