2024-01-18 00:05:57
On January 11, Lokomotiv completed the away series with a game in Tolyatti.
After the previous match, defender Raul Akmaldinov and forwards Stepan Nikulin and Alexander Volkov returned to our team. The goal was defended by Sergei Murashov from the first minutes.
In the fourth minute, the “railwaymen” remained in the minority, having fought back quite confidently. After a few shifts, our team already had a numerical advantage, and in the “5 on 4” format the Yaroslavl team played for four minutes. There were several good plays and promising moments, but all these episodes were left without completion. The scoring was opened in the 14th minute and, unfortunately, the opponent scored, taking advantage of the loss of Lokomotiv players in the middle zone – Josephs played on the finishing touch after Kosmachuk’s shot, 1:0. The end of the starting period was marked by deletions: the “railroad workers” did not use their numerical advantage for the third time during the period, but they themselves did not concede during the last two minutes. At the start of the second period, Lokomotiv again had a one-player advantage, and now one could note the half-chances that arose from Likhachev, who did not fully adjust to the puck that bounced off the front board. It was a fairly tough game with equal strengths, so despite the territorial advantage of the “railwaymen”, no new chances arose at Trushkov’s goal. Lokomotiv’s second power play of the period turned out to be more productive, and in one of the episodes Nikulin was separated from the goal by some centimeters – the puck hit the post. Then the Yaroslavl players had to fight back with four of them, and if our team played confidently in unequal lineups, then control of the puck passed to the opponent, which was already significant in the fight for the final result. One positional attack by the “railwaymen” changed everything: in its second phase, Stepan Nikulin made a pass to Nikita Kiryanov, whose throw was handled by Trushkov, but Georgy Ivanov was the first to finish, 1:1. Only 68 seconds passed, and the Yaroslavl team found themselves ahead: Maxim Shalunov, having received the puck from Artur Kayumov in the middle zone, moved away from the defenders in the center, and then effectively beat the goalkeeper, 1:2. However, before the siren on the second break, the opponent managed to equalize the score, converting their majority, 2:2. The nature of the game in the third period was largely determined by the deletions: the “railwaymen” were twice in the minority and were forced to spend energy first on defense and then on taking the puck from the opponent. As a result, our team had significantly fewer chances in attack than in the second period, but at the same time we managed not to concede, although dangerous situations arose near Murashov’s goal, especially in the end. The meeting went into overtime, which took place on a collision course; both teams could have completed the five-minute period ahead of schedule, but the reliable actions of the goalkeepers prevented this from happening. In the series of shots, the confident play of Sergei Murashov came to the fore, repelling all four attempts of the opponents, and successful shootouts performed by Artur Kayumov and Maxim Shalunov brought our team victory.
3:2 – Lokomotiv completed the first away series of 2024 with a shootout victory over Lada.
Igor Nikitin’s team has six matches ahead on their ice, the first game will take place on January 16th.
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