Petunin on the PP gives Metallurg opening win. April 18 playoffs
A late power play goal from Alexander Petunin saw Metallurg edge a tight verdict in the opening game of the 2024 Gagarin Cup final. After a high-scoring semifinal series, the Steelmen found themselves locked into a cagey encounter against Lokomotiv. The visitor got the opening goal early in the third period, but Magnitka tied it up quickly and Alexander Polunin’s penalty in the closing stages cost the Railwaymen dear.
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1 (0-0, 0-0, 2-1)
Metallurg leads the final 1-0
Metallurg had to do without captain Yegor Yakovlev. The experienced defenseman has an injury that will rule him out of the first two games of the Gagarin Cup final. Twenty-two-year-old Danila Palivko took Yakovlev’s place on defense, making his third post-season appearance and his first since the opening round. Meanwhile, the captain moved behind the bench as an assistant to Andrei Razin. Lokomotiv, playing its first game April 8’s 3-0 victory in Chelyabinsk, made one change. Forward Stepan Nikulin returned to the line-up in place of Daniil Tesanov.
The pre-game predictions heavily favored Lokomotiv to go on and win the championship. That would be its first since 2003 and its first ever Gagarin Cup triumph. And the visitor certainly started today’s game like a team with big expectations. The Railwaymen were the first to attack and created the first clear scoring opportunity of the evening in the third minute when Daniil But drove the puck to the slot and Ivan Chekhovich took over to fire at the top corner. Ilya Nabokov got behind that one.
After that early scare for the Steelmen, though, the pattern of play changed. Metallurg soon got on top and went on to dominate the opening frame, albeit without breaking the deadlock. Lokomotiv was limited to just four shots on goal in the first period as Magnitka took control. However, it wasn’t until late in the frame that the home offense asked any serious questions of Daniil Isayev in the visitor’s net. Danila Yurov came closest, hitting the crossbar in the 15th minute.
The teams got through the first period without a single penalty, but early in the second Valery Orekhov went to the box to hand Lokomotiv the first power play of the final. The Railwaymen caused problems with the extra man: Nabokov did well to deny Maxim Shalunov after some neat interplay, then But surged to the net but his low shot could not find a way past the goalie.
However, much like the first period, Lokomotiv was unable to build on its early momentum. Metallurg again had more of the play, including a power play of its own midway through the session. Once again, though, scoring chances were at a premium. Yurov’s point shot was closest to forcing an opening, but Isayev reacted smartly to deny Alexander Petunin on the rebound.
Finally, the breakthrough came in the 43rd minute. As in the previous two periods, Lokomotiv made a bright start to the session – and this time the visitor got its reward. Robin Press blocked a shot from Georgy Ivanov, but the puck went to Artur Kayumov, whose feed set up Maxim Beryozkin for the opening goal.
In response, Metallurg looked to step up its own offense, and the home team tied the game within three minutes. It was all about persistence: Magnitka kept on pushing after a Press shot was saved, Yurov could not get his shot away from Petunin’s pass but Petunin got to the loose puck ahead of Nikita Kiryanov. The home forward was already falling to the ice, but managed to spot Nikita Mikhailis wide open and got the puck to him for the tying goal.
Then came a dramatic conclusion. It started in the 58th minute, when Lokomotiv’s Alexander Polunin sat for high-sticking. Metallurg saw its chance to wrap up the game in regulation, and Petunin’s presence in front of Isayev first disconcerted the goalie then produced the redirect that steered Press’s point shot into the net.
Lokomotiv still had almost two minutes to try and save the game. Almost immediately, Beryozkin sent Kayumov clear on Nabokov’s net but the goalie won that battle. Then, after a time-out and a sixth skater on the ice, Beryozkin and Kayumov combined again. Loko’s goalscorer went around the net and dished off the puck to the slot, but Nabokov was again alert to the danger and got behind Kayumov’s shot to extinguish Loko’s last real chance.
