Slovan plays, Dynamo scores

HC SLOVAN Bratislava - Dynamo Moscow 0:2 (0:0, 0:2, 0:0)) 

Goals: 29. Kokarev (Volkov), 36. Robinson (Volkov, Pestushko). Officials: Naumov, Olenin - Maitak, Pronskikh.

Penalties: 7:7, Powerplay goals: 0:1, Shorthanded: 0:0. Attendance: 10,055 (sell-out).
      
HC SLOVAN Bratislava: Godla – Luža, Sersen, Štajnoch, Barker, Brejčák, Kozák – Bartovič, Surový, Nagy – Hudáček, Murley, Vondrka – Jeglič, Tičar, Ölvecký – Kudrna, Šťastný, Lunter - Rehák, White
Dynamo Moscow: Lazushin - Solovyov, Jalasvaara, Vishnevsky, Robinson, Koryagin, Mironov, Osipov - Karsums, Tsvetkov, Karpov - Daugavins, Volkov, Pestushko - Dugin, Tereshchenko, Zherdev - Kokarev, Soin, Babenko - Briukvin
      
A sell-out crowd at the Slovnaft Arena had cause to cheer even before the opening bully, as goaltender Denis Godla made his first start in the KHL, and he was greeted with raucous applause. The young goalie calmed his nerves with his first save off Tereshchenko's shot, and then was content to observe the attacking forays of his teammates. In the 4th minute, Hudáček sent Vondrka, but his smash failed to beat Lazushin. In the minutes that followed, the puck few all around the visitors' goalmouth, but Slovan lacked the killer punch in front of goal. The Muscovites then began to adjust to the high tempo, and could have opened the scoring in the 9th minute. Godla could only parry Mironov's shot from the blue line, and the puck fell to a lone Tereshchenko, but he hit the post. The play was exciting for the spectators, with high levels of commitment, but both teams often relied on luck, with little to really test the goaltenders. In a Dynamo powerplay in the 17th, Daugavins got through to Golda after a Slovan error but he too could not beat the young goalie.
      
The start of the middle period belonged to Slovan. A powerplay brought them up to speed, but a goal was still not forthcoming, despite Surový's work in front of goal, Hudáček's shot from the right wing, and a fine combination between Bartovič, Vondrka and Jeglič. The game then became noticeably harder, which worked out better for the visitors. The opening goal came in the 28th minute; in four-on-four play, Volkov found Kokarev right in front of goal, and he swept past Godla's pads - 0:1. Penalties now began to impact what had been a high tempo affair, but Slovan remained unable to beat the in-form Lazushin. The visitors showed them howto do it in the 36th minute, when Volkov picked out Robinson on the edge of the rink, and his firm first-time shot found the net - 0:2.
      
The first half of the final period did not bring the expected onslaught from Slovan attempting to get back into the game. Ill discipline then handed Dynamo two minutes of five-on-three, which at least allowed Godla to shine in denying Karsums and Jalasvaara. The focus remained on the Slovan goalmouth even in evenhanded play, and Slovan threatened only on the break.  Hudáček had the big chance in the 53rd minute, breaking away alone, dummying to the forehand, but he overskated and the moment was gone. Little more happened in the closing minutes, pulling the goalie doing little to help, and the game ended 2:0 in the visitors' favour.
      
Petri Matikainen, Slovan head coach: "Congratulations to our opponents on their victory. We gave everything today, we played well. Our greatest weakness was not getting the puck in the net. We had a young goaltender who played well. I decided he would get the start when Backlund got injured."
Harijs Vitolins, Dynamo head coach: "I'd like to thank my guys for a good game. However, I have to say Slovan played well, overall it was an even match. We had a few problems in the final period, but we sorted it out, and in the end two goals were enough for victory."