Conference Rivals Lokomotiv Take Points

HC SLOVAN Bratislava - Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1:3 (1:0, 0:2, 0:1)

Goals: 7. Nedorost (Murley, Nagy) - 26. Konkov (Thörnberg), 33. Galimov (Apalkov, Vishnevsky), 59. Averin. Officials: Kulakov, Rogachyov - Morozov, Sazonov.

Penalties: 6:7 (2 min.), plus Kapustin (Yaroslavl) 10 min. (checking to head and neck), Powerplay goals: 1:1, Shorthanded: 0:0. Attendance: 9,135.
      
HC SLOVAN Bratislava: Backlund – Štajnoch, Sigalet, Brejčák, Baranka, Sersen, Mihálik – Rachůnek, Surový, Bartovič - Ružička, Nedorost, Nagy - Jeglič, Tičar, Vondrka – Šťastný, Murley, Ölvecký
Lokomotiv Jaroslavľ: Sanford - Yakovlev, Kronwall, Holös, Vasilyev, Pashnin, Gorokhov, Lyubushkin, Vishnevsky - Plotnikov, Apalkov, Averin - Thörnberg, Novotný, Konkov - Galimov, Platt, Kapustin - Korshkov, Grachyov, Musatov
      

Slovan got underway in style, coming at their opponents with verve and earning two early powerplays. They played them well, though efforts from Baranka, Nagy, and Murley on the rebound failed to hit the target. In a third powerplay in the 7th minute, Slovan put together a successful combination - after Nagy shot, Murley passed back to Nedorost, who opened the scoring from up close - 1:0. But the early goal seemed to do Slovan more harm than good, as Lokomotiv took over the initiative. Shorthanded, Slovan were saved by Backlund's semaphore save to deny Konkov, while the unmarked Averin hit the post. With Štajnoch back from the sin bin, Platt's dangerous shot also produced a fine block from Backlund. Thanks to him, Slovan  kept their clean sheet intact, as in the 15th minute he again stepped in, this time to stop Korshkov's progress after he had sailed past Sigalet.
      
In the second period, the spectators witnessed an even more sprightly form of hockey than in the first act. In the 22nd minute, Sanford tipped Ölvecký's shot just over the bar, while Backlund's clean account came to an end in the 25th. In a powerplay, he made the save from Averin, but was powerless to stop Konkov slotting in the rebound from Thörnberg's effort - 1:1. Soon after, Konkov came close again from between the circles, but Backlund's pad kept the scores level. The following passage of play belonged to Slovan; half-way through the game, Šťastný had a chance to tip the scales in their favour, but was unable to force home the puck under pressure. Instead, lightning struck at the other end - Slovan lost the puck carelessly on centre ice, allowing Galimov to break away and shoot just inside the right post - 1:2. Lokomotiv had turned the score around, and could have added another late in the period, but the agile Konkov failed to beat Backlund from up close.
      
Attempting to find an equalizer, Slovan upped their efforts and secured a couple of powerplays. Jeglič had the best opportunity in those, but he shot wide of Sanford's net. The hosts continued to pound the visiting defence, but they lacked ideas and precision. Moreover, they had to watch out for the counterattack; Backlund managed to quash Thörnberg's breakaway ten minutes from the end. Slovan then created pressure in a 4-on-3 powerplay, but were once again found wanting in the finishing department, Tičar missing out on a dead cert with 5 minutes on the clock. In the end, the home team had to resort to pulling the goalie, but six on the ice didn't bring an equaliser, instead allowing Averin to score into the empty net to seal a 3:1 victory for the visitors.

Petri Matikainen, Slovan head coach: "I congratulate the visitors' coach on their victory. It's a cruel defeat for us; in fact I saw a lot of positive things in our play. Compared with the previous game, we fought harder, skated well, we were better on the puck, and created several chances. Unfortunately, we only converted one of them into a goal. We have to keep working on being more effective at finishing."

Dave King, Lokomotiv head coach: "It was a tough match for us. We laid the foundations for success when shorthanded - we defended well and blocked a number of their shots. Our goalie Sanford was impressive in keeping us in it."