LEV 4:2 NNO | Lev Praha - Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL)

KHL

Avangard – Dinamo Minsk	5:3 (end)	\|	SKA St. Petersburg – Mytishchi	4:3 (end)	\|	Ak Bars – Novosibirsk	5:4 (after SO)
Lev – Torpedo	4:2 (end)

final

Lev Praha

4:2 (1:0, 2:0, 1:2)

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod

Wednesday 05.12.2012, 18:00 • Tipsport Arena, Prague • KHL

		Seemingly in control of the game, Lev had a 3-0 lead by Torpedo scored 2 quick ones in the third period and came dangerously close a few times in the 3rd period, but couldn't tie it. Lev now moves into a 6th place tie in the Western Conference with Slovan Bratislava with 47 points. Torpedo remains 8th with 42. (21:16:38)
	60:00	Game over.
	59:29	Goal for Lev! JAKUB VORACEK wasn't going to miss a breakaway on the open net. Assists: Erik Christensen, Tomas Rachunek.
	59:16	Nearly a fatal giveaway in the Lev zone to Semin after the draw, but his shot hits Stepanek in the pad and it's covered.
	59:10	Time out Torpedo.
	59:10	Torpedo comes in and gets a shot, Stepanek freezes it, Koval is back on the bench.
	58:48	Lev go offside rushing toward the empty net, Koval comes back in for the faceoff at the blueline.
	58:40	Torpedo net is empty . . .
	58:27	Big slaph shot from Lubos Bartecko hits Koval in the chest . . .
	58:06	Juuso Hietanen with another shot, frozen by Stepanek. It's getting down to the nitty-gritty now.
	57:01	Now back to full strength, Lev rushes in and Repik's shot is stopped by Koval.
	56:05	Big hit by Duncan, BC's Matt Ellison on Mathias Porseland into the boards in the Lev zone.
	55:54	Icing Lev just as the penalty ends. Torpedo now has a power play for the next :56.
	55:45	Shot by Semin, pad save Stepanek and a whistle. :08 left of 4 on 4, then Torpedo back to the power play for almost a minute.
	53:53	We'll have 4-on-4 for 2 minutes, as Torpedo takes what could be a costly too-many-men on the ice penalty.
	53:40	Big hit by Hietanen on Chara, play continues and Chara has words for the referee . . .
		It is 4:00 for high sticking, with the crowd whistling its displeasure.
		They're checking at the Torpedo bench to see if the player is cut. If so, this will be 4 minutes.
	52:50	Now Martin Skoula takes a high-sticking penalty, giving Torpedo a golden chance to tie this game.
	52:27	First good chance for Lev in a while, slap shot from Jakub Voracek on the rush, Koval gets the glove on it and knocks it away.
	52:14	Slap shot from Maxim Potapov, glove save Stepanek. It's been all Torpedo lately.
	50:24	What a chance for Alexander Semin to tie this game. Gets in front with an individual effort and tries to deke Stepanek but can't stuff it in. Invisible for much of the game, he's been all over the place the last few minutes.
	49:45	torpedo putting on pressure in the Lev zone, not getting shots.
	48:21	Goal for Torpedo! Just 34 seconds later ARTYOM CHERNOV makes it a one-goal game. Unassisted.
	47:47	Goal for Torpedo! MIKHAIL VARNAKOV breaks the shutout on the power play, putting the puck through Stepanek's legs from in close. Assists: Alexander Semin, Matt Ellison.
	47:15	Lev get a shorthanded rush and go offside. 1:34 left in the penalty.
	46:49	Zdeno Charar gets the gate for slashing, Torpedo with a big power play. They really need to cash in at this point.
	46:07	High shoot-in by Torpedo caught and held by Stepanek.
	45:13	Dangerous looking shot from the point by Hietanen with Stepanek screened, but it stayed out.
	44:36	Puck into the Torpedo bench, faceoff at centre ice.
	44:09	Offside Lev.
	40:01	3rd period began.
		Players on the ice, 3rd period will begin shortly.
		3rd period begins at 20:40 CET, 14:40 EST.
		Torpedo got a lot more chances that period, but Lev got the only 2 goals and they now have a commanding 3-0 lead in this game. Shots on goal in the 2nd period (and game): Lev 11 (26), Torpedo 19 (27).
	40:00	2nd period finished.
	39:35	Torpedo back to full strength, play goes int o the Lev zone and shot by Volchenkov stopped and held by Stepanek.
	38:50	Shot by Klepis hits Koval and deflects away.
	37:22	Ruslan Zaynullin gets called for boarding, hitting Tomas Mojzis into the boards in the attacking zone.
	36:50	Shot by Bartecko from a sharp angle, turned away.
	36:01	Great chance for Erik Christensen, he hits Vitali Koval in the shoulder and the puck goes out of play. Faceoff inside.
	35:26	Puck goes over the glass in the Lev zone, faceoff at centre ice.
	35:00	Lev back at full strength, play continues . . .
		Stepanek with the save and whistle. Now just :18 left in the penalty. Prague fans pleased with the penalty killing.
	-660:00	Puck iced again, first penalty over . . .
	32:30	Puck iced by Chara on the PK . . .
	31:34	Jakub Voracek gets called for slashing, giving Torpedo a 2-man advantage for 1:26.
	31:17	Puck deflected out of play in the Lev zone, faceoff inside. 1:45 left in the penalty.
	31:02	Vitali Karamnov gets another penalty, this one for roughing. Another Torpedo power play. They're 0/3.
	30:30	Slapshot Martins Cipulis, save Koval. Cipulis is playing his first game with Lev today.
		They took a look upstairs to see if the puck went in the Lev net on that last flurry, but the judgement was "no goal".
	29:55	Offside Lev.
	29:40	Vladimir Galuzin hits the goalpost, then the puck remained loose and no Torpedo player could force it in. Finally the puck was cleared . . .
	29:22	Offside Torpedo.
	29:22	Offside Torpedo.
	29:12	Evgeny Varlamov tries a wraparound, stopped by Stepanek.
	27:26	Goal for Lev! Scorer is BARTECKO. Assistant Karamnov.
	27:05	The puck was loose in the Torpedo crease but Lev couldn't force it in.
	26:23	Jakub Klepis gets tripped as he tries to shoot and Lev goes to the power play, 4-on-3. If he'd scored, it would've been an amazing goal. Dmitri Bykov gets the gate.
	25:50	Power play over. Hientanen gets called for hooking, so we have 4-on-4 for 1:24.
	25:32	Slap shot by Juuso Hientanen stopped by Stepanek.
	25:19	Shot off the draw hits Jakub Stepanek in the mask and play is stopped.
	25:14	Vitali Karamnov gets called for hooking, putting the clutches on a player trying to break out of his zone. Power play Torpedo.
	24:35	Hand pass Lev, faceoff back to their blueline.
	23:08	Torpedo comes back with a shot, save Stepanek.
	22:40	Goal for Lev! What a goal by TOMAS RACHUNEK! Out of the penalty box and receives a breakaway pass barely onside, he dekes to the backhand and scores as he's being hooked to the ice. Assists: Ondrej Nemec
	21:45	Slap shot by Alexei Vasiliev turned away . . .
	21:24	Puck played by a Torpedo high stick on the power play. Faceoff comes back deep in their zone.
	20:33	Tomas Rachunek is called for interference. Torpedo to the power play.
	20:01	2nd period began.
		Players are on the ice and the 2nd period faceoff is moments away.
		2nd period will begin at 19:47 CET, 13:47 EST.
		Lev held the edge in play in the first period, and lead 1-0 on a goal by Jakub Klepis. Shots on goal: Lev 15, Torpedo 8 Faceoffs were pretty even, Lev with a 10-9 edge. Erik Christensen was dominant, winning 5/6 draws. Ice time leaders were Ondrej Nemec (Lev) with 8:09 and Juuso Hientanen (Torpedo) with 7:55.
	20:00	1st period finished.
	19:08	Offside Torpedo.
	17:50	Torpedo's Vladimir Galuzov with a nice hit on Ondrej Nemec along the boards.
	17:31	Torpedo clearing attempt hits a Lev stick and goes out of play. Faceoff at centre ice.
	16:52	Goal for Lev! From the top of the circle, JAKUB KLEPIS fires an absolutely deadly wrist shot over the glove of Koval into the top corner. Assists: Tomas Mojzis, Mathias Porseland.
	16:20	Petr Vrana with the initial shot and Jakub Klepis follows up on the rebound, both stopped by Koval.
	15:40	Torpedo ices, penalty just about over . . .
	14:30	Lev top PP unit putting on pressure, Jakub Voracek can't force the puck past Koval in close. 1:19 left in the penalty.
	13:49	Anton Volchenkov gets a penalty for slashing right off the faceoff. Lev back to the power play, they're 0/2 so far.
	13:46	Shot by Marcel Hossa from the right wing caught and held by Koval.
	13:20	Shot by Thornberg from the boards turned aside . . .
	13:00	Back at full strength, Lev rushes into the Torpedo zone . . .
	12:35	Lev just about gets a shorthanded breakaway, but the pass is just out of Petr Vrana's reach . . .
	12:13	Lev ices on the PK . . .
	10:56	Torpedo gets a chance right off the draw, Stepanek freezes it.
	10:51	Lev getting their first penalty of the game, Tomas Mojzis for holding.
	10:36	2 on 1 rush for Torpedo, Gorbunov just out of the box tries to go upstairs and hits Stepanek on the shoulder, then he covers the loose puck.
	10:04	Tomas Surovy from point blank is stopped by Koval. :21 left in the penalty.
	08:50	Christensen gets a shot from the left wing but a defenceman gets his stick on the shot to deflect it wide . . .
	08:31	The puck goes out of play right off the draw, faceoff will stay in the Torpedo zone.
	08:25	Lev's getting another power play, Vladimir Gorbunov gets the gate for holding.
	06:40	Defenceman Juraj Mikus with a big hit in the corner on Martin Thornberg.
	06:10	Koval catches the puck and holds for a whistle.
	05:20	Torpedo ices again to kill off the rest of the penalty.
	05:20	Torpedo ices on the kill . . .
	04:55	Michal Repik with a slap shot blocked, then Skoula's shot is covered. 1:03 left in the Lev power play.
	03:58	Anton Volchenkov gets the game's first penalty for hooking, taking out a Lev player going to the net.
	03:26	Zdeno Chara with a wrist shot from the point that hits Koval in the chest, he holds it.
	03:22	Scramble in the Torpedo goalmouth area, Koval eventually covers the puck for a whistle.
	02:40	Ondrej Nemec with the shot from the point turned aside by Koval.
	02:07	Tomas Surovy with a shot, save Koval . . .
	01:30	Shot from the blueline by Zaynullin turned aside by Stepanek.
	01:06	Icing Lev.
	00:47	Long Lev shoot-in hits Koval's stick and goes out of play. Faceoff in the Torpedo zone.
	00:20	Opening shift, Torpedo's Martin Thornberg's clear-in hits the glass and goes out of play. Faceoff outside the Lev zone.
	00:01	Game started.
		The national anthems of the Russian Federation and Czech Republic have been played and the game will start shortly.
		Starting lineups: Lev Praha: Štěpánek (Kocián) -- Škoula, Němec - Chára, Krejčík - Mikuš, Porseland - Mojžiš -- Rachůnek, Christensen, Voráček - Bartečko, Vrána, Klepiš - Cipulis, Surový, Hossa - Birner, Karamnov, Řepík - Cingel. Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod: Koval (Maslakov) -- Malenkikh, Hietanen - Varlamov, Bykov - Vasiliev, Volchenkov -- Ellison, Makarov, Thornberg - Varnakov, Schastlivy, Semin - Zaynullin, Gorbunov, Chernov - Valuysky, Galuzin, Potapov. Referees: Gusev, Ravodin - Balodis, Putilin.
		Starting goaltenders are Jakub Štěpánek (Lev) and Vitali Koval (Torpedo).
		Lev Praha currently sits in 7th place in the Western Conference with 44 points, just one ahead of 8th-place Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, so the teams could switch positions by the end of the night. This is the teams' second meeting of the season, with Lev winning on the road 3-2 on November 13. Lev's most notable players are locked out NHLers Zdeno Chára (currently acting captain with Jiří Novotný injured) and Jakub Voráček and leading scorer Jakub Klepiš. Another locked out player, Roman Červenka, is injured. They just finished a road trip through Siberia and have won 4 of their last 5 games, with former Minnesota Wild and New York Ranger Erik Christensen scoring 2 goals in their last game. Torpedo boasts locked out Alexander Semin, although he has been benched the last two games it's not yet clear if he'll be playing. They're led by the forward line of Dmitri Makarov, Mikhail Varnakov and Martin Thörnberg, Finnish defencemen Jusso Heitanen and Mikko Kousa and goaltender Vitali Koval. They have won just twice in their last 10.
		Welcome. This game starts at 19:00 local time in Prague (CET), 22:00 in Nizhny Novgorod (MSK) and 13:00 EST/10:00 PST in North America.

Commentary by

Derek OBrien

@@Djob76

Goals & lineups Match log

Goals and assists: 17. Klepiš (Mojzis, Porseland), 23. Rachunek (Nemec), 28. Bartecko (Karamnov), 60. Voracek (Christensen, Rachunek) - 48. Varnakov (Semin), 49. Chernov

Lev Praha: Štěpánek (Kocián) -- Škoula, Němec - Chára, Krejčík - Mikuš, Porseland - Mojžiš -- Rachůnek, Christensen, Voráček - Bartečko, Vrána, Klepiš - Cipulis, Surový, Hossa - Birner, Karamnov, Řepík - Cingel.

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod: Koval (Maslakov) -- Malenkikh, Hietanen - Varlamov, Bykov - Vasiliev, Volchenkov -- Ellison, Makarov, Thornberg - Varnakov, Schastlivy, Semin - Zaynullin, Gorbunov, Chernov - Valuysky, Galuzin, Potapov.

Referees: Gusev, Ravodin - Balodis, Putilin

1st period
	03:58
	08:25
	16:52
1st intermission
2nd period
	20:33
	22:40
	25:14
	26:23
	27:26
	31:02
	37:22
2nd intermission
3rd period
	46:49
	47:47
	48:21
	52:50
	53:53
	59:29
Final