Sibir Edges out Slovan in Shootout

Sibir Novosibirsk – HC SLOVAN Bratislava 1:0sn (0:0, 0:0, 0:0, 0:0 - 1:0 )

Goals: Deciding penalty shot: Enlund.

Lineups:
Sibir:  Koskinen (Bespalov) – Belov, Alexeyev, Ozhiganov, Mamashev, Ignatovich, Gimayev (A), Menshikov – Enlund (A), Koskiranta, Shumakov – Kopeikin (C), Bobrov, Monia – Yefimenko, Gubin, Sannikov – Butuzov, Voroshilo, Shalunov
HC SLOVAN: Janus (Backlund) – Sigalet, Foster, Baranka, Sersen (A), Mihalik, Štajnoch, Luža – Bartovič (C), Surový (A), Hudáček, – Vondrka, Nedorost, Netík – Rachůnek, Tičar, Jeglič – White, Bližňák, Šťastný

Slovan started the game on the back foot, as Foster's foul in the first minute gave the hosts an early powerplay. The home team created two good chances; fortunately both were kept out by Janus. In the 8th minute, Jonas Enlund reached a rebound right in front of goal, but Janus intervened again, his right pad blocking the shot. Slovan employed careful defence, while their third line kept the home defenders most busy, although they barely troubled Koskinen. Matikainen's men improved towards the period end, culminating in a testing shot from Mihalik, which Koskinen just managed to divert round the post. In the closing minutes, a great touch from home captain Kopeikin narrowly missed the target.

The second period started in similar fashion, with a powerplay for the hosts, but this time a two-man advantage. Sibir occupied our zone and ran rings around the defence, but our triumvirate Surový – Sigalet – Sersen, with excellent assistance from Janus, survived shorthanded without conceding. Sibir themselves then played shorthanded for the only time in the game - the visitors created pressure, but could not convert it into a score. A real chance came Slovan's way in the 29th minute, breaking away two-on-one, but Netík's shot hit the post. Another Sibir powerplay the followed, and Janus had to be on guard, but once again stood firm. Near the end of the period, chances fell to our Slovene pairing of Jeglič and Tičar, but the scoresheet remained blank heading into the second break.

Slovan did not make an ideal start to the third period, offering the hosts a clear scoring opportunity. But Janus remained superb in goal, ably dealing with a shot from Koskirant. At the other end, only Baranka tested the giant in the Sibir goal, with a firm shot from the blue line. The home team remained the more active of the teams, and Janus was again called upon to deny Enlund from a great position in the 52nd minute. Seconds later Sannikov let fly from the left wing, but he too came away with nothing. In the 54th, Jeglič put Tičar through, but he came up against the well-placed Koskinen. The Sibir second line could have decided the game, but Bodrov and co. just could not get the puck in the net, so the game went into overtime. An even five minutes saw good chances fall to Ivan Baranka and Michal Vondrka, but both found Koskinen's pads.

The game had to be decided on penalty shots. A long-drawn-out shootout saw Rok Tičar score twice, Tomáš Netík and Michal Vondrka once each, but in the end it was Jonas Enlund who put away the winner for the home team. 

Petri Matikainen: It was a very difficult game today. I had personal experience of Sibir Novosibirsk's strength from my time at Omsk. They have a quality team that plays physical hockey with good skating. We kept pace with a quality opponent, we played responsibly in defence and kept to a defensive system. The home side did have more chances, but we managed to keep a clean sheet. We can be disappointed with our missed opportunities. It was an exciting shootout; it took until the eighth round to settle it.