Gagarin Cup final, Game 3
Dynamo Moscow 0
Avangard Omsk 1
Avangard leads the series 2-1
A terrific display of defensive hockey helped Avangard Omsk silence Dynamo’s dangermen - and quell a raucous Moscow crowd - in a juddering 1-0 win at Luzhniki arena. The victory, thanks to Alexander Perezhogin’s third goal in this final series, was a tribute to a well-drilled and resilient roster which did everything possible to frustrate the hosts and claim a 2-1 advantage in the series.
Goaltender Karri Ramo, with 31 saves on his way to a third play-off shut-out of the season, deservedly claims his share of the plaudits - but it was a solid performance from every man on the team which neutralized the dangerous stickwork of Mikhail Anisin and the rugged presence of Leo Komarov. Even Dynamo’s penetrative powerplay, a feature of the Blue-and-Whites play-off progress, was blunted: seven times the home side had the advantage; seven times Avangard stood firm.
Dynamo started the game at a high tempo, and Anisin had two chances inside the first minute - but seconds later there was a warning for the home crowd as Perezhogin got through one-on-one, but fired wide of Alexander Yeryomenko’s goal. And gradually Avangard’s dangerous counter-attacks developed into an extended spell of pressure on the Moscow team’s goal. Unable to clear their zone, Dynamo made the fatal error of leaving Perezhogin with a meter of space between two defensemen; Roman Cervenka picked out his team-mate and the finish left Yeryomenko with no chance.
There was almost an instant response - Maxim Solovyov slammed a blue-liner against Ramo’s post within seconds, but even a couple of powerplays for the Blue-and-Whites could not help them tie the game before the first interval.
The second period was similar to what had gone before: while Dynamo saw slightly more of the puck - and fired in more shots on Ramo’s goal - it was Avangard which created the better chances. Dmitry Syomin might have done better after leading a 3-on-2 charge in the 26th minute, but he put his shot wide. Georgijs Pujacs thudded a slapshot into Yeryomenko’s mask, and as frustrations boiled over Sergei Soin and Sergei Kalinin were sin-binned following a tussle behind the Dynamo goal.
With Avangard scenting a third 1-0 victory of the play-offs, the team tightened the screws: forwards worked hard to close the diagonals, making it impossible to slice through the defense. In front of Ramo, fellow Finn Anssi Salmela gave a masterclass in controlling the slot, and Dynamo was left waiting for a moment of individual magic which just never sparked. And even with five seconds left, Ramo proved alert to the last possible danger: Anisin shot for the top corner, but found the goaltender’s glove rising to loop his shot over the bar and give Avangard the edge in this hard-fought series.
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КХЛ 2008—2021
KHL 2008—2021
All rights to materials posted on the website www.khl.ru (hereinafter referred to as the Website) and which are the objects of exclusive rights, including the registered trademarks and symbolics of the “КХЛ”/“KHL”, “МХЛ” / “JHL”, “ЖХЛ” / “WHL” (hereinafter referred to as the Trademarks), as well as on photo and video images, articles, etc., which are owned by CHL LLC, are protected in compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. The placement and / or use of Trademarks and other intellectual property of CHL LLC without the direct consent of CHL LLC are considered and prosecuted as intellectual property rights violations of CHL LLC in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation. It is forbidden to automatically extract information from the Website by any services without the official permission of CHL LLC. Quoting from the Website and satellite projects of the official messages of the Kontinental Hockey League is allowed only with a direct link to the site www.khl.ru.