Metallurg on top in Battle of the East. October 12 round-up
Wednesday’s big game saw Metallurg face Ak Bars, with both teams looking for a boost after some indifferent recent results. Magnitka had the best of it, winning 4-1 to hand the visitor a fourth straight loss. In Moscow, Dynamo edged past Severstal in a shoot-out to record a third win of the season against Andrei Razin’s team.
Magnitka dominates Eastern battle
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 Ak Bars Kazan 1 (2-0, 1-0, 1-1)
This clash of the Eastern Conference big-hitters saw both teams arrive on the back of a run of defeats. Metallurg was beaten in its previous two games, while Ak Bars lost three on the spin. Today, both teams were looking to close the gap on Avtomobilist at the top of the conference standings.
Ilya Vorobyov continues to tweak his Metallurg line-up. Brendan Leipsic and Pavel Akolzin were rested for this game, with Andrei Chibisov and Semyon Koshelev returning. The import line of Magnitka’s Canadians, which failed to deliver the goals expected, was broken up. Ak Bars also made changes, resting Maxim Chudinov, Mark Yanchevsky, Kirill Panyukov and Danis Zaripov. Among their replacements, Artyom Lukoyanov played his first game of the season after an injury.
The Steelmen have had a busy schedule of late, and this was a fifth game in nine days for the home team. However, there was no sign of fatigue as Metallurg forged ahead in the first period. A dominant start meant even the defensemen got in on the act, and Kodie Curran set up Vladislav Yeryomenko for the opening goal in the sixth minute.
Ak Bars got little relief until Artyom Zemchyonok took the first penalty of the game and the visitor enjoyed a spell on the power play. However, once back at full strength, Metallurg resumed its offensive push. Denis Zernov got clear of the defense but was unable to finish the chance due a foul from Dmitry Yudin. That handed Zernov a second chance with a penalty shot, and the home forward duly picked himself up to double the lead.
After the interval, though, it was a different game. While Magnitka’s offense had led the way in the first period, it was goalie Eddie Pasquale who caught the eye in the second. As Ak Bars pressed, the home netminder fought hard to keep the visitor off the scoreboard. When he was beaten, the video coach came to the rescue. Metallurg spotted an offside in the build-up and successfully challenged the on-ice call to preserve the 2-0 lead. That took some of the verve out of Ak Bars’ play and two became three when Yegor Korobkin scored his second goal in as many games.
Throughout the game, Ak Bars showed impressive discipline. Apart from that first-period penalty shot, the visitor did not infringe the rules until the 45th minute. Ironically, it was the visiting PK that finally solved Pasquale when Ilya Safonov scored on the counter. However, it was not the cue for a fightback. Instead, Nikita Korostelyov wrapped up the win as Metallurg celebrated its 800th home game in some style.
Severstal falls short at Dynamo
Dynamo Moscow 2 Severstal Cherepovets 1 SO (0-0, 0-0, 1-1, 0-0, 1-0)
Dynamo secured its third victory of the season against Severstal, but this time Alexei Kudashov’s team had to wait until the shoot-out before sealing the result.
Andrei Mironov missed the game for the home team, and the Blue-and-White iron man ended an appearance run that dated back two-and-a-half years.
It took 50 minutes for the teams to produce the first goal as both Ilya Konovalov and Vladislav Podyapolsky performed impressively between the piping. However, midway through the third period, Konovalov was beaten at last by a quick counter from Severstal. David Dumbadze’s vision released Danila Moiseyev in center ice. The visitor’s forward had plenty to do, holding off the attentions of defenseman Sergei Boikov and outwitting Konovalov to open the scoring.
However, the lead was short-lived. Kirill Pilipenko, once a Dynamo player, attempted to deceive the officials into calling tripping on Kirill Gotovets. The referee saw it differently, and the Severstal man went to the box. On the power play, Dynamo saved the game thanks to Maxim Dzhioshvili.
Overtime could not separate the teams and, ahead of the shoot-out, Dynamo changed goalies and sent Konstantin Volkov to face Severstal’s attempts. The move paid off, with Volkov stopping all three shots. At the other end, Jordan Weal and Jakob Lilja scored on Podyapolsky with the first two attempts, prompting Dmitry Shugayev to take over for the third Dynamo effort. However, he enjoyed no more luck as ex-Severstal man Vladislav Kodola scored to clinch the home victory.
