KHL
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final
Ak Bars Kazan
3:2 (1:0, 1:0, 1:2)
Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Thursday 12.09.2013, 17:00 • KHL
     
    Ak Bars now have 7 points after 4 games and made a jump in the Eastern Conference standings while Metallurg remain at 3 points after the same amount of matches!

    Thank you for following the match with us! (19:21:32)
     
    After the final horn there was a huge brawl involving more or less all players of both teams who stood on the ice but especillay Varnakov and Kovar were involved!
     
    After their third strike it looked like Ak Bars would have a calm end of the game but instead Metallurg fought back with two goals and came as close as to a 3-2 deficit which in the end was defended with far more trouble than expected!

    Shots on goal: Ak Bars 8 (21) – Metallurg 13 (31)
     
    60:00
    Game over.
     
    59:23
    Absolutely incredible! Lukoyanov misses the empty net standing just two metres in front of it!!!
     
    58:46
    Pechursky left his net for an additional attacker!
     
    58:46
    Time out by Metallurg Magnitogorsk!
     
    58:43
    After a dangerous cross-pass by Kovar neither Moyakin nor Zaripov were able to give the puck a decisive change of direction just in front of the Ak Bars net! That was close!
     
    57:32
    Goal for Metallurg!

    The patience by the Metallurg power play formation paid off as YAROSLAV KHABAROV made it 3-2 with a one-timer from within the slot! Metallurg are back in the game!

    Assisted by Justin Hodgman.
     
    57:06
    The big opportunity for KIrill Petrov in a 1-on-1 attack but he wasn't able to get the puck past Pechursky.
     
    56:39
    One-timer by Zaripov from the right wing, blocked by a defender.
     
    55:53
    Stepan Zakharchuk (Ak Bars) gets two minutes for hooking.
     
    53:40
    Incredible save by Barulin against a hard shot from just about 2 metres distance!
     
    52:41
    A counter attack for Ak Bars ended with a shot from short distance that went wide. It's a completey open game now but off course Metallurg now have to score!
     
    51:12
    Goal for Metallurg!

    After receiving a pass by former Ak Bars forward Danis Zaripov it was CHRIS LEE who fired the puck past Barulin from within the slot to get Metallurg onto the scoreboard for the first time in power play!

    Assisted by Rinat Ibragimov and Danis Zaripov.
     
    50:35
    Strong power play by the guests whose passing causes a lot of trouble in the Ak Bars defense.
     
    50:06
    Mikhail Varnakov (Ak Bars) gets two minutes for tripping.
     
    48:58
    2-on-2 counter attack for Ak Bars but Pesonen his checked hard in the neutral zone by his opponent and the chance is gone.
     
    48:38
    Kazan's Artyom Lukoyanov receives treatment by the medical staff of his team after being hit in the face by a stick.
     
    48:02
    An Ak Bars rush ended with an offside call against them.
     
    47:30
    The guests are throwing everything into their attacks now. This should allow many counter opportunites for Ak Bars and thus an almost perfect situation for the home side!
     
    46:28
    Goal for AK Bars!


    DMITRY OBUKHOV receives the puck inside the slot and dekes out Pechursky in a perfect manner to score the 3-0 into the wide open net! Is this the decision already?

    Assisted by Konstantin Korneyev and Denis Golubev.
     
    46:10
    Viktor Antipin was checked into the boards from behind and crashed with his face first which caused heavy nose bleeding.
     
    45:37
    Stepan Zakharchuk's one-timer from the left wing is blocked to the side by Pechursky. Ak Bars are defending their lead well currently.
     
    44:57
    Huge solo by Metallurg's Hodgman who skated around the complete Ak Bars defense but somehow he missed the ideal point to try it with a shot on goal and so he had to make pass from a bad angle and the chance was gone.
     
    44:19
    The guests are back at full strength.
     
    44:07
    Pesonen tries it from the right wing but his shot only goes into the gloves of Pechursky.
     
    43:12
    One-two combination by the home side but the last pass just in front of the Metallurg net goes wide.
     
    42:19
    Vladislav Kamenev (Metallurg) gets two minutes for hooking.
     
    40:56
    Ak Bars came out of the dressing rooms very aggressively but Metallurg alrady regained their role as the more active team.
     
    40:01
    Start of 3rd period.
     
    Ak Bars were able to double their lead in the middle period due to great pressure they created in the minutes before their goal. Afterwards Metallurg completely took over controll over the match and had several big scoring opportunities but the result remained 2-0 for Ak Bars. Stay tuned for the third period!

    Shots on goal: Ak Bars: 8 (13) – Metallurg 11 (18)
     
    40:00
    2nd period finished.
     
    39:56
    Back hand shot by Hodgman from the left circle, goes wide past the right bottom corner!
     
    39:44
    Tereshchenko from the blue line, the puck would have gone wide but Barulin took the save path and gloved the shot!
     
    39:00
    The official audience is given as 4,300 by the KHL but the lower stands at least are filled well with fans and the atmosphere is great.
     
    37:56
    Zaripov almost with the strike against his former team but his no-look shot towards the left bottom corner was stopped with a pad save by Barulin.
     
    37:14
    The Ak Bars power play formation had a lot of problems to get into a good scoring position and only just after the power play was over they were able to get a decent shot on goal after a pass from behind the net but the puck went wide!
     
    36:16
    A fast rush by the guests and the following deke against the goalie almost lead to the first Metallurg strike... almost.
     
    35:11
    Vladimir Malinovsky (Metallurg) gets two minutes for throwing the puck outside the playing area.
     
    34:30
    Metallurg stays the more dangerous team in the second period but Ak bars are able to free themselves from the pressure better after their timeout.
     
    31:35
    Timeout by Ak Bars Kazan!
     
    31:35
    Double chance for Vladislav Kamenev from short distance. First the Magnitka forward was stopped by the goalie and then he fired the rebound wide!
     
    29:14
    Evgeny Medvedev skates well throguh the Magnitka defense and also dekes out the goalie but his shot then misses the net!
     
    29:01
    On the other side O'Reilly is stopped by Barulin in the very last moment!
     
    28:31
    Goal for AK Bars!


    The huge pressure by the Ak Bars offense in the last minutes pays off! After a pass from behind the net it was MIKHAIL VARNAKOV who scored with his stick 30 cm in the air into the left corner!

    Assisted by Shaun Heshka and Tim Stapleton.
     
    28:26
    Just when the guests were about to be back at full strength Nikulin missed the net with a blue line shot!
     
    28:16
    Again Pesonen but his shot from the right wing goes wide.
     
    27:59
    A scoring attempt by Pesonen from the right circle is blocked by a defender.
     
    27:10
    Kirill Petrov suddenly appeared about 2 metres in front of Pechursky but the guest goalie was able to block his powerful shot!
     
    26:28
    Alexander Pechursky (Metallurg) gets two minutes for holding. On the bench for him is Justin Hodgman.
     
    25:02
    Ak Bars continue with their aggressive attacks and force Pechursky to make two brilliant saves after one-timers from the blue line.
     
    23:25
    Two dangerous shots by the Ak Bars offense from the right wing, both times saved by Pechursky.
     
    22:29
    Icing against Metallurg.
     
    22:18
    Anton Shefeld tries it with a shot from a half right position but Barulin is there with a pad save. Metallurg are a lot more active in these first minutes of the middle period.
     
    21:42
    The next good opportunity for Magnitka, this time through former Ak Bars star player Danis Zaripov.
     
    21:10
    The guests still have a bit of their power play left and want to use their man advantage for the equalizer.
     
    20:29
    A first dangerous shot by the guests from the blue line but Barulin can block it to the right.
     
    20:01
    Start of 2nd period.
     
    In an even first period Metallurg Magnitogorsk had slightly more and better chances than their opponents but a blue line shot was enough for Ak Bars to gain the 1-0 lead through Janne Pesonen.

    Shots on goal: Ak Bars 5 – Metallurg Mg 7
     
    20:00
    1st period finished.
     
    19:49
    Chris Bourque (Ak Bars) gets two minutes for tripping.
     
    17:25
    A lot of breaks stop the game from really developing in this first period.
     
    16:28
    Nice pass by Cal O'Reilly from behind the Ak Bars net but his team colleague's shot from the left circle then went wide.
     
    15:57
    Several hard checks on both sides, the game is becoming more physical.
     
    14:38
    The hosts whose penalty killing worked perfect, are back at full strength.
     
    13:13
    Lee with a pass back towards the Ak Bars blue line but his team mate Antipin can't controll the puck and the attack is over. No danger so far in this Metallurg power play.
     
    12:38
    Ilya Nikulin (Ak Bars) gets two minutes for hooking.
     
    12:38
    Almost the break away for Metallurg's Sergei Mozyakin but he is stopped unfair by a defender before he could face Barulin in the 1-on-1 situation.
     
    11:30
    After their first strike the hosts are gaining confidence but Metallurg gives them a hard battle for every puck.
     
    10:02
    Goal for AK Bars!


    More or less out of the blue the hosts gain the lead in this match! JANNE PESONEN tried it withh a one-timer from the right wing at height of the blue line and the puck went straight iinto the net past the surprised guest goalie Pechursky!

    Assisted by Shaun Heshka and Vladimir Tkachyov.
     
    08:01
    Dmitry Kazionov with the wrap-around attempt but Barulin covered the corner up in time.
     
    07:16
    From short distance the guests miss the net! That one looked dangerous!
     
    06:12
    Janne Pesonen misses the net from short distance with a back hander. First dangerous attack by Ak Bars.
     
    03:37
    One-timer by Sergei Mozyakin from within the slot, no danger for Barulin.
     
    03:31
    Kosov tries it from the right circle for Metallurg but easy glove save for Barulin.
     
    03:07
    Nice pass to Ak Bars' Tkachyov but he can't controll the puck at the blue line...
     
    02:00
    Very open begin in these first two minutes. Both teams show that they have to proof something after their rather disappointing starts.
     
    00:01
    Game started.
     
    Starting lineups:

    Ak Bars Kazan: Barulin (Yaroslavev) – Zakharchuk, Tokranov, Heshka, Medvedev, Nikulin, Korneyev, Yarullin – Svitov, Obukhov, Bourque, Stapleton, Varnakov, Burmistrov, Pesonen, Tkachyov, Petrov, Golubev, Vincour, Lukoyanov, Faizullin

    Metallurg Magnitogorsk: Pechursky (Koshechkin) – Antipin, Biryukov, Lee, Tereshchenko, Metlyuk, Khabarov, Malenkikh, Ibragimov, Mozyakin, O'Reilly, Zaripov, Shenfeld, Kazionov, Grigorenko, Hodgman, Kovar, Potekhin, Kosov, Malinovsky, Kamenev

    Referees: Zakharov, Kulakov – Zakharenkov, Putilin
     
    Two-time Gagarin Cup champions Ak Bars Kazan started into the new season with high expectations as always. Against Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (1-3), Salavat Yulayev Ufa (4-3 SO) and Traktor Chelyabinsk (3-2 OT) they were not able yet to fully convince and only gained 4 points in the first 3 regular season matches.

    Today's opponents Metallurg Magnitogorsk had similar ups and downs against Dynamo Moscow (1-3), Vityaz Podolsk (5-4) and Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (0-5) during their current road trip and only gained 3 points in 3 games.

    A close game can be expected in any case!
     
    Welcome. Game starts at 16:00 GMT / 17:00 CET / 19:00 MSK.
    Commentary by

    Dennis Mende

    Goals & lineups Match log
    Goals and assists: 11. Pesonen (Heshka, Tkachyov), 29. Varnakov (Heshka, Stapleton), 47. Obukhov (Korneyev, Golubev) – 52. Lee (Ibragimov, Zaripov), 58. Khabarov (Hodgman)

    Ak Bars Kazan: Barulin (Yaroslavev) – Zakharchuk, Tokranov, Heshka, Medvedev, Nikulin, Korneyev, Yarullin – Svitov, Obukhov, Bourque, Stapleton, Varnakov, Burmistrov, Pesonen, Tkachyov, Petrov, Golubev, Vincour, Lukoyanov, Faizullin
    Metallurg Magnitogorsk: Pechursky (Koshechkin) – Antipin, Biryukov, Lee, Tereshchenko, Metlyuk, Khabarov, Malenkikh, Ibragimov, Mozyakin, O'Reilly, Zaripov, Shenfeld, Kazionov, Grigorenko, Hodgman, Kovar, Potekhin, Kosov, Malinovsky, Kamenev
    Referees: Zakharov, Kulakov – Zakharenkov, Putilin