“Ak Bars” showed who “Admiral” is here
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In the sixth match, the series of the second round of the play-off of the Fonbet Kontinental Hockey League championship between Ak Bars and Admiral ended. Kazan won in Vladivostok with a score of 3:1 and won the series – 4:2. In the Eastern Conference finals, they will compete with Avangard, which eliminated Metallurg from the Gagarin Cup in four games.
The fact that “Admiral” dragged out the series with the best club of the Eastern Conference according to the results of the regular season “Ak Bars” until the sixth match was already unexpected. Vladivostok team proved that they defeated Salavat Yulaev in the first round by no means by chance. And after winning in Kazan with a total score of 1:3, they even got a chance to move the confrontation with the three-time winner of the Gagarin Cup into the seventh game. Still, not only the walls help the Admiral at home, but also the additional advantages associated with the departure of his rivals to the Far East – the change of time zones along with a long flight. It seemed that the sailors could wind away Ak Bars, especially since the meeting at the Fetisov Arena began at ten in the morning Moscow time, which coincides with Kazan time, but it turned out the other way around.
In the first period, the team of Zinetula Bilyaletdinov simply unwound the Admiral. Already in the third minute, Ilya Safonov, thanks to a successful rebound from the board, fell on the hosts’ goalkeeper Nikita Serebryakov and plunged the puck into the net. And soon Nikita Dynyak, with Artem Galimov’s pass, made the score 2:0 in favor of the guests, after which the head coach of Vladivostok Leonid Tambiev even had to take a time-out to bring his wards to their senses. They did not concede more before the break, but this was Serebryakov’s merit. The ratio of shots on target eloquently testified to the overwhelming superiority of the guests in the first 20 minutes – 18:3.
Only in the second period “Admiral” really came to his senses. True, Dynak managed to score the third goal and score a brace. The forward of the fourth line spun defender Colby Williams, who was guarding him, who even lost his stick, and while the Canadian was picking up the projectile, he threw it from an acute angle. Although in that episode Serebryakov, of course, did not help out. To the credit of the sailors, they did not turn off the fight and quickly retaliated one goal after the removal of Stanislav Galiev. Nikolai Chebykin, passing to a penny, successfully hit Ak Bars defender Vasily Tokranov and scored with a rebound from him.
Then there was a segment when the hosts could use a spontaneous majority, after one of the Kazan players was left without a stick. But they survived in the “five by four and a half” format. Toward the end of the second twenty-minute period, the sailors started a brawl, deciding to punish Alexander Radulov, who ran into Serebryakov outside the goal. And when the teams played “four against four”, Ak Bars forward Artem Lukoyanov went to the penalty box. However, the Admiral did not take advantage of this situation.
The second period ended like this – 3:1 in favor of Kazan. Vladivostok residents seemed to have another 20 minutes to extend the series. And they tried to add enthusiasm, but it looks like the gas in their tank has already run out. In addition, the hosts hit their foreheads against the wall, which Bilyaletdinov’s team built in the middle zone. And they were not even allowed to approach the gates for a cannon shot. The Admiral banged its head against these closed gates, but the effect was zero. Ak Bars goalkeeper Timur Bilyalov did not experience any pressure and saved all 11 easy shots. The hosts were not even able to arrange a duty assault in the end, releasing the sixth field player. When they removed the goalkeeper, it ended with the fact that Alexander Gorshkov retired from them. So Kazan quietly closed the series and went to the finals of the Eastern Conference, where they will face off against Avangard.
Note that in the West, one finalist has so far been determined – this is SKA, which dealt with Torpedo in four matches. In another confrontation, CSKA beat Lokomotiv 3:2, and today their sixth meeting will take place in Yaroslavl.
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