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Ak Bars will celebrate the New Year as the leader of the super league
Yesterday, in the 37th round of the Super League, the away game against Omsk Avangard became the final one in 2006 for the current champion of Kazan Ak Bars. In the meeting of two giants of Russian hockey, the sole leader of the competition was determined. Having won with a score of 5:3, the Kazan team broke away from the Siberians by three points, and they played one match less than the “hawks”. Even if Avangard takes over Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk tomorrow, the Omsk team will be equal to the Kazan team on points, but will be inferior to them in the results of personal meetings. Although the teams exchanged away victories with the same difference in scores, the Siberians scored more goals on the road - 5:3 versus 3:1.The hero of Monday's match was visiting forward Danis Zaripov, who scored a hat-trick. With a pass from the championship's top scorer and his partner on the first line, Alexei Morozov, he opened the scoring already in the 29th second of the match. Danis achieved his achievement in the second period, when he made two accurate shots, opening up in the center of the ice while realizing a numerical majority. At first, Zaripov used the advantage of two hockey players, and then distinguished himself in a five-on-four game. 45 seconds after the third goal of the best hockey player of the meeting, Dmitry Obukhov rolled into the Avangard defense zone and lightly threw with his wrists - 4:2. Omsk goalkeeper Alexander Fomichev spent the second period extremely unevenly and practically did not help his team, once again confirming the problem with Russian goalkeepers in the Super League. During the break, Alexander was replaced by the 32-year-old colorful Canadian Norm Maracle. This is already his fourth season in the Russian Super League. At first he played for Magnitogorsk Metallurg, spent the previous two championships in Avangard, but now he appeared in the Hawks only after the results of the December pre-registration campaign.
In the third period of the match between the leaders, ex-NHL player Vitaly Yachmenev reduced the gap to a minimum; Avangard coach Valery Belousov, a few seconds before the siren, released an extra field player instead of Maracle, but in vain. Igor Shchadilov rolled the puck into an empty net. Ak Bars, led by Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, took revenge for their home defeat in the first round (1:3). “More experienced referees should be appointed for such games,” Belousov said at the post-match press conference. “Fomichev let our team down, conceding four goals.” Ak Bars coach Bilyaletdinov noted the high dedication of his players: “The guys acted with great enthusiasm, the game turned out to be spectacular and interesting. And, of course, our first quick goal set a certain tone for this match.”
If we return to the results of the pre-application campaign, it went relatively calmly, except that the FHR Arbitration Committee had to deal with the transfers of those who left Krylya Sovetov. True, we were talking about hockey players who are still far from stars even on the scale of our championship. Forward Oleg Gubin eventually ended up in the ranks of Cherepovets Severstal, and another striker of the capital club Andrei Pchelyakov flew to Khabarovsk. The key acquisitions were the signing by Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of a contract with the Olympic champion in the Swedish national team, forward Mika Hannula, and the reshuffle of goalkeepers. Latvian Peteris Skudra swapped the red and blue colors of CSKA for the playing uniform of Novokuznetsk Metallurg, and his place in the ranks of the army team was taken by Konstantin Simchuk (from the HC MVD).
In the meeting between Salavat Yulaev and Kuznya, three of the four goals were scored in the last seven minutes of regular time. Metallurgist Sergei Klimovich scored a double, sending the match into overtime 13 seconds before the siren. Two goals per game for the struggling Kuznya is already an achievement, because in the previous four meetings the team scored strictly one goal each.
Results. Super League. 37th round. "Khimik" - "Neftekhimik" - 1:1, "Avangard" - "Ak Bars" - 3:5, "Amur" - "Severstal" - 3:2, "Salavat Yulaev" - " Metallurg (Nk) - 3:2, "Lada" - "Siberia" - 0:2 .
| 1. "Ak Bars" | 34 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 139--73 | 76 |
| 2. "Vanguard" | 35 | 22 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 115--84 | 73 |
| 3. "Chemist" | 35 | 21 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 105--72 | 68 |
| 4. "Siberia" | 33 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 101--81 | 65 |
| 5. “Metallurg” Mg | 33 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 93--63 | 63 |
| 6. “Salavat Yulaev” | 33 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 89--69 | 60 |
| 7. CSKA | 34 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 101--91 | 52 |
| 8. "Neftekhimik" | 34 | 15 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 83--81 | 52 |
| 9. HC MIA | 33 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 98--104 | 45 |
| 10. "Lada" | 33 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 78--83 | 44 |
| 11. "Lokomotiv" | 32 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 13 | 78--80 | 44 |
| 12. Severstal | 33 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 83--87 | 43 |
| 13. SKA | 32 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 83--96 | 40 |
| 14. Dynamo | 33 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 83--96 | 39 |
| 15. “Vityaz” | 33 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 69--92 | 36 |
| 16. “Metallurg” Nk | 33 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 63--88 | 32 |
| 17. "Tractor" | 32 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 61--90 | 31 |
| 18. "Cupid" | 33 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 20 | 55--97 | 24 |
| 19. “Wings of the Soviets” | 32 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 70--120 | 21 |