AST 2:3 LEV | Barys Nur-Sultan - Lev Praha (KHL)

KHL

Avangard – HC Slovan	4:2 (end)	\|	Barys – Lev	2:3 (end)	\|	Avtomobilist – Riga	3:1 (end)
Spartak – Salavat Yulaev	2:3 (end)	\|	Medvescak – Novosibirsk	6:1 (end)

final

Barys Nur-Sultan

2:3 (1:1, 0:1, 1:1)

Lev Praha

Thursday 28.11.2013, 14:00 • KHL

		Thank you for following the game with us! Have a nice evening! (16:21:18)
		For Lev Prague it was their 8th win in their last 9 matches and they beat all four opponents during their road trip to end the November schedule! The next time Lev Prague revceive SKA St. Petersburg at home on Monday, 2 December 2013 – 19.00 CET.
		Barys Astana more or less dominated the complete third period but either their lack of efficiency or Lev goalie Atte Engren and a huge portion of luck for the Czechs prevented them from gaining points today! When Roman Starchenko scored the equalizer after several minutes of high pressure it looked like a game changer but just 38 (!) seconds later Jiri Sekac had score the game winning goal for the Lions! Shots on goal: Barys 9 (21) – Lev 4 (23)
	60:00	Game over.
	59:56	The hosts try it with half a dozen shots from any possible angle but can't beat Atte Engren another time.
	59:02	Timeout taken by Barys!
	58:48	Barys goalie Ari Ahonen left his net for an additional attacker – it's all or nothing for the home side now!
	58:13	Barys defender Mike Lundin is stopped by two opponents behind the Lev net but still team mate Talgat Zhailauov gets the big wrap-around opportunity – which is stopped by Atte Engren!
	57:23	Engren in the Lev net is able to catch a shot from very short distance and defends the small lead for his side!
	57:10	The guests are back at full strength after a surprisingly harmless Barys power play.
	55:57	Several long clearances keep the puck far away from the guest net.
	55:10	Jiri Sekac (Lev) gets two minutes for holding the stick. This Barys power play comes in a very crucial time and in the worst possible moment for the guests!
	54:54	A shot by Talgat Zhailauov from the left circle goes wide past the right bottom corner... !
	54:06	Dustin Boyd has a huge double chance for Barys Astana but first a shot from the right circle was blocked by Engren and then he wasn't able to use the rebound and fired the puck wide from a sharp angle with the net half open!
	53:18	It looks like the guests would return to their tactics of waiting for counters.
	52:03	On the other side of the ice Lev's Martin Sevc wasn't able to make it past Konstantin Romanov during a counter attack via the left wing.
	51:28	After a long pass Nigel Dawes had the puck behind the Lev net but the only defender around him – Jakub Nakladal – blocked him out of the way to conquer the puck!
	50:27	A very long pass by the guests finds Jakub Klepis at the Barys blue line but he can't stop the puck – icing.
	49:34	Martin Thörnberg's shot from within the slot misses the net and the puck goes wide past the left post.
	49:00	After the two goals the game is very open and both teams concentrate on their offense again.
	47:21	Goal for Lev! Hockey can be so easy and so brutal! A perfect cross-pass by Patrik Zackrisson from the right circle found JIRI SEKAC at the left post who just had to wait and hold his stick into the right direction to make it 3-2 Lev – just 38 seconds after the Barys goal! Assisted by Patrik Zackrisson!
	46:43	Goal for Barys! The hosts punish the third period tactics of Lev who just waited in their own defense for counters by scoring the equalizer! After winning a face off the at the left circle th puck came to Konstantin Rudenko who from left to the Lev net gave a pass back into the slot from where ROMAN STARCHENKO beat the chanceless Atte Engren! Assisted by Konstantin Rudenko.
	45:45	It almost looks like a power play now. Barys have a lot of puck possession deep inside the Lev half and the guests from the Czech capital fire the puck out of their zone whenever they can!
	44:52	With a shot from short distance towards the right bottom corner Talgat Zhailauov forced Atte Engren to make a big, big pad save!
	44:00	The hosts are a lot more active in these first minutes without creating much danger.
	42:00	The third period starts relatively calm. Barys try to take over the initiative while Lev stay in their own third.
	40:01	Start of 3rd period.
		Lev Prague started aggressively into the middle period and used one of their first chances to restore their lead. In the following minutes Barys had a lot of trouble to create danger in the Lev third again before a completely open game developed. Everything is still open in Astana. Stay tuned for the last 20 minutes! Shots on goal: Barys 4 (12) – Lev 9 (19)
	40:00	2nd period finished.
	39:18	Gragnani's shot from the left wing towards the right top corner was caught by Ahonen without problems.
	38:43	Andrei Gavrilin (Barys) gets two minutes for holding.
	36:58	Both teams are back at full strength without much action on the ice during the last two minutes.
	35:44	Marc-Andre Gragnani (Lev) gets two minutes for interference. He just stopped his opponent before he could take a one-timer from the right circle!
	34:58	Martin Sevc (Lev) gets four minutes for roughing while Brandon Bochenski and Cam Barker (both Barys) get two minutes for roughing each.
	34:50	First Ahonen made a spectacular save in the 1-on-1 with a Lev forward and then the following long pass by Nigel Dawes found team colleague Dustin Boyd at the Czech blue line – instead of a 1-on-1 for Barys though the situation was cleared by the last defender!
	32:32	The home side is incraesing the pressure. A shot from the left circle though is blocked with his pads by Engren.
	31:08	After a turnover in the neutral zone suddenly Barys forward Talgat Zhailauov appeared alone in front of Engren but a defender skated back to the net fast and stopped his opponent who then shot the puck towards the net while falling to the ice – great defending and an even better save by Engren!
	30:42	Once more Bochenski with a shot from the left wing that was harmless.
	30:00	In the last moments the Kazakhs were able to keep the puck away from their own net without creating much danger themselves.
	28:18	Counter opportunity for the hosts but they need too long and the home team gets back into position in time.
	26:50	After his team won a face off Brandon Bochenski immidiately fired the puck towards the net from the left wing but the puck went wide...
	26:37	Finally a shot on goal by the home side. After an individual effort Brandon Bochenski tried it with a shot from close the blue line but failed to surprise Engren and only hit his gloves.
	25:30	Should you be wondering what Barys are doing – they barely make it towards the Czech thid in these first minutes of the period. There wasn't even a half dangerous shot by now.
	24:53	Another Lev attack is stopped by the call of the referees when Calle Ridderwall entered the Barys third too early – offside!
	23:28	Goal for Lev! The guests keep the pressure high and are rewarded with the 2-1 lead by JAKUB MATAI who deflected a pass from the right wing past Ahonen from short distance despite havy pressure by a defender! Assisted by Michal Birner and Lukas Cingel.
	22:28	A fast combination between two Lev players over the right wing led to the first dangeroius opportunity of the middle period but Jakub Klepis failed to beat Ari Ahonen with a one-timer from just in front of the net!
	21:31	With a lot of patience Jiri Sekac stole the puck from the skates of a Barys defender close to the Kazakh blue line but his cross pass from the right circle afterwards was blocked by the defense...
	20:33	Jiri Novotny receives a push from behind inside the Barys third and loses the puck as a consequence but the referees decice to let the play continue.
	20:01	Start of 2nd period.
		The teams are back on the ice. The game can continue in a few seconds.
		Barys had a good start without creating many opportunities and forced Lev back into their own third. Only when Martin Thörnberg scored the lead for the Czechs out of the blue, they were able to keep the game more open. Two Lev penalties late in the first period though gave Barys a 5 on 3 powerr play which they used to score the deserved equalizer for a 1-1 after 20 minutes. Shots on goal: Barys 8 – Lev 10
	20:00	1st period finished.
	19:51	A blue line shot by the guests almost goes past everyone but despite having several players taking the sight from him, Ahonen can block the shot.
	18:57	Just before the end of the second Lev penalty the hosts almost score another one but Nigel Dawes missed the net just by inches to the right with a shot from the right circle!
	17:31	Goal for Barys! With two men more on the ice Barys use the advantage to score the deserved equalizer! Cam Barker received the puck inside the slot, passed it towards the left post of the Lev net and his team mate BRANDON BOCHENSKI surprised Engren with a fast shot into the right corner! Assisted by Cam Barker and Mike Lundin!
	17:00	Jakub Nakladal (Lev) gets two minutes for handling the puck with his hands – we'll see a long 5 on 3 power play for Barys if nothing else happens in between!
	16:55	A powerful blue line shot by Barys defender Roman Savchenko lands in the gloves of Engren.
	16:23	Ryan O'Byrne (Lev) gets two minutes for tripping. It's the second power play for Barys this afternoon. So far Barys are 0 for 1.
	14:59	A brilliant cross-pass from the right wing after a 2-on-2 attack landed in front of the skates of Lukas Cingel but the Czech forward failed to beat Ahonen from close to the left post – spectacular save!
	13:57	After a long pass Jiri Sekac receives the puck inside the neutral zone but he is alone against four opponennts and loses the puck after a hard check into the boards by Roman Savchenko.
	13:33	A shot from the right wing towards the right top corner is easily caught by Engren.
	12:58	Barys increase the pressure on the Lev net again. After Dustin Boyd intercepted a pass inside the Czech third his team mate Nigel Dawes appeared just right to guest goalie Engren but failed to beat him from short distance!
	11:05	The guests try to use the momentum but a shot from the right circle is easily caught by Ahonen.
	10:47	Goal for Lev! Out of the blue the guests get in front 1-0! A misdirected pass by the Barys defense landed in front of MARTIN THÖRNBERG at height of the blue line. He then deked out both Cam Barker and Brandon Bochenski and fired the puck into the left corner from close to the left circle – the puck went in somehow between the post and Ahonen who didn't look too lucky! Without assist.
	09:32	A counter attack almost gave the lead to Barys but Engren blocked a shot from short distance to keep the 0-0!
	08:38	After a deflection the puck landed just in front of the Barys net but the hosts reacted immidiately to get the puck away; the following blue line shot by Top Jaakola led to no danger for Barys goalie Ahonen.
	06:57	A hard shot by Barys forward Brandon Bochenski from the right wing at height of the blue line caused a bit of trouble for Engren who allowed a rebound but his defenders were able to clear the situation for him ; just seconds before also Bochenski almost had stolen the puck from a defender waiting at the right post.
	06:08	After a solo by Mikhail Rakhmanov it was Andrei Gavrilin who received the puck at the Czech blue line and tried it almost immidiately with a shot on goal but the shot was not well-placed and Atte Engren easily caught the puck.
	05:16	Lev are back at full strength after allowing not even a single shot on goal during the last two minutes being shorthanded.
	04:47	After another long clearance by the guests the home fans lose a bit the patience with their power play formation.
	04:10	The Barys power play has not yet found into their formation and a long clearance gives Lev time to take a breath.
	03:16	We'll see the first power play of the game. Justin Azevedo (Lev) gets two minutes for tripping after he stopped Brandon Bochenski unfair inside the Lev third.
	02:39	The Kazakhs try to use the whole width of the ice but don't find a hole in the guest defense. A long pass towards the blue line then went wide and ended with an icing call against them.
	01:27	A fast attack through the middle lane earns Lev a face off which then is won the home defense.
	00:20	The guests from Prague start aggressively and steal the puck from the Barys defense after just a couple of seconds. The following cross-pass by Jiri Novotny from the left circle then went wide though.
	00:01	Game started.
		The national anthems of Czech Republic and Kazakhstan are being played. The game is about to start in a few minutes.
		Starting lineups: Barys Astana: Ahonen (Poletkov) – Savchenko, Litvinenko, Semyonov, Barker, Lundin, Blochin – Zhailauov, Dawes, Polishchuk, Bochenski, Gavrilin, Rudenko, Upper, Boyd, Starchenko, Rakhmanov, Pushkaryov, Romanov Lev Praha: Engren (Lukáš) – Jaakola, Gragnani, Maenpaa, O'Byrne, Ševc, Němec, Mikúš, Nakládal – Novotný, Azevedo, Birner, Zackrisson, Vrána, Klepiš, Ridderwall, Ullström, Cingel, Sekáč, Thörnberg, Matai Referees: Bulanov, Gofman – Matyuzha, Sazonov.
		Today's hosts Barys Astana are playing one of their best ever seasons since joining Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in 2008 as a founding member. After 30 games the team is currently on the second position in Eastern Conference with 62 points – just two points behind Conference leaders Ak Bars Kazan and they are having a comfortable 12-point advantage over Chernyshev Division rivals Salavat Yulayev Ufa. After a series of ups and downs Lev Prague is currently 6th in Western Conference with 51 points in 30 games and a relatively comfortable 9-point advantage towards the non-playoff spots. In their 8 November games so far Barys had an even record of four wins and four losses. Their current home stand they started with losses againts Dinamo Riga (4-5 SO) and CSKA Moscow (2-5) before beating Slovan Bratislava (6-1). For Lev the month of November was extremly successful with 8 wins in 9 games. They started the current road trip with wins against Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (3-1), Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk (4-1) and Avangard Omsk (3-2 SO). The first match between the two sides ended with a 3-2 OT win for Barys in Prague on Tuesday, 19 November, just nine days ago and also was the only November loss by now for the Czech side. A close game without favourites between two strong sides can be expected.
		Welcome. Game starts at 08:00 ET / 13:00 GMT / 14:00 CET / 17:00 MSK / 19:00 local time in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Commentary by

Dennis Mende

Goals & lineups Match log

Goals and assists: 18. Bochenski (Barker, Lundin), 47. Starchenko (Rudenko) – 11. Thörnberg, 24. Matai (Birner, Cingel), 48. Sekac (Zackrisson)

Barys Nur-Sultan: Ahonen (Poletkov) – Savchenko, Litvinenko, Semyonov, Barker, Lundin, Blochin – Zhailauov, Dawes, Polishchuk, Bochenski, Gavrilin, Rudenko, Upper, Boyd, Starchenko, Rakhmanov, Pushkaryov, Romanov

Lev Praha: Engren (Lukáš) – Jaakola, Gragnani, Maenpaa, O'Byrne, Ševc, Němec, Mikúš, Nakládal – Novotný, Azevedo, Birner, Zackrisson, Vrána, Klepiš, Ridderwall, Ullström, Cingel, Sekáč, Thörnberg, Matai

Referees: Bulanov, Gofman – Matyuzha, Sazonov.

1st period
	03:16
	10:47
	16:23
	17:00
	17:31
1st intermission
2nd period
	23:28
	34:58
	35:44
	38:43
2nd intermission
3rd period
	46:43
	47:21
	55:10
Final