Quickfire double gives Avangard another win

Two goals in 68 seconds midway through the second period turned around game two of this Gagarin Cup semi-final series. Vasily Ponomaryov and Damir Sharipzyanov put Avangard in front and the Hawks went on to win a fiery game in Yaroslavl.

144 penalty minutes, four goals, Hawks on top

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1 Avangard Omsk 3 (1-0, 0-2, 0-1)
Avangard leads the series 2-0

A fierce battle saw these two teams share 144 penalty minutes – including one incident that saw all 10 skaters on the ice assessed roughing minors following the opening goal.

That came on 17:03 in the aftermath of Andrei Sergeyev’s opener for Lokomotiv. He produced a great shot to beat Nikita Serebryakov, somewhat against the run of play, and emotions ran high in the aftermath. Every player got involved in the subsequent scuffle, and each one was sent to the box.

Avangard had reason to feel aggrieved at falling behind: the Hawks made a brighter start to the game and enjoyed a greater share of possession. However, Lokomotiv defended well, largely limiting the opposition to long-range efforts from Damir Sharipzyanov and Max Lajoie, two-goal hero in game one.

The second period brought another major confrontation. This time the officials spent some time reviewing the footage to determine who should be penalized, and how severely. In total, 14 players were cited by the officials: Loko’s Alexei Bereglazov and Avangard’s Kirill Dolzhenkov were ejected for misconduct while there were 10-minute tariffs for Igor Martynov, Slava Voynov, Yegor Surin, Martin Gernat and Rushan Rafikov. With a further seven minor penalties handed out, Lokomotiv ended up with a power play, but Richard Panik’s trip evened up the numbers once more.

Playing four-on-four, Avangard tied the game on Vasily Ponomaryov’s long-range effort. Then, with Panik still in the box and the Hawks on the power play, Konstantin Okulov set up Sharipzyanov for his first goal of this year’s playoffs. Two goals in 68 seconds turned the game around and Guy Boucher’s men had the lead.

The third period saw Lokomotiv go on the offensive. It wasn’t long before the Railwaymen had a power play, but the Avangard PK shut it down. The visiting PP proved more efficient, and when there was a five-on-three opportunity Andrew Poturalski delivered the knock-out blow. His fine wrister made it 3-1 with 11 to play and gave the Hawks a lead that it could defend comfortably to the end.

Now the series heads east for games three and four in Omsk. Avangard holds a commanding advantage while Lokomotiv finds itself in trouble in a series for the first time this season, having previously dropped just one game in two rounds.