LEV 3:2 JAR | Lev Praha - Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)

KHL

Women's World Championship Divison I

Lev – Lokomotiv

3:2 (end)

final

Lev Praha

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

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

Thursday 10.04.2014, 19:00 • O2 Arena, Prague • KHL

		Welcome. Game starts at 19:00.
		HC LEV Praha entered the third period of game 4 in Yaroslavl with a 2-1 lead, and were 20 minutes away from sweeping the series and becoming Western Conference Champions. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl battled back though, tying the game with 6:15 to play and then winning it in the last minute of the first overtime period. The loss was disappointing for sure, but the Lions still feel pretty good about their overall situation. "We are happy because we came (to Yaroslavl) to win at least one game," said winger Michal Řepík about earning the split on the road. "I´d say that we are still in a good position, returning home leading 3-1 in the series. I´m sure it´ll still be tough, but we want to finish it at home." Back at home at O2 Arena, where they won games 1 and 2 of the series last Wednesday and Friday. In the process, Lev outscored Lokomtiv 5-1, and got plenty of support from the crowd, especially game 2´s crowd of nearly 10 000. "The fans were great in the first two games here, and we felt as much home as Yaroslavl did at their home," said captain Jiří Novotný, comparing the fans in the two cities. "I would like to invite them to come out to Thursday´s game as well, because we want to end the series. We´re going again full blast, it´s the only way we can play against Yaroslavl."
		Starting Lineups: Lev Praha: Vehanen (Engren) – Ševc, Mäenpää, Oystrick, Němec, Gragnani, O'Byrne, Nakládal – Ridderwall, Novotný (C), Azevedo – Sekáč, Vrána, Thörnberg – Birner, Kapanen, Řepík – Matai, Zackrisson, Kubalík. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Sanford (Kolesnik) – Yakovlev, Kronwall, Vishnevsky, Holøs, Vasiliev, Lyubushkin, Gorokhov (C), Sprukts – Averin, Apalkov, Plotnikov – Platt, Petrov, Redlihs – Konkov, Kartayev, Galimov – Musatov, Kapustin, Chernikov. Referees: Gofman, Soin. Linesmen: Sivov, Shelyanin.
		The national anthems of the Russian Federation and Czech Republic have been played, and the game will start shortly. Lev Praha is wearing their home red uniforms with blue and white trim, red NY Rangers-style pants and blue helmets. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl is wearing their road white uniforms with red and blue trim, red pants and white helmets.
	00:01	Game started.
	00:34	Justin Azevedo with the first shot attempt, blocked, then Loko rush back and Petri Vehanen makes a glove save and holds it.
	00:54	Geoff Platt fires a backhander wide.
	01:47	Emil Galimov tries to cut in on goal but is denied, then Lev rush back, Repik shoots from a sharp angle, Sanford stops and holds it.
	02:14	Lokomotiv shoot the puck the length of the ice, icing is waved off and Vehanen is forced to cover it. After the whistle he seems to be questioning the linesmen why it wasn't icing.
	02:19	Faceoff win for Apalkov, quick shot from Kronwall, right on Vehanen and he covers again.
	02:28	Great solo rush from Calle Ridderwall, cuts in on goal but Sanford gets a pad on his shot to tip it just wide.
	03:26	Some good back-and-forth action that sequence, with both Sanford and Vehanen making saves, it ends with Sanford freezing it in the Lokomotiv zone.
	04:10	Galimov finds Holos sneaking in from the point and he one-times it from the top of the circle, Vehanen gets a piece of it.
	04:34	At the other end, Lev get a shot and it's deflected out of play, faceoff in the Lokomotiv zone.
	04:50	Play back in the Lev zone, Alexei Vasiliev with the wrister from the point, right on Vehanen, who holds on.
	05:38	Kubalik with a slapper on the rush, kicked away by Sanford.
	05:45	Icing Lokomotiv.
	05:59	The puck is again deflected out of play in the Lokomotiv zone, faceoff inside.
	06:05	Off the draw, Maenpaa with a one-timer slapper from the point, save Sanford.
	06:20	The other way, there's a big scramble in the Lev crease and the puck actually gets behind Vehenan and heads toward the goal line, but Martin Sevc rescues it with his stick inches from the line!
	07:26	The play moves back to the Lokomotiv end and back to the Lev zone again, where Petri Vehanen covers. Boy was he lucky on that last sequence!
	08:06	Long-range slapper from Michal Birner, scooped up by Sanford and held.
	08:26	Puck deflected out of play in the Lev zone, faceoff inside.
	09:16	Icing Lev.
	10:30	Wrister from Gorokhov at the right point, pad save Vehanen.
	10:45	Goal for Lev! For the 5th straight game Lev scores the first goal in this series. Kapanen from the corner sent it back to the point to Nakladal, and his wrister through traffic is deflected in by MICHAL REPIK. Like many Lev goals this series, Sanford saw nothing. Assists: Jakub Nakladal, Niko Kapanen.
	11:59	A Lev clearing attempt is deflected out of play, faceoff just outside the line.
	12:30	Big check in the corner by Sekac on Yakovlev.
	13:05	Wrister from Redlihs in the high slot, turned to the corner by Vehanen.
	13:55	Sergei Konkov of Lokomotiv is getting this game's first period, as he put a hook on Tomas Kubalik, who was trying to get into good shooting position. He missed the net with his shot but drew the penalty. Lev to the power play.
	14:11	Yegor Yakovlev with a shorthanded rush, gets a wrister on Vehanen, who covers it and we have a faceoff in the Lev zone with 1:44 left in the penalty. Remember, Lokomotiv scored a shorthanded goal last game.
	15:31	Goal for Lev! JUSTIN AZEVEDO and Nemec play pitch-and-catch along the boards, and Azevedo tees up a rocket from the top of the circle that blows over Sanford's shoulder, with Jiri Novotny providing a perfect screen in front. Power-play goal. Assist: Ondrej Nemec.
	16:51	Goal for Lokomotiv! They get one right back. Mikelis Redlihs had the puck behind the Lev net and found GEOFF PLATT in the slot, who one-timed it in before Vehanen could react. A huge goal to get Yaroslavl back in this game. Assists: Mikelis Redlihs, Kirill Kapustin.
	17:25	Now Plotnikov tries to break free with the puck but Zackrisson ties him up and prevents him from getting a shot.
	19:11	Offside Lev on the long pass, faceoff back to their own zone.
	19:48	Icing Lokomotiv.
	20:00	1st period finished.
		Lev jumped out to a 2-0 lead that period, which put Lokomotiv in a really bad spot, considering how hard it's been for them to score this series. However, they got a big one back late and they trail 2-1 after 1. Lev on the verge of advancing to the Gagarin Cup Finals, Lokomotiv trying to stay alive. Shots on goal in the 1st period: Lev 10, Lokomotiv 13. Quality scoring chances: Lev 3, Lokomotiv 3. 2nd period begins at 19:53 CEST, 13:53 EDT.
	20:01	Start of 2nd period.
	20:38	Plotnikov from a sharp angle, stick save Vehanen.
	20:56	Wraparound attempt by Ondrej Nemec, Sanford gives him nothing.
	21:21	Icing Lokomotiv.
	21:29	Nemec with a high wrister from the point, caught and held by Sanford.
	21:42	Offside Lokomotiv on the pass, faceoff back to their own blueline.
	22:21	Lokomotiv applying pressure, Sergei Konkov weaves his way through the slot and fires a wrister, big glove save by Petri Vehanen.
	23:25	Low backhander from Apalkov, pad save Vehanen.
	23:46	Lev back the other way, glove save Sanford and we get some pushing and shoving after the whistle. Nothing comes of it.
	23:58	Lev trying to get something going in the Lokomotiv zone but they can't keep the puck in at the blueline and are called offside.
	25:08	Icing Lev.
	25:38	Backhander from Kartayev, stick save Vehanen.
	25:56	Goal for Lev! After the save at one end Lev come back 2 on 1, Repik feeds MICHAL BIRNER. Sanford first makes a great toe save off his one-time wrister, but he got the rebound back and put it over top of the goalie to restore the 2-goal lead. Assists: Michal Repik, Niko Kapanen.
	27:55	Big slapper from Gorokhov sails high and wide.
	28:04	Icing Lev.
	28:16	Puck out of play in the Lev zone, faceoff inside.
	30:57	Wrister from Daniil Apalkov, right on Vehanen, who covers.
	31:46	Impressive rush by Jiri Sekac as he drives hard to the net but Curtis Sanford holds is ground and doesn't let the puck through.
	32:28	Thornberg the wrister, stick save Sanford and he eventually covers it.
	32:33	High wrister from Michal Repik, blocker save Sanford.
	33:26	Icing Lev.
	33:43	Kubalik rushes up ice and fires a backhander, stick save Sanford.
	34:02	Offside Lokomotiv.
	34:25	The puck deflects off a Lev stick in their own zone and goes right to Yegor Averin in the slot, he tried to quickly make a move but couldn't beat Vehanen.
	35:11	A Lev shoot-in goes over the end glass and out of play, faceoff at centre ice.
	36:23	Offside Lokomotiv.
	37:05	Goal for Lokomotiv! Amazing goal by GEOFF PLATT! Plotnikov centred him the pass from the corner, a defenceman checking him forced the puck airbourne and he took a baseball swing at it to drive it over Vehanen's glove and into the net. Assist: Sergei Plotnikov.
	37:22	Lokomotiv just scored and now they're going to the power play, as Tomas Kubalik is called for slashing. Momentum maybe shifting.
	38:22	Loko moved the puck around the outside well but haven't got a shot on Vehanen so far. Finally the puck was deflected out exactly halfway through the penalty, faceoff in the Lev zone.
	38:36	Konkov rips a wrister wide.
	39:10	Konkov with the puck in the slot again but his stick's tied up and he can't shoot.
	39:30	Lev back at full strength and they dump it into the Loko zone and change.
	40:00	2nd period finished.
		For the second time in this game, Lev went up by 2 goals, but once again Lokomotiv closed the gap before the end of the period -- Geoff Platt with both goals. We're now in exactly the same situation we were after 2 periods in game 4 -- Lev leading 2-1 with a chance to advance to the Gagarin Cup Final, and Lokomotiv facing elimination. Shots on goal in the 2nd period (and game): Lev 5 (15), Lokomotiv 6 (19). Quality scoring chances: Lev 2 (5), Lokomotiv 3 (6). 3rd period begins at 20:43 CEST, 14:43 EDT.
		The teams are on the ice and the 3rd period will start shortly.
	40:01	Start of 3rd period.
	41:50	Long shot from the neutral zone right on Curtis Sanford, he holds on.
	42:08	Galimov from a sharp angle, pad save Vehanen.
	42:21	The puck is played onto the back of the Lev net, play is stopped and the faceoff is outside.
	42:45	Lev 2-on-2 rush, Zackrisson holds the puck for too long, then his pass is deflected away.
	43:40	Chernikov shoots from the left wing on a rush, right on Vehanen, who holds on.
	44:05	Thornberg to Vrana, denied by Sanford from point blank.
	44:31	Puck deflected out of play in the Lokomoti zone, faceoff inside.
	44:43	Kapanen with a shot right off the draw, pad save Sanford, another shot and he catches it.
	45:31	Icing Lokomotiv.
	47:01	Backhander by Martin Thornberg, right on Sanford, who holds on.
	48:00	Plotnikov to Averin at the top of the slot, hard wrister but Vehanen kicks it out.
	48:23	Icing Lokomotiv.
	49:16	Galimov from the right wing boards, pad save Vehanen and he covers.
	50:11	Lev rush, Martin Thornberg with the wrister from the left wing but Curtis Sanford flashes the leather and makes a big glove save. Every save he makes is crucial now, as his team can't afford to go down 2 goals again.
	50:37	Thornberg again, from the right side this time, pad save Sanford.
	51:30	Plotnikov tries to drive to the net but he's driven into the boards by Oystrick.
	51:44	Puck goes out of play in the Lev zone, faceoff inside.
	52:31	Puck out of play again in the Lev zone, faceoff inside and we've got the wave going around O2 Arena, as these fans are starting to anticipate. This game far from over, though.
	52:59	An interesting turn of events as Martin Thornberg is called for tripping in his own zone. Lokomotiv to the power play with a golden chance to tie this game.
	53:23	Holose shoots wide.
	53:37	Vehanen stops a shot from Plotnikov, then the puck goes out of play. Faceoff in the Lev zone with 1:22 left in the penalty.
	53:40	Off the draw Vrana shoots it the length of the ice . . .
	54:00	Lev ice it again . . .
	54:23	One-time slapper from Geoff Platt, going for the hat-trick, but Petri Vehanen slides across to make the save. Platt looks skyward. :36 left in the penalty.
	54:30	Off the draw, Lev ice it again.
	54:55	Holos rips it wide again.
	55:10	Lev back at full strength, play in the Loko zone.
	55:30	Meanpaa and Sevc both attempt shots, both blocked.
	56:36	Lev trying to kill as much time as they can with the puck far away from their net, finally a shot and Sanford gloves it.
	56:40	Right off the draw, Maenpaa with a slapper drills Platt, who goes down, then goes to the bench while play continues.
	57:43	Holos a wrister, blocked.
	58:15	Puck chipped out of the Lev zone, not enough on it to go for icing . . .
	58:25	Offside Lokomotiv. Lev fans now getting antsy.
	58:25	Timeout Lokomotiv. This is their season.
	58:45	Holos shoots it into the Lev zone, Novotny gets it out, play into the Loko zone.
	59:05	Now into the Lev zone, Sanford to the bench.
	59:25	Pass misses and Loko have to regroup in their own zone.
	60:00	Game over.
		Lev Praha win the game 3-2 and pour off the bench. They are KHL Western Conference Champions! They will play the winner of Magnitogorsk-Ufa in the Gagarin Cup Finals. (21:16:04)

Commentary by

Derek OBrien

@@Djob76

Goals & lineups Match log

Goals and assists: 11. Repik (Nakladal, Kapanen), 16. Azevedo (Nemec), 26. Birner (Repik, Kapanen) – 17. Platt (Redlihs, Kapustin), 38. Platt (Plotnikov)

Lev Praha: Vehanen (Engren) – Ševc, Mäenpää, Oystrick, Němec, Gragnani, O'Byrne, Nakládal – Ridderwall, Novotný (C), Azevedo – Sekáč, Vrána, Thörnberg – Birner, Kapanen, Řepík – Matai, Zackrisson, Kubalík.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Sanford (Kolesnik) – Yakovlev, Kronwall, Vishnevsky, Holøs, Vasiliev, Lyubushkin, Gorokhov (C), Sprukts – Averin, Apalkov, Plotnikov – Platt, Petrov, Redlihs – Konkov, Kartayev, Galimov – Musatov, Kapustin, Chernikov.

Referees: Gofman, Soin. Linesmen: Sivov, Shelyanin

1st period
	10:45
	13:55
	15:31
	16:51
1st intermission
2nd period
	25:56
	37:05
	37:22
2nd intermission
3rd period
	52:59
Final