Ice Diaries: KRS strikes twice, aims for WHL Finals sweep
The KRS Shenzhen Vanke Rays have not played in their home arena since January of this year, but they appear to feel quite at home 5,944 kilometers away – ironically in enemy territory, the Bashkortostan capital of Ufa. Despite dropping three of four regular season matchups against reigning champions Agidel, they lead the WHL Finals 2-0 – one win away from their first-ever title.
“The first two games of the final were tough for us, but we took ownership for both and performed our system very well,” said General Manager Claire Liu, a former professional athlete who has led the Vanke Rays through their inaugural season in Russia. Only sixty minutes stand between the groundbreaking Chinese club and the 2020 Championship, but if the final seconds of Game Two were any indication of what is to come, the Vanke Rays must be prepared for battle.
The WHL finals have been a tale of two lines and one goalkeeper, with the KRS top lines producing all of the team’s goals, and four-time Finnish Olympian Noora Räty posting a spectacular performance against some of the league’s most dangerous snipers.
Shenzhen late addition Jessica Wong never faced Agidel in the regular season, but wasted no time introducing herself with an early slide under Prugova’s pads in the first period of Game 1. That line would land another two in the second, with Rachel Llanes and Megan Bozek each getting on the board with help from captain and WHL scoring leader Alex Carpenter. The North American powerhouses spooked the league’s top regular season goaltender Anna Prugova, who was pulled mid-game but returned to net after an unfortunate injury to backup Maria Sorokina.
Veronika Kozhakova would capitalize on a powerplay opportunity late in the second period off of a feed from Agidel captain Lebedeva, cutting the Vanke Rays’ lead to two. Seventeen penalties were traded in the tense first game, and despite several short-handed chances for Agidel late in the third, the Chinese squad would defend their victory.
Agidel and KRS faced-off less than twenty-four hours later, providing little rest after a physical first clash. While the Vanke Rays outshot their opponents in Game 1, Agidel would flip the statistic and put Shenzhen’s celebrated netminder to the test.
A scoreless first period gave way to a barrage from the Vanke Rays’ top lines, with WHL All Star Rachel Llanes defeating Alena Mills and Maria Batalova to blast one past Prugova. While forwards Leah Lum and Amy Menke were not paired during the regular season, the Vanke Rays’ reshaped second line would be responsible for the rest of the team’s scoring. Menke broadened the lead at the end of the second with an assist from Chinese national defenseman Liu Zhixin, and Menke would set up Leah Lum midway through the third.
Despite the Vanke Rays’ momentum, Agidel provided a masterclass in resilience in the final minutes of Game 2. Olga Sosina scored unassisted with less than five left in the period, followed quickly by Lebedeva in a hairy final few minutes as the Vanke Rays suffered a late penalty and Prugova was pulled. Despite the thrilling comeback, Noora Räty made 47 saves and once again insured a win for the Vanke Rays.
“[The Vanke Rays] have quality of shots, assists – and we miss our moments. Quality of shots is 90% of success,” Agidel head coach Denis Afinogenov said after Game Two – but both he and his powerhouse forward, Olga Sosina, noted the enormous role that goalkeeping played in Shenzhen’s success.
“[Räty] plays well, so we need to be tricky to outhustle her,” Afinogenov added. “But there is no goalkeeper who is unbreakable. Next game we will shoot more and more.”
Räty, Wong and Bozek – all late additions to the KRS lineup – played pivotal roles in the team’s playoff performances thus far. “Comparing to the regular season, [the Vanke Rays] have changed a little,” Sosina noted yesterday. “They play well in counter-attacks and have studied us very well. They don’t give us air and play close.”
Bozek made an observation during the first intermission of Game 1 that would prove to be a theme throughout the series. “A big thing for us this season is starting off quick – focusing on the first five minutes of a period and the last five minutes,” she said. All three of Agidel’s goals have been scored in the final five minutes of a period, lending new urgency to this focus as Game 3 draws near.
You can tune in to the WHL’s decisive matchup on March 11 at 13:00 MSK – with streaming links provided to fans anywhere in the world via the league’s social media channels.
