Spring sweep for Russia-25
Russia wrapped up a perfect spring series with another victory over Belarus. The fifth and final game for Russia-25 this month brought a 4-2 victory in Minsk. That makes it four successive wins over the Belarusians, following victory over Kazakhstan at the start of the sequence.
Belarus 2 Russia-25 4 (1-2, 1-2, 0-0)
The Belarusians had reinforcements for the final game of the hockey Grand Tour in Minsk. Dmitry Kvartalnov was able to add three defensemen to his roster: Vladislav Kolyachonok of the Coyotes, plus Gagarin Cup winner Danila Palivko (Metallurg) and SKA’s Stepan Falkovsky.
Russia-25, by contrast, had just one change: Vladislav Barulin replaced Denis Pochivalov on offense.
After three defeats to the Russians, Belarus got a lift playing on home ice. The first period in Minsk saw the home team play some nice hockey and generate good opportunities. However, finishing let them down. Russia-25 punished that wastefulness: in the 13th minute Maxim Dzhioshvili opened the scoring with a short-handed goal, then Vitaly Abramov dispatched a no-look pass from Prokhor Poltapov to double the lead.
Just before the hooter, Belarus got off the mark with a deserved goal for Severstal’s Alexander Skorenov, and the home team continued its fightback in the middle stanza. Midway through the session, another Belarusian power play saw Falkovsky tie it up at 2-2.
After that, though, Russia regained control. Vasily Glotov struck on the power play to restore the lead, then he set up Arseny Gritsyuk for 4-2. A minute later, Gritsyuk found the net once again, but that effort was called back when a review spotted an offside.
At the start of the third period, Belarus replaced starting goalie Maxim Lubsky with Sergei Bolshakov. He kept his goal intact for the final frame and there was no further scoring.
