Last Wednesday saw the KHL (Kontinental Hockey League)
championship won by Dynamo Moscow who defended their crown as they held aloft
the Gagarin Cup for the second season in a row beating off Traktor Chelyabinsk
in 6 games to win the series 4-2. Here is a recap on the series:
GAME 1
The Eastern Conference Champions Traktor Chelyabinsk
travelled west across Russia to the Luzhniki Minor Arena in Moscow for the opening
game of the 2013 Gagarin cup final. Both were 3rd seeds in their respective
Conferences and in the previous encounters between the sides it was split one a
piece as early in the season Traktor had beat Dynamo 4-1 and in the reverse
fixture Dynamo Moscow beat them 2-0 on home ice so made the series interesting.
Dynamo Moscow buoyed by the
noisy home town crowd and support saw them take the lead in the game
short-handed after 6 minutes while Sergei Soin was in the penalty box for
roughing, Dynamo Moscow forward Denis Kokarev skated over the visitors blue
line and cut across around the back of the Traktor defence with some speed to
his effort was stopped initially by their net minder Michael Garnett, but as
the puck stuck near the line Alexei Tsvetkov was on hand to poke home the
rebound and get the arena jumping as they struck early.
Dynamo were on top in the first
as they were had a few efforts on target and were carving the away side up and
should really have done better with main chances going to Dmitry Vishnevsky and
Denis Mosalyov but they couldn`t build on the goal.
Second period saw Traktor come
into the game more as they finally got their game going, however Moscow were
still in the ascendancy and after some good defensive work to keep the score
still 1-0 they double their lead as Sergei Konkov stole possession for the blue
and white, passing it right in front to Yury Babenko which produced a point
blank save by Garnett and Sergei Soin managed to find a gap and make it 2-0.
The next goal in this game
would be crucial as if Dynamo scored it was over but if Traktor scored then it
would be game on, So with Sergei Soin in the box for Cross Checking they had a
power-play that was called at the end of the second period so 29 seconds into
the 3rd stanza Evgeny Kuznetsov smashed home a power-play goal from the
left faceoff circle with assists going to Stanislav Chistov and Dmitry Ryabykin
to give the away side some hope and plenty of time to get a tying goal.
Dynamo were under the cosh for
most of the period as Traktor looked in search of the goal to tie the game and
the Dynamo side really needed to be on their metal if they were to with stand
the onslaught from their opponents.
Alexander Yeryomenko was
certainly the busiest net minder as he faced a lot of rubber in the final
period even denying a Valery Nichushkin one on one and some sloppy defending by
the home side to keep them in front. Kokarev had a chance to put the game to
bed, but his shot came a whisker away from going in and give them a two goal
cushion.
Eventually time ran out on the
visitors and Dynamo Moscow breathed a huge sigh of relief as they knew they had
just managed to crawl over the finishing line this game.
Dynamo Moscow 2 - 1 Traktor Chelyabinsk
(DYNAMO LEADS 1 -0)
GAME 2:
Both teams returned the next
night for game 2 as Dynamo looked to take a 2-0 series lead heading east to Traktor
for the next 2 games to be played there. Opening stages of the game belonged to
the away side as they forced Dynamo into a lot of errors with passes going
astray and losing possession, yet they couldn`t make the domination of play
count on the scoreboard. Traktor really were making Dynamo look anything but
dynamo at all.
But it was Dynamo Moscow who
took the lead against the run of play as Denis Kokarev back hand pass found
Alexei Tsvetkov he laid it off for Jakub Petruzalek and he wristed one high
past Garnett for a 1-0 lead to give the home side the advantage.
Traktor pressure told as they
scored on the power-play with Jan Bulis tipping in from in front of the net a
Ryabykin shot from the blue line with Kuznetsov grabbing an assist too.
In the second Traktor took full
advantage of a 2 man advantage as Dynamo was serving a team minor for too many
men and a Slashing call against Andrei Mironov. With the 5 on 3 power play they
made it work as Deron Quint pass along the blue line came to Ryabykin his blast
was stopped but only as far as Andrei Kostitsyn who was waiting for any type of
rebound near the crease and the ex-Montreal Canadiens player
Put home for a 2-1 lead and
first in the series.
Dynamo tied the game up at
43:34 as Marek Kvapil scored from by the boards as a puck thrown goal wards
seemed to missed by everyone including Garnett as he was unsighted and it went
in, the phrase "throw it on net and good things will happen"
definitely applied to that goal as the game got tense with neither side wanting
to make a mistake as it felt like an overtime period for the remainder of the
game.
Then with 2:41 in the game to
go Denis Mosalyov skated round the back of the net and played a pass back
towards mid ice where Finnish forward Janne Jalasvaara smashed home the game
winner and give Dynamo a come from behind victory and more importantly a 2-0
series lead heading over the other side to play games 3 & 4 in Traktor.
Dynamo Moscow 3 - 2 Traktor Chelyabinsk
(DYNAMO LEADS 2-0 in series)
GAME 3
Traktor returned back in their
barn for the next 2 games of this series as they hoped to keep the series alive
seeing as they were 2 down in the series. The score line was tied till the
second period when Maxim Karpov got the opener for the home side after Anton
Glinki skated from his own zone up ice his pass was partially cut out but
Karpov managed to get control of it passed it across to Deron Quint whose shot
cross goal was fumbled by Yeryomenko in Dynamo Moscow nets and Karpov was on
hand to tap home the rebound and get the home crowd celebrating.
Deron Quint doubled the lead
for the home side as skated round the boards and behind the back of the Dynamo
net to unleash a forceful backhanded shot that surprised the Netminder and made
it 2-0 for Traktor as they went into the second break two goals up. The third
period got underway and Traktor net minder put a check on Denis Kokarev as
Garnett tried to play the puck and his defenseman took the puck he took the man
out, Putting his team on a penalty kill.
Dynamo couldn`t make any use of
the power play at all and as soon as the penalty was killed off, the home side
made it 3-0 as Yegor Dugin fired past Yeryomenko which looked to have put the
game out of reach for the away side as they were the much stronger side.
Soon after Dynamo pulled one
back Denis Kokarev as Valery Nichushkin pass across net was up high up in the
nets by Kokarev for a 3-1 score line.
Horn went to give the home side
the victory and get them back into this series cutting the deficit in half so
they looked to build on this win in the next game at home to square the series.
Traktor Chelyabinsk 3-1 Dynamo Moscow
(DYNAMO LEADS 2-1)
GAME 4
We moved to game 4 where it was
Cosmonaut`s Day in Russia and where it was the anniversary of Yury Gagarin
first flight to space so was fitting in a way that the Gagarin Cup should be
played on that day. Traktor had the majority of the better chances in the first
period of play with one chance going just wide of Yeryomenko nets.
Second period saw Traktor come
closer and closer to going ahead as Evgeny Kuznetsov skated on goal with a
Dynamo defenseman on his hooking him but he had the strength to hold him off
but his "Forsberg" effort struck the post and slid into the path of
the net minder.
Jukub Petruzalek then had a
great chance for 1-0 for Moscow when a great pass found him open but his shot
was off target.
The Blue and Whites took the
lead as Dynamo Moscow struck with 1:29 left in the second period, As Marek
Kvapil passed back to Dominik Granak on the blue line and his throw on net was
tipped in at the front of nets by Petruzalek which went high giving Garnett no
chance and made up for his earlier miss in the game.
Garnett kept Traktor in the
game while on the penalty kill with some saves and they came close when they
struck the post and just seemed like this wasn`t going to be their night.
Dynamo defending was good as they held back the attack of the home side as they
looked for the goal for tie, But the defending and stifling of their play by
Dynamo was fantastic seconds ticked down and they were holding on for victory
and as soon as it sounded out the relief on the bench and on the ice was there
for to see as they were closer to retaining the title as they shut out the home
side to win 1-0.
Traktor Chelyabinsk 0 - 1 Dynamo Moscow
(DYNAMO LEADS 3-1)
GAME 5
Game 5 saw the series switch
back to the Luzhniki Minor Arena in Moscow as Dynamo hoped to win the Gagarin
Cup in front of their home fans and make it 2 titles in a row, Though Traktor
didn`t read the script as they took the lead in the 3rd minute of play as
Stanislav Chistov broke away up ice and despite the attempts of trying to
knock the puck away or take a penalty he escaped them and slid it under through
the legs for a 1-0 lead with Jan Bulis assisting on the goal.
Things got worse for Dynamo as
they found themselves 2-0 down after Anton Glinkin scored from a wrist shot as
he beat Yeryomenko from a Nikita Nesterov pass back towards the blue line and
his effort doubled the lead.
Traktor really crushed their
hopes as they scored a 3rd goal as Yegor Dugin scored from a faceoff won by
Vladmir Antipov as his shot went in far corner and gave the Eastern Conference
champions a great start, While looking to extend this series to a 6th game.
Second period the home side
mounted a comeback as Granak and Gorovikov set up Marek Kvapil to shoot high
over the shoulder of Garnett far post to get them back in it.
Jakub Petruzalek then made it
3-2 after a Marek Kvapil slap shot came in and was stopped the rebound fell
lose and Petruzalek put home sliding it in past Garnett and making it a one
goal game. Then Sergei Soin completed the comeback as his shot somehow found a
way beating Garnett to make the score tied at 3-3 and set up an exciting 3rd
period.
In a tense and fast paced third
period both sides played the game like an overtime period as both sides were
a conservative but had to take the chances when they came and make them
count. Time was counting down as both sides looked to break the deadlock and
try to get the goal that looked likely to give them victory.
Then at 4:58 left in the period
Traktor struck as Andrei Kostitsyn wristed one glove side past the net minder
to give the visitors the lead and a huge advantage heading into towards the end
of the game.
Traktor then had to soak up
pressure to avoid conceding and the pipe work came to their rescue as it pinged
of it in the closing stages of the game and the away side held out leading to
thrilling end to end game coming to a close. This gave us at least one more
game in this series with the series 3-2 in favour Dynamo Moscow.
Dynamo Moscow 3 - 4 Traktor Chelyabinsk
(DYNAMO LEADS 3-2)
GAME 6
Game 6 turned out to be another
great game of hockey as it saw Dynamo Moscow crowned Kings of the KHL as they
beat Traktor Chelyabinsk 3-2 in Overtime to retain their title. The home side
looked had to looked to build on their last game victory in Moscow and were
going the right way about it as they had the best chance first to get off the
mark. Moscow also had a opportunity to score as Denis Mosalyov had the puck
passed towards him but it got caught between his skates and couldn`t get a shot
away on target.
Popov Andrei had great chance
for Traktor as pass in the slot came to him and his shot was turned away by
Yeryomenko in nets. Eventually the home side took the lead as the home side
pressed hard for a goal as Deron Quint passed to Maxim Yakutsenya who turned
and while falling down he got a shot off and made it 1-0.
Dynamo tied the game up as
Sergei Soin scored 31:36 in the game as his shot towards goals eventually
trickled in over the line as Garnett couldn`t stop the puck going in. Then
minutes later the away side took the lead as a llya Gorokov passed to Dominik
Granak and his onetime shot got blocked taking the pace off the puck and
bounced the back leg of Garnett and landed near the line to which Dmitry
Pestunov tapped home ahead of the defenseman making it 2-1.
Kuznetsov Evgeny broke
away on a one on one but couldn`t control the bobbling puck and his effort was
save and turned away and Dynamo then had a good chance as a pass to back post
with the sprawling net minder down was poked away from the Blue and whites
shirt as the final 2 minutes of play in the 2nd was frenetic to say the least.
Third period saw Traktor attack
more and at 49:58 Petri Kontiola was sent through one on one after a great pass
by Andrei Kostitsyn from his own zone, Kontiola took it superbly and this time
the home side player tucked it home as he made a move on the goalie committing
him and tied this game at 2-2.
We went to overtime and after a
end to end period with Moscow going close on the power play ,the puck was knocked
clear to Evgeny who pick up the loose puck and tried to out skate and stick
handle his way through, However he was blocked off by the d man and play came
back down the other way with Denis Mosalyov leading the attack for Dynamo, His
pass to Denis Kokarev was taken over the blue line into the Traktor zone and
his pass across ice hit a defenseman and the bounce fell kindly to Alexei
Tsvetkov and he put home to score the game winner 5:57 into the overtime
period, and more importantly the goal that sealed the playoff series win and
give Dynamo Moscow their second straight KHL Championship in a row.
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