MIN 5:2 RIG | HC Dinamo Minsk - Dinamo Riga (KHL)

KHL

Traktor – Torpedo	0:1 (end)	\|	Metallurg M – Ak Bars	1:0 (end)	\|	Salavat Yulaev – Dynamo	1:3 (end)
Neftekhimik – Vityaz	5:1 (end)	\|	Mytishchi – HC Yugra	5:1 (end)	\|	Cherepovets – Barys	2:1 (end)
SKA St. Petersburg – Avtomobilist	4:0 (end)	\|	Lokomotiv – Avangard	4:1 (end)	\|	CSKA – Donbass	2:1 (2:0 after SO)
Dinamo Minsk – Riga	5:2 (end)	\|	HC Slovan – Spartak	0:3 (end)	\|	Lev – Medvescak	2:1 (after OT)

final

HC Dinamo Minsk Belarus

5:2 (1:1, 2:0, 2:1)

Dinamo Riga

Sunday 02.03.2014, 15:00 • KHL

		Don't miss the big end of the season when all 28 teams play on Tuesday to decide the playoff pairings and to find out who are the last two teams to enter the Gagarin Cup playoffs 2014! (17:17:33)
		Thank you for following the game with us!
		Dinamo Minsk easily defended their lead in the third period. They left Dinamo Riga more space and concentrated on possible counter attacks. In the end the 5-2 win is a deserved one as the team from Belarus was the more active and more dangerous side from the moment on when they scored the equalizer in the first period. Shots on goal: Minsk 9 (27) – Riga 8 (19)
	60:00	Game over.
	59:02	Goal for Dinamo Minsk! ZBYNEK IRGL makes everything clear with an empty netter from the right wing. Assisted by Tomas Surovy and Lukas Krajicek.
	58:29	Jakub Sedlacek stays on the bench for an additional attacker! Riga goes all or nothing!
	58:29	Timeout taken by Dinamo Riga!
	57:24	The scene was shown on the video screen in the arena and the home fans are absolutly furious that the goal counted!
	57:24	Goal for Dinamo Riga! The guests with a consolation goal. It is a very strange one and it shouldn't have counted! GUNARS SKVORCOVS failed to stop a pass back to the blue line in time when he kicked it back into the Minsk third with his left skate – the puck had crossed the blue line by several inches – but the referees didn't see it. He then deked out two opponents and fired the puck against the right goal post from where it hit the legs of goalie Lars Haugen and went into the net! Without assist.
	55:58	Again Filichkin with a one-timer, this time from within the slot but Sedlacek blocks the shot to the side and also stops the following rebound by a forward from the right circle.
	54:46	A one-timer by Minsk defender Andrei Filichkin from the left circle is easily stopped by Sedlacek.
	53:30	Even the most optimitsic Riga fans who travelled to Minsk for the game today, can't believe in a comeback anymore. The biggest tension is out of the game.
	52:11	Almost the next one for the hosts but a shot from the left circle goes just wide past the right bottom corner through traffic.
	50:37	Goal for Dinamo Minsk! In the middle period Minsk were denied the 4th but now they get it in power play! TOMAS SUROVY with a pass from behidn the net to Alexander Kitarov who waited at the right post. Surovy then skates towards the goalie crease, gets the puck back from Kitarov and beats Sedlacek with a powerful one-timer! What a nice goal for Dinamo Minsk! Assisted by Alexander Kitarov.
	50:06	One-timer by Minsk's Alexander Materukhin from the left circle, easy pad save to the right by Riga goalie Sedlacek!
	49:21	Aleksandrs Nizivijs (Riga) gets two minutes for hooking.
	48:44	Marsel Hascak skated fast towards the Minsk net without being attacked by any defender and from just half a metre distance he then didn't manage to score with a flat shot!!!
	47:25	Jamie Johnson receives a long cross-pass at the right circle but his flat shot towards the right bottom corner is blocked with a pad save by Haugen!
	45:00	The game is completely open and the puck goes back and forth.
	43:15	By the way: Riga made a goaltender change during the intermission. In for Mikael Tellqvist now is backup Jakub Sedlacek.
	42:56	Riga defender Mat Robinson with a shot fro mthe blue line but Haugen is able to cover the puck up.
	42:47	Nizivijs has a lot of space as nobody attacks him when he skates towards the right goal post but his shot from short distance with a sharp angle is blocked to the side by the goalie Lars Haugen.
	41:26	The hosts are back at full strength.
	41:10	Dinamo Riga show a completely different attitude at the start of the third period but don't get a scoring opportunity yet.
	40:01	Start of 3rd period.
		Dinamo Minsk clearly dominated the middle period and with a double within three minutes around "half time" they gained a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes against Dinamo Riga. Shots on goal: Minsk 8 (18) – Riga 5 (11)
	40:00	2nd period finished.
	39:26	Dinamo Minsk gets a two minute team penalty for having too many players on the ice.
	39:26	Zbynek Irgl fires the puck into the net from close to the blue line but the referees don't give the goal for having too many players on the ice! Bitter for the hosts as this would have been the decisive goal!
	39:19	The guests are back at full strength.
	38:45	The Minsk offense prepares for a last rush in this power play in their own zone but they lose the puck.
	38:25	The Riga defense already sent several pucks all the way down to the home team's third.
	37:19	Andris Dzerins (Riga) gets 2+10 minutes for holding and misconduct.
	36:48	Konstantin Zakharov with a hard shot from the right circle after receiving a pass towards the blue line by team mate Alexander Materukhin but in the end Mikael Tellqvist is able to catch the puck.
	35:36	Dangerous one-timer by Lauris Darzins from within the slot, just misses the net! Best chance for Riga in this middle period!
	35:00	Riga is not investing too much currently. It seems as if they don't want to waste too much energy so short to the playoffs for a more or less meaningless game.
	33:55	Offside call against Minsk.
	33:09	A shot by Andrei Stas from within the blue line is no problem for Mikael Tellqvist in the guests' net.
	31:15	Goal for Dinamo Minsk! A fast counter attack by the hosts leads to the 3-1 lead! Alexander Kitarov skated past the left wing, gaves a cross-pass towards the slot and RICHARD LINTNER fired a powerful shot into the right corner past the surprised Tellqvist from close to the right circle! Assisted by Alexander Kitarov and Kosntantin Zakharov.
	30:54	A Riga rush ends with a blocked shot from short distance.
	30:00	After taking the lead the home side stays in controll of the game.
	28:17	Goal for Dinamo Minsk! ALEXANDER MATERUKHIN receives a long pass by Lukas Krajicek at the Riga blue line, dekes out Rodrigo Lavins to the left and despite the pressure by the last defender is able to fire the puck into the left bottom corner with a back hand attempt! Assisted by Lukas Krajicek.
	27:16	Marcel Hascak tries it from within the slot but there was already an offside call against Riga.
	26:48	Icing against Minsk.
	25:05	Again and again the Riga forwards skate into the corners of the Minsk third and lose the puck there fighting against several opponents at once.
	23:53	Rodrigo Lavins receives the puck close to the left circle but his one-timer is stopped easily by Lars Haugen.
	23:00	Still there is not much happening in front of the goals in the middle period.
	21:45	Both teams made it into their opponents' defensive zones several times already in this period but there is no shot on target yet.
	20:01	Start of 2nd period.
		The guests from Riga had the better start in this match and earned a deserved lead through a break away by Jamie Johnson. Afterwards Minsk became stronger and stronger and managed to tie the game with their first power play! Shots on goal: Minsk 10 – Riga 6
	20:00	1st period finished.
	19:45	The guests keep the puck behind their own net, don't want to risk anything anymore in this period.
	18:50	Hard check by a guest player aganst a Minsk forward inside the Riga third but the referees don't give a penalty which makes the home fans a bit angry.
	18:27	A shot by Minsk's Zbynek Irgl from within the slot is blocked by a defender.
	16:43	The hosts are back at full strength after impressive penalty killing.
	16:36	The home side earns three consecutive face offs in the Riga zone and keeps the puck far away from their own net.
	16:07	Andris Dzerins with a lot of time and space on the right wing, finds Rodrigo Lavins at the blue line but the defender with bad puck handling can't get a shot on target.
	15:39	Again the puck is sent all the way down to the Latvian net.
	15:22	Long clearance by the hosts deep into the Riga third.
	14:43	Alexander Kitarov (Minsk) gets two minutes for tripping. Now the guests from Riga also have ther first man advantage.
	13:20	Goal for Dinamo Minsk! Alexander Materukhin with a pass back to the blue line from the left circle. The following one-timer by defender Lukas Krajicek forces Tellqvist to allow a rebound during his pad save and ANDREJ STAS punishes this with a shot from short distance that goes just below the pads of the goalie for the equalizer in power play! Assisted by Alexander Materukhin and Lukas Krajicek.
	12:16	Jekabs Redlihs (Riga) gets two minutes for tripping. It's the first peanalty of the game.
	10:58	Minsk forward Sergei Drozd almost with a break away after receiving a long pass inside the neutral zone. Under pressure of the last defender his shot from within the slot is blocked by Tellqvist who also stops the rebound that came again to Drozd! Best chance for the home side in this period so far!
	10:46	Martins Cipulis with a back hand pass from behind the net to line mate Andris Dzerins who from short distance deflects the puck towards the net. Haugen allows a rebound which comes back to Cipulis but his one-timer from close to the right post is stopped by the Norwegian goalie!
	10:04	Marcel Hossa wins the puck inside the neutral zone and decides to try it with a solo run himself but under pressure of two defenders he only gets a harmless shot on target from within the slot.
	09:19	Out of the crowd in front of the Riga net a shot comes on target and is caught by Tellqvist.
	08:25	After scoring the guests completly take over the initiative and keep Minsk in their own third.
	06:58	Goal for Dinamo Riga! After a brilliant pass towards the blue line guest foward JAMIE JOHNSON is through alone with a break away and beats Haugen with a shot into the right bottom corner! Dinamo Riga make it 1-0 early in the game! Assisted by Marcel Hossa and Kristaps Sotnieks.
	05:29	A one-timer by Minsk defender Evgeny Nogachyov from the left wing at height of the blue line goes just wide. The first dangerous situation the hosts created.
	04:35	Minsk try to take a breath and keep the puck behind their own net.
	03:21	After a long pass from the right circle towards the left goal post of the Minsk net, a forward of the Latvian guests appeared in front of Haugen but wasn't able to deflect the puck into the left corner!
	02:41	Rustams Begovs has the puck behind the Minsk net, skates in front of hit, turns around and fires the puck on target but Haugen makes the save.
	01:37	Minsk goalie Lars Haugen has to stop the first shot from short distance but Aleksandrs Nizivijs can't beat him from close to the left circle.
	01:30	It's a calm begin in Minsk Arena. The puck goes back and forth without any shots on goal yet.
	00:01	Game started.
		The teams are waiting on the ice and the national anthems of Latvia and Belarus are being played.
		Starting linueps: Dinamo Minsk: Haugen (Milchakov) – Krajicek, Goroshko, Lintner, Nogachyov, Shinkevich, Filichkin – Kalyuzhny, Stas, Materukhin, Irgl, Yefimenko, Surovy, Zakharov, Pavlovich, Kitarov, Drozd, Dadonov, Protasenya Dinamo Riga: Tellqvist (Sedlacek) – J. Redlihs, K. Redlihs, Porejs, Robinson, Lavins, Sotnieks – Johnson, Hossa, Darzins, Dzerins, Cipulis, Bukarts, Nizivijs, Hascak, Bicevskis, Begovs, Skvorcovs, Upitis Referees: Anisimov, Sergeyev – Morozov, Sadovnikov
		The match between the two Dinamos is a lot more relevant for the guests from Latvia. Hosts Dinamo Minsk are 14th and thus last in the Western Conference with 50 points in 52 games and missed the playoffs long time ago – only Eastern Conference bottom side Amur Khabarovsk (45) has a worse record in the KHL. Guests Dinamo Riga are 5th in the West with 93 points in 52 games and could end the season anywhere between the 3rd and 6th spot which makes possible a lot of different playoff pairings. After a four week long break for the Olympics in Sochi, Dinamo Minsk were beaten by Slovan Bratislava (3-4 SO) and Lev Prague (1-3) during a road trip to Central Europe. For Dinamo Riga the return to KHL action was a lot more successful when they defeated Croatian league newcomers Medvescak Zagreb (5-1) and Spartak Moscow (3-2) on home ice. Minsk's top scorers are Geoff Platt (29 pts), Alexei Kalyuzhny (25 pts) and Andrei Stas (24 pts). Platt left the team already though to play in the playoffs with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Riga's top scorers are Kyle Wilson (44 pts), Marcel Hossa (40 pts) and Paul Szczechura (35 pts). Everything but an away win for Dinamo Riga would be a huge surprise! If Minsk can change that, we'll let you know!
		Welcome. Game starts at 09:00 ET /15:00 CET / 17:00 local time in Minsk / 18:00 MSK.

Commentary by

Dennis Mende

Goals & lineups Match log

Goals and assists: 14. Stas (Materukhin, Krajicek), 29. Materukhin (Krajicek), 32. Lintner (Kitarov, Zakharov), 51. Surovy (Kitarov), 60. Irgl (Surovy, Krajicek) – 7. Johnson (Hossa, Sotnieks), 58. Skvorcovs

HC Dinamo Minsk: Haugen (Milchakov) – Krajicek, Goroshko, Lintner, Nogachyov, Shinkevich, Filichkin – Kalyuzhny, Stas, Materukhin, Irgl, Yefimenko, Surovy, Zakharov, Pavlovich, Kitarov, Drozd, Dadonov, Protasenya

Dinamo Riga: Tellqvist (Sedlacek) – J. Redlihs, K. Redlihs, Porejs, Robinson, Lavins, Sotnieks – Johnson, Hossa, Darzins, Dzerins, Cipulis, Bukarts, Nizivijs, Hascak, Bicevskis, Begovs, Skvorcovs, Upitis

Referees: Anisimov, Sergeyev – Morozov, Sadovnikov

1st period
	06:58
	12:16
	13:20
	14:43
1st intermission
2nd period
	28:17
	31:15
	37:19
	39:26
2nd intermission
3rd period
	49:21
	50:37
	57:24
	59:02
Final