Translated material
Derby since Soviet times
Kazan lost on their ice to their rivals from Ufa
The third match of the semi-final series between Kazan's Ak Bars and Ufa's Salavat Yulaev in the capital of Tatarstan turned out to be the most interesting. The rivals abandoned caution and decided to please the spectators with open hockey. The hosts lost 3:4 in an interesting battle and are now losing in the best-of-three series - 1:2.There was no sign that the rivals would reveal themselves. Ak Bars veteran Oleg Petrov said the day before that the closed style is logical in the semifinals: “The price of a mistake is too high. It is clear that the team is not taking risks. Here, everything can be decided by one puck.” Almost all the hockey players of the Ufa team agreed with him.
But when both clubs have demonstrated attacking hockey all season, it is very difficult to change specifically for the semifinals. It just doesn't happen that way. There were enough guys for a couple of matches, but by the third game nature took its toll. Still, games between the Tatar and Bashkir clubs are something more than just hockey. Imagine, the teams played 128 games in the Russian championships. And before this match the figures were equal. Each club had 54 victories, plus 20 times the winner was not determined.
“The players are constantly reminded that they must defeat Salavat Yulaev,” admit the Kazan club. “This has been going on since Soviet times.” Needless to say, in Bashkiria they give almost identical orders.
No one has ever scored four goals in one period in this series. The goalkeepers let us down a little, there's nothing you can do about it. Alexander Eremenko, who was a Kazan player last season, can definitely take on the second goal. The Ak Bars hockey player's throw was not terrible, but the goalkeeper was unable to find his bearings and lost concentration.
Robert Ash can be questioned for the first goal that Salavat scored on the power play. Alexey Shkotov's throw was also of average difficulty, but either the legionnaire chose the wrong position, or did not expect that the attacker would not throw from the most advantageous position.
Let us note that referee Sergei Kulakov from Tver caused a little confusion in the actions of the players. There can be no complaints against him regarding the interpretation of moments; he recorded everything that happened. But the teams have gotten used to something completely different over the course of two matches. They were forgiven for little things, only being sent off for the most obvious fouls. It is clear that the Tatar spectators lost their temper. In the first minutes, Kulakov sent off the hosts four times and the Ufa team only once. Of course, a collective insult to the referee immediately began, small objects flew onto the ice, but what to take from the fans. From the point of view of observing the letter of the law, Kulakov was impeccable.
After the break, nothing changed, although the coaches had the opportunity to calm the hockey players. Michal Mikeska, out of excitement, throws the puck out of bounds, and immediately Raymond Giroud hits the crossbar from a killer position. Oleg Petrov immediately makes a mistake, catching his opponent, and “Salavat” already has a 100% chance to score, which the goalkeeper neutralizes.
By the middle of the second period, the teams calmed down and realized that the closer to the end of the game, the more difficult it would be to win back. But it turned out that this was just a respite. The first to prove himself was Igor Volkov, the visiting striker. Having received a clumsy pass over the boards from Oleg Tverdovsky, he beat the opponent and the goalkeeper and brought Salavat ahead.
The Kazan team rushed forward again, but they lacked composure and discipline to even the score right away. Alexander Stepanov received a penalty for delay in a simple situation, and then Grigory Panin played roughly, sent off for four minutes for an injury to Michal Mikeska. And even though Sergei Mikhalev’s team’s team is not the most well-developed component, not to score in such a situation would be a real crime. The score became 4:2 in favor of the winner of the regular season.
Is it possible to win back two goals in one period? More precisely, in 19 minutes, since Panin’s penalty was not over yet, despite the goal. Very difficult. Ak Bars missed their first chance when visiting striker Alexander Perezhogin received a two-minute penalty. Before the semi-finals, the opponents of the Kazan club knew that as soon as their opponents gained a numerical advantage, a goal would most often follow. And usually Sergei Zinoviev’s team celebrates success. But the trio, where he performs with Alexei Morozov and Danis Zaripov, seems to be completely tired.
Ten minutes passed, but the hosts could not do anything. First of all, with goalkeeper Alexander Eremenko, who has reached the limit of errors. And the Salavat defense players decided to pull themselves together and went about their direct duties, crossing the center line of the site only when strictly necessary.
And everything became clear five minutes before the end of the third period, when Grigory Panin, a defender of the Kazan team, was sent off. Raymond Giroud made it 3-4 too late. There is absolutely no time left to recoup. The fourth game of the series will take place on Friday.