SBA 1:3 JAR | HC Slovan Bratislava - Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)

KHL

HC Slovan – Lokomotiv

1:3 (end)

final

HC Slovan Bratislava Slovakia

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

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

Tuesday 25.11.2014, 19:00 • Slovnaft Arena • KHL

		Welcome. Game starts at 19:00.
		Good evening and welcome to this KHL regular season match between HC Slovan Bratislava and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. This is a hugely important match, with both battling away for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
		Slovan are currently sitting in tenth place of the Western Conference, only four points away from eighth. Eighth is indeed occupied by Lokomotiv, who with 43 points are having a rather strange campaign so far, and are coming off the back of four defeats in their previous five.
		Last season Slovan failed to make the playoffs, where as Lokomotiv made the Gagarin Cup semi finals.
		Starting lineups: HC Slovan Bratislava: Backlund (Janus)- Stajnoch, Sigalet, Rachunek, Surovy, Bartovic- Baranka, Brejcak, Ruzicka, Nedorost, Nagy- Sersen, Mihalik, Vondrka, Ticar, Jeglic- Luza, Olvecky, Stastny, Murley Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Sanford (Kolesnik)- Kronwall, Yakovlev, Plotnikov, Averin, Apalkov- Holos, Vasiliev, Novotny, Thornberg, Konkov- Gorokhov, Pashnin, Platt, Kapustin, Galimov- Vishnevskiy, Lyubushkin, Grachyov, Korhskov, Musatov Referees: Sergey Kulakov, Andrey Rogachyov, Sergey Morozov, Ivan Sazonov.
		The teams are out on to the ice, and after the Russian and Slovakian national anthems we'll be getting underway!
		We will also now have a moment's silence, in honour of the late Viktor Tikhonov.
	00:01	Game started.
	00:07	Off we go! With so much riding on this one it should be an exciting affair!
	01:31	It's already been a pacy start here as Michal Vondrka is set up pulling to the left faceoff circle, and his first time slapper is padded away by Lokomotiv's Curtis Sanford. Slovan can be expected to have the initiative today, with the Slovnaft Arena roaring them on!
	02:36	The puck is chipped into Lokomotiv's crease from deep, and the goaltender comes rolling out blocker side to freeze with attackers closing him down
	04:05	Vaclav Nedorost now darts into the zone from the neutral zone, instead of driving on wrists early, and the goalkeeper catches comfortably
	04:31	We have the first penalty of the game here and it's against Lokomotiv, as their forward Kirill Kapustin has been handed a 2+10 punishment for cross checking to the head
	06:06	Nagy! Ladislav Nagy takes not one but two swipes to the right of the point, both times Curtis Sanford just about deals with it, but on the rebound he does well to deny Matt Murley from point blank range!
	06:28	Lokomotiv were about to come back to full strength, but immediately they've taken another penalty! And it's a cheap one as Egor Kroshkov has been called for delaying the game!
	06:38	Goal for Slovan! Slovan have indeed taken full advantage of that extended powerplay! The puck is swung back across the face of goal from behind the net on the right, and VACLAV NEDOROST steaming in finishes clinically! Powerplay goal and it's 1:0! Assists- Ladislav Nagy and Matt Murley
	07:19	However Lokomotiv have responded with earning a powerplay of their own, as Slovan's Milan Bartovic has been penalised for hooking
	08:01	Konkov! That was Lokomotiv's best chance of yet! Clever play down the right frees up Sergey Konkov open on the doorstep, and he contrives to whip into Johan Backlund's glove!
	09:19	And now not long after Johan Backlund swept up a dangerous looking effort from distance Slovan come back to full strength, having come under some serious pressure!
	11:22	Not for long though, the penalties are starting to build up on either side now! Slovan defenceman Martin Stajnoch is the next to be handed a two minute minor, this time for hooking
	13:22	This time however the visitors didn't manage to get set up in the zone for a prolonged amount of time, and Slovan have five men on the ice
	14:40	Korshkov! What an opportunity to draw his team level! Powering in from the right wing Egor Korshkov skates in clean through, but he can only hit the goalkeeper's pads! All the momentum is with Lokomotiv!
	14:58	The referee has blown for a penalty against both teams now, Martin Stajnoch of Slovan and Lokomotiv's Sergey Plotnikov both being found guilty of cross checking against each other
	16:58	With only just over three minutes left in the period it's a full strength hockey game. Slovan are simply being camped inside their own zone, the visitors are pressing harder and harder for that crucial equaliser!
	18:51	Lokomotiv goaltender Curtis Sanford does have something do do here however, as with Tomas Surovy battling his way on to the slot from behind the net blocker side, he has to emerge out to gather
	19:14	Stefan Ruzicka for Slovan makes a bit of room for himself bearing down on the crease, fires in with traffic in front of him, and the goalkeeper still fields it well to catch
	19:52	We're already now into the final seconds of an entertaining first period
	20:00	1st period finished.
		Statistics after the opening period of play: Shots: 17-14 Shots on target: 13-6 Faceoffs: 5-12 Hits: 0-2 Penalty minutes: 6-16
	20:01	Start of 2nd period.
	20:16	We're underway in the second stanza! Lokomotiv looked bright despite conceding, and they will want to keep the pressure on!
	21:01	Sergey Konkov on the visitors goes on an early raid down the right flank, wrists from a tight angle, and Johan Backlund is alert near post
	22:00	Rok Ticar quite unexpectedly strips his opponent of the puck pinned up on the left hand boards, dribbles in, looks to dish a teammate on the doorstep, but it gets cut out at source!
	24:01	The first penalty of the period has gone to Slovan, as their defenceman Jan Brejcak has been found guilty of delaying the game
	24:37	Averin! He simply had to score! The puck trickles its way through all the way to the right of the crease, Egor Averin takes the netminder out of the game blocker side, but he somehow can't get it out from under his stick!
	25:01	Goal for Lokomotiv! Finally the visitors have their deserved equaliser, it's been coming! Johan Backlund lets an effort slip out of his glove, and by the left hand post SERGEY KONKOV bats it in elegantly! Powerplay goal and it's 1:1! Assists- Martin Thornberg
	26:27	Lokomotiv will be buoyed by finding that elusive goal, and you can expect them to keep the heat on their opponents! Slovan have lost their way slightly!
	29:34	Wow, after a quiet few minutes Slovan almost took their lead back! Curtis Sanford fails to fully deal with a huge slapper from the left faceoff circle, and his defenders bail him out hacking the puck off the line! That was so close!
	30:31	Averin! Lokomotiv's Egor Averin waits patiently to the left of the slot, the puck eventually pops out to him, and he only just can't squeeze it beyond Johan Backlund! All of a sudden the goalmouth action has taken a noticeable rise!
	32:26	Goal for Lokomotiv! Out of virtually nothing Lokomotiv have their first lead of the day! A horrible Slovan defensive mix-up allows EMIL GALIMOV to skate clean through one on one, and he expertly wrists strongly into the right hand corner! It's 1:2! Assists- Daniil Apalkov and Vitaliy Vishnevskiy
	32:44	The home crowd inside the Slovnaft Arena have gone quiet somewhat, they can see how their team are being picked off by the visitors!
	35:44	Slovan drift offside. The game is mostly being broken up in the neutral zone, with the Russian visitors getting their sticks in the way of dumps forward bound
	37:19	Egor Averin takes the puck away from his opponent on the tip of the crease, it in the end get thrashed across the slot, and no one is fast enough to catch up with it
	37:19	However for high sticking during that play, Slovan man Andrej Stastny has been penalised creating even more problems for his team
	38:23	Konkov! For a moment it looked almost impossible to not score his team's third! All alone blocker side Sergey Konkov is fed, he does a full 360, wrists into the far corner, and Johan Backlund flashes leather brilliantly to shut the door!
	39:10	Staffan Kronwall winds up at the high slot, and after a sharp deflection it ends up winding out into the boards
	39:48	With Slovan again at full strength its the closing seconds of the second period, with a thrilling third lying in wait!
	40:00	2nd period finished.
		Statistics after the first two periods: Shots: 28-31 Shots on target: 17-18 Faceoffs: 11-21 Hits: 0-4 Penalty minutes: 10-16
	40:01	Start of 3rd period.
	40:03	The third and deciding period is go! At 2:1 up Lokomotiv are in the box seat, but there is still a long way to go!
	40:18	Egor Averin works an opening already for the visitors, as squirming in between two defencemen on the right he drives into Johan Backlund's waiting glove
	40:54	A prompt penalty has been called here and it's against Lokomotiv. Sergey Plotnikov for slashing has been punished, and it's a promising opportunity for Slovan to get back into the game!
	41:08	Jeglic! Surely that should have been the equaliser! On the doorstep Ziga Jeglic takes aim all alone, Curtis Sanford is visibly already beaten, but it shaves the right hand post! The Slovnaft Arena took a huge sigh!
	42:52	Lokomotiv have been able to survive that particular scare though and are back at full strength. Slovan have clearly upped their game, attempting to get shots on goal away as soon as they can!
	43:21	But again the visitors have decided to make life a lot more complicated for themselves! They've been punished for having too many men on the ice, with Emil Galimov skating off to sit this one out for his team
	45:21	Lokomotiv's penalty killing is starting to come into its own, and Emil Galimov is allowed to rejoin the action
	46:33	Rachunek! Tomas Rachunek spins around sharply to the right hand post from behind the net, backhands, and he comes extremely close to catching Curtis Sanford unawares!
	47:20	Egor Yakovlev on a rare Lokomotiv foray forward wrists dangerously from the right faceoff circle, and opponents in front send it clear. The visitors have shut up shop here, but is too early to do so?
	49:53	Tempers are taking a turn for the worse here! Jonathan Sigalet didn't take a liking to Lokomotiv's Daniil Apalkov, but eventually it's Staffan Kronwall for interference, and Matt Murley of Slovan for the same offence, who are on their way to the penalty box!
	50:55	And now it will be a powerplay for the hosts, as for tripping directly under the referee's nose Mikhail Pashnin has been penalised
	52:55	Ticar! Rok Ticar following seriously long build up play takes a smack from the blue line, and Curtis Sanford flashing leather beautifully takes it up. Slovan are making several shooting chances, but bodies in front are blocking everything heroically!
	53:59	Lokomotiv are of course back to full strength now with just over six minutes remaining, they are defending for their lives at the moment!
	55:03	How, just how, did Slovan not hit the net there! They can't come much closer! Ziga Jeglic's wrister pops out to the slot, and with bodies flying everywhere, and the goalkeeper already on his back, no one can poke it over the line!
	58:11	The final two minutes are now upon us, and Slovan have taken a big gamble here already pulling their goaltender for the extra skater!
	58:14	Goal for Lokomotiv! And Lokomotiv have made them pay! EGOR AVERIN brilliantly takes up the puck from his own zone, drives down by the left hand boards, and hits the empty net under pressure! It's 1:3!
	58:49	Johan Backlund gloves a clipped puck into his slot to freeze. Lokomotiv fans inside the Slovnaft Arena are very happy indeed, as their team have simply been the more effective today!
	59:21	Galimov! Emil Galimov cleverly works an opening at the tip of the crease from the right flank, and thrashes it over the bar! The goalkeeper was completely helpless!
	59:57	Just a few seconds remain now, as Lokomotiv are heading towards a very important victory on the road! And just as the final buzzer goes off Slovan's Stefan Ruzicka challenges Sergey Plotnikov to a fight, with the Lokomotiv forward coming out on top!
	60:00	Game over.
		There is indeed conformation that Lokomotiv Yaroslavl have gained a priceless 3:1 triumph over HC Slovan Bratislava in Slovakia! They sat back very early after moving ahead, but goaltender Curtis Sanford was a rock at the back. Vaclav Nedorost gave Slovan a first period lead, before Sergey Konkov and Emil Galimov gave Lokomotiv all three points. Thanks for following the game with us, and see you again soon for more pulsating KHL action! (21:24:38)

Commentary by

Shaun Nicolaides

Goals & lineups Match log

Goals and assists: 7. Nedorost (Lagy, Murley) – 26. Konkov (Thornberg), 33. Galimov (Apalkov, Vishnevskiy), 59. Averin

HC Slovan Bratislava: Backlund (Janus)- Stajnoch, Sigalet, Rachunek, Surovy, Bartovic- Baranka, Brejcak, Ruzicka, Nedorost, Nagy- Sersen, Mihalik, Vondrka, Ticar, Jeglic- Luza, Olvecky, Stastny, Murley

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Sanford (Kolesnik)- Kronwall, Yakovlev, Plotnikov, Averin, Apalkov- Holos, Vasiliev, Novotny, Thornberg, Konkov- Gorokhov, Pashnin, Platt, Kapustin, Galimov- Vishnevskiy, Lyubushkin, Grachyov, Korhskov, Musatov

Referees: Sergey Kulakov, Andrey Rogachyov, Sergey Morozov, Ivan Sazonov

Attendance: 9135

1st period
	04:31
	06:28
	06:38
	07:19
	11:22
	14:58
1st intermission
2nd period
	24:01
	25:01
	32:26
	37:19
2nd intermission
3rd period
	40:54
	43:21
	49:53
	50:55
	58:14
Final