Shipachyov sends Ak Bars to the final. April 9 playoffs
A Vadim Shipachyov overtime goal completed Ak Bars’ recovery from 0-2 and sent Kazan to its fifth Gagarin Cup final. The home team turned the game around in the third period to send Avangard spinning out of the competition in a dramatic finale.
Ak Bars Kazan 3 Avangard Omsk 2 OT (0-2, 0-0, 2-0, 1-0)
(Ak Bars wins the series 4-1)
It was win-or-bust for Avangard as they arrived in Kazan down 1-3 in the series. Initially, things went well for the visitor. A strong first period saw the Hawks open a 2-0 lead, and even at the end of the second there was little sign of the coming Ak Bars revival.
Ak Bars got the first power play of the game in the first minute, but despite some good looks at Vasily Demchenko’s net the home team was unable to take full advantage. And it wasn’t long before Avangard got its game going. In the sixth minute, the visitor opened the scoring. Vladimir Tkachyov burst down the left before turning to feed the puck back to Alexei Bereglazov on the blue line. With Timur Bilyalov troubled by traffic, the defenseman picked his spot to shoot home the opening goal.
Tkachyov was involved again as Avangard doubled its lead on the power play. The forward’s shot was saved by Bilyalov, but the rebound went to Reid Boucher who found the open corner of the net. Late in the frame, Alexander Radulov set up Dmitry Voronkov in acres of space in front of Demchenko’s net, but the forward fluffed his chance and Avangard took a 2-0 lead into the break.
With a solid lead to defend, Avangard did just that for the next session. Ak Bars enjoyed good possession, but rarely turned it into a serious threat for Demchenko to repel.
Down 0-2 at the second intermission, Ak Bars needed a fast start to the third if it was to save the game and escape another trip to Omsk on Tuesday. Dmitry Yudin provided exactly that when he halved the deficit 20 seconds after the restart. The home team went straight onto the attack and Ilya Safonov played the puck to the blue line, where Yudin unleashed a long-range effort to the top corner.
That prompted a response from Avangard, with Arseny Gritsyuk almost restoring the two-goal advantage on the wraparound. The visitor also created a couple of good opportunities on the counter, but neither Tkachyov nor Boucher could convert.
And moments after those misses, Ak Bars tied the game. The home team set up camp in Omsk territory, Dmitry Kagarlitsky fed the puck back to Kirill Adamchuk and the defenseman strode forward before beating Demchenko to the top shelf. Seven minutes to play, 2-2.
The drama was only just beginning. Semyon Chistyakov thought he had restored Avangard’s lead within seconds of Adamchuk’s goal, but his effort was whistled back for offside. Then Ak Bars saw a winning goal cancelled out when Safonov bundled both the puck and Demchenko into the net. A video review determined interference on the goalie to reprieve the Hawks. There was no such reprieve for visiting D-man Viktor Svedberg, though, who was removed from the game after punching the prone Safonov in the aftermath of the ‘goal’.
The Swede’s evening was over, but for everyone else it was overtime. The extras were all about the home team, with Ak Bars dominating from the initial puck drop. Safonov went close to getting the winner, then set up Radulov for another big chance. Demchenko closed the door on both occasions.
However, he was powerless a couple of minutes later when Shipachyov grabbed the decider. Some of Avangard’s support may have been unhappy that Nikita Dynyak was not penalized for his challenge on Anton Belov, but the play continued and Ak Bars won the puck in the corner. Dynyak retrieved his stick and saw his shot blocked in front of the net, but Avangard could not get it clear and Shipachyov pounced to claim his second OT winner in three games. This one sends him and his team back to the grand final, where SKA or CSKA awaits.
