Traktor rallies from 0-4, Ufa moves back in front

Both Eastern Conference series were locked at 2-2 going into Friday’s games. Admiral must have thought it was destined to leave Chelyabinsk with a 3-2 advantage when it led 4-0 at the second intermission. But Traktor pulled off a spectacular fightback to tie the game in the third period and win in overtime. Salavat Yulaev also came from behind, albeit in less spectacular fashion. Sheldon Rempal’s hat-trick amply cancelled out Sibir’s early goal in Ufa, paving the way for a 5-2 victory.

Rempal’s treble sinks Sibir

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 5 Sibir Novosibirsk 2 (1-1, 1-0, 3-1)

(Salavat Yulaev leads the series 3-2)

After back-to-back losses in Novosibirsk, Salavat Yulaev rediscovered its scoring form. In particular, Sheldon Rempal got back to his best, grabbing a hat-trick as Ufa regained the lead in this series ahead of Sunday’s return to Siberia.

Both teams had to cope with significant absences ahead of game five. Sibir was without injured captain Sergei Shirokov, whose place was taken by another veteran in the shape of 33-year-old Maxim Karpov. Salavat Yulaev was without Nathan Todd, who sustained a lower body injury in the previous game and had to step down from his role centering the top line.

In addition, Viktor Kozlov opted for big changes throughout his team after that unsuccessful trip East. Every attacking line was reshuffled and the new starting trio comprised Josh Leivo, Alexander Chmelevski and Scott Wilson. Rempal was joined by Artyom Pimenov and Danil Alalykin, while Dennis Yan dropped to the fourth line.

The home team made a bright start and a two-on-one rush in the third minute saw Alexander Chyorny beat Denis Kostin. However, the Sibir bench immediately challenged the play and the officials did not take long to concur: hand pass, no goal.

Instead of trailing, Sibir got in front when its impressive power play struck again in the sixth minute. Taylor Beck’s diagonal feed found Andy Andreoff on the slot and he opened the scoring. Once in front, the visitor gained confidence while the home team’s game seemed to fall apart. However, late in the opening frame a Salavat power play saw Rempal tie the game.

Salavat Yulaev spent most of the second period on the attack, outshooting Sibir 15-4. Kostin stood up well under pressure, stopping almost everything that came his way, including a rush from Leivo. However, Rempal found the gap in Kostin’s defenses late in the frame, converting a pass from Yan to put his team in front for the first time in the game.

And once in front, Ufa built on its lead in the third. True, an early power play came to little as Sibir defended effectively. However, midway through the session another penalty for the visitor brought another goal for Rempal: a natural hat-trick for the Canadian opened a 3-1 lead with 10 to play and laid the foundations for this victory.

It didn’t take long to pad that lead. A couple of minutes later Yan added a fourth to put the game almost out of reach. Sibir attempted to fight back and with three to play Beck beat Alexander Samonov to make it 2-4. Scenting a lifeline, the visitor called a time-out and swapped Kostin for a sixth skater. However, that brought nothing more than an empty net goal for Leivo – his first in the playoffs after a record-breaking regular season. Salavat Yulaev goes up 3-2 in the series, and can wrap it up on Sunday in Novosbirsk. 

Huge fightback gives Traktor an unlikely edge

Traktor Chelyabinsk 5 Admiral Vladivostok 4 OT (0-3, 0-1, 4-0, 1-0)

(Traktor leads the series 3-2)

A sensational fightback saw Traktor turn this game – and possibly the entire series – around in the third period. Admiral sailed into a 4-0 lead through 40 minutes and seemed to be coasting to victory. But Traktor found its game in the final stanza, clawing back a four-goal deficit before Semyon Der-Arguchintsev potted the winner in overtime.

After so much drama in regulation, overtime proved brief. In the second minute, Traktor had an attacking face-off. It couldn’t win the puck, but Der-Arguchintsev chased it to the boards, won possession and looped to the top of circle before firing the game-winning shot past Andrei Mishurov.

His goal put Traktor up 3-2 in the series ahead of Sunday’s trip to Vladivostok, but that outcome seemed highly unlikely after 40 minutes. A fine first period saw everything go right for Admiral, starting with a short-handed goal for Vyacheslav Osnovin after five minutes. He pounced on Steven Kampfer’s error in center ice, jinked past the last Traktor player and fired beyond Zach Fucale. A couple of minutes later, Daniil Gutik doubled the lead when his attempted pass from behind the goal-line bounced off a Traktor skate and into the net. Benoit Groulx called a time-out, but to little effect. Admiral added a third in the 16th minute with Osnovin on target again. That spelled the end for Fucale as Sergei Mylnikov came into the game.

After a grim start, Traktor tried to put things right in the second. Most of the stats strongly favored the home team – 18-7 shots, and almost three times as much attacking possession. However, not even a five-on-three power play brought a breakthrough. Instead, the only goal came at the other end, with Pavel Shen beating Mylnikov midway through the session.

Even in the third, Traktor struggled to find a way through until a penalty on one of Admiral’s unsung heroes. Semyon Ruchkin had blocked six shots in the game, and in his absence the home team played six-on-four and finally grabbed a power play goal. Grigory Dronov’s point shot found the net and opened the door a little.

Just 35 seconds later, Andrei Svetlakov’s surprise backhand shot beat Mishurov to make it 2-4 and suddenly there was renewed hope for the home team. A double minor for Libor Sulak brought another power play goal, this time scored by Maxim Shabanov, and hope was elevated to belief. The momentum was firmly behind the home team now, but the tying goal had to wait until 58:49. It came from Kampfer, who amply redeemed his error for Admiral’s opener with a point shot that flew through a crowded slot to tie the game and force overtime. Der-Arguchintsev claimed an assist on that play and then went on to win it in the extras.