In the first South Ural derby of the season, Traktor beat Metallurg

Two teams representing the Chelyabinsk region played each other for the first time only at the end of the second month of the KHL championship. The victory on their ice was taken by Traktor, for which two points were more important. The hosts responded to the puck from Magnitogorsk Alexander Petunin with goals from Vladimir Tkachev and Vitaly Kravtsov.

The teams approached the first head-to-head meeting of the season in diametrically opposite moods: “Metallurg” with a three-match winning streak and first place in the standings, and “Traktor” after two defeats, a coach’s resignation and with numerous game problems. Magnitogorsk even has the luxury of a starting six (five outfield players and a goalkeeper), made up entirely of their own students. “Traktor” is again forced to shuffle the lineup in search of the right combinations.

The Chelyabinsk team’s place in goal was entrusted to Sergei Mylnikov after several unimpressive matches of Zach Fucale. Forward Danil Yurtaikin and defender Madison Baoui were removed from the squad. Alexander Shepelev returned to the third pair of defense, and captain Sergei Kalinin to the right edge of the third line of attack. Maxim Marushev moved up to the second top five, and Artem Udot to the fourth. Alexander Rykov is announced as the 13th striker.

It is difficult to give an advantage to one of the teams at the beginning of the meeting. The opponents did not sit back on the defensive, but they could not open the scoring. Artyom Udot had the most dangerous moment, but goalkeeper Ilya Nabokov saved the guests.

In the second period, Magnitogorsk began to increase their gaming advantage and eventually opened the scoring. Alexander Petunin hit Sergei Mylnikov on the power play. Traktor also had plenty of chances, but Ilya Nabokov played with inspiration, sometimes pulling out incredible goals.

In the third period, Traktor managed to pull itself together and win back the minimal gap. Vladimir Tkachev made up for previous mistakes and corrected the puck into the goal after Ilya Karpukhin’s sweeping throw from the blue line. Then there was a canceled goal by Alexander Sharov. Traktor didn’t stop there. Egor Popov made a perfect long-range pass to Vitaly Kravtsov, putting him one on one with Nabokov. The Chelyabinsk striker won this duel and brought victory to his team.

2:1 is not a very bright, but very necessary victory for Traktor. In this meeting, in addition to the goal scorers, the goalkeepers of both teams need to be mentioned. Ilya Nabokov and Sergei Mylnikov had an excellent meeting and did their best. After the derby, the Chelyabinsk team will have a couple of days of rest and will continue their home series with a match against Neftekhimik on October 23. Metallurg returns to Magnitogorsk, where it will host Avangard on October 22.