NO POINTS IN SEVERSTAL

Severstal Cherepovets – HC SLOVAN Bratislava 2:0 (1:0, 1:0, 0:0)

Goals: 2. Kazakovtsev (Buchnevich), 28. Bumagin (Berdnikov, Videll)

Lineups:
Severstal Cherepovets: Štěpánek – Laakso, Andersen, Kalashnikov, Čáslava, Stasenko, Yevseyenkov – Videll, Bushujev, Nikontsev – Stolyarov, Berdnikov, Bumagin – Kovyrshin, Kazakovtsev, Buchnevich – Klimenko, Medvedev, Zemchenko – Antipov, Gogolev
HC SLOVAN Bratislava: Kopřiva (Janus) - Kutlák, Škoula, Bartovič, J. Mikúš, Radivojevič - Mojžíš, Sersen, Vondrka, Bližňák, Miklík - Sigalet, Štajnoch, Kukumberg, Šťastný, Netík - T. Mikúš, R. Mráz, Hudáček, Matoušek, Daňo

Slovan – with Branko Radivojevič already in the lineup – didn’t make a good start to the game on Saturday. In just the 2^nd minute, Buchnevich shot at Kopřiva and the rebound fell to the unmarked Kazakovtsev, who opened the scoring – 1:0. The home team soon found themselves shorthanded, and were lucky to see Vondrka’s shot hit Štěpánek’s left-hand post. But Severstal were the more active team in the first period, Stolyarov and Buchnevich carving out good chances but both missing the target. Kukumberg did threaten at the other end, but Štěpánek caught his effort. The rest of the period saw the Slovan goalie kept busy, but the scoreline did not change.

In the 25^th minute, a pass from behind the goal found Kazakovtsev face-to-face with Kopřiva, but this time he shot wide. Medvedev bore down on goal soon after, but he too was denied. But all that changed in the 28^th minute, Videll’s accurate pass picking out Bumagin, whose shot went over the line – 2:0. Five minutes from the end of the period, Netík beat Štěpánek, but once again the left-hand post kept the puck out.

At the start of the third period, Sigalet attempted a backhand dummy on Štěpánek, but in vain. Slovan’s attacking efforts were then hindered by the dismissal of Mojžíš for high sticking, though the hosts didn’t manage to add a third goal. Daňo’s shot in the 48^th minute produced a great save from Štěpánek, and the fourth-line attack put pressure on the home team, but Severstal resisted. In the 53^rd minute, our first line attack couldn’t manage a powerplay goal, despite a number of decent chances. In the closing stages Slovan could do nothing to affect the result, departing Cherepovets with a two-goal defeat.

Rostislav Čada: “We played badly at the start, and throughout the first period. We let our opponents score a goal and get a hold on the game. We evened things up in the second and third periods, created chances, but against an enthusiastic opponent, and an in-form goalie, we couldn’t make it count.”