Michkov’s strike not enough for Sochi. December 25 round-up
On-loan Matvei Michkov got his first goal since joining HC Sochi from SKA. The youngster’s power play effort midway through the second period helped his team to a 2-1 lead against Ak Bars. However, it took a late strike from Artyom Nikolayev to force overtime before the visitor got a shoot-out verdict.
HC Sochi 3 Ak Bars Kazan 4 SO (0-1, 2-1, 1-1, 0-0, 0-1)
Sochi, looking to end a 13-game losing streak, got off to a bad start. Kirill Petkov’s first-minute penalty led to Alexander Radulov opening the scoring. The visitor went on to dominate the first period, outshooting Sochi 16-8 and spending more than twice as long on the attack. However, Radulov’s opener was the only goal of the session.
That gave Sochi a chance to respond. Amir Garayev tied the scores early in the middle frame. Then came the home team’s first power play of the game, and Matvei Michkov grabbed the go-ahead goal.
However, after a long losing streak, Sochi struggled to build on that lead. Instead, Radulov set up Dmitry Kagarlitsky for a tying goal late in the second period and midway through the third Kirill Panyukov restored the Ak Bars lead.
With three minutes left, Sergei Svetlov replaced goalie Artemy Pleshkov in favor of a sixth skater. The extra man paid off, with Nikolayev grabbing the goal that tied the game. Pleshkov was still required for one more big save in the final seconds to secure a point for the home team and send the game into overtime.
But there would be no end to the Leopards’ losing streak. Neither team could score in the extras, and the shoot-out turned into a duel between two of the principles: Michkov converted one of his two attempts for Sochi, but Radulov struck twice to give Ak Bars the verdict.
