Khabarovsk “Amur” lost in the final match of the regular season, but in overtime

To be honest, the fans, of course, watched the match “Traktor” – “Amur”, but the Khabarovsk residents’ attention was more focused on the battle between Magnitogorsk “Metallurg” and Omsk “Avangard”. It was in Magnitogorsk that it was decided with whom to first round of the playoffs Khabarovsk team will meet. The calendar compilers probably knew something – the intrigue continued until the last day. Metallurg relied on the youth, giving the leaders a rest, and they played. The result of the meeting is 3:1 in favor Magnitogorsk, which means in the first round the Khabarovsk team goes to Magnitogorsk. For me, whether “Avangard” or “Metallurg” – in any case, the Khabarovsk team will have a hard time.

The match in Chelyabinsk, although it gave absolutely nothing to the teams in terms of improving their tournament position, turned out to be fundamental for both hockey squads. “Traktor” still has fresh emotional wounds after double defeat in Khabarovsk“Cupid” after two losses in a row they had to improve their reputation with their fans, and, of course, both teams were solving their secondary problems with an eye to the playoffs. We need to put rested players into combat mode, check the nuances of tactics – a lot is needed, and the last match of the regular season is an excellent opportunity for this.

In the first period, Amur was inferior to the opponent in movement, although both teams had chances to score. Traktor was the first to realize the chance; in the 10th minute, the hosts set up in the visitors’ zone, Ilya Karpukhin shot from the blue line, Igor Bobkov parried, but the puck was picked up by Vladimir Tkachev, sending it into the uncovered top corner. “Amur” failed at the beginning of the second period, although they added some momentum. It took Traktor only 25 seconds to bring the score to a seemingly victorious 3:0. Nikita Soshnikov and Semyon Der-Arguchintsev scored in the 26th minute.

The Amur coaching staff calls a timeout and at the same time requests a video review to see if the goalkeeper is blocked. The result is that the goal was counted, and the Khabarovsk team spent the next two minutes in the minority. They fought back and even tried to threaten Sergei Mylnikov themselves. Then there were several more periods of play in unequal lineups, and in the 38th minute Dmitry Shevchenko won one goal back in the majority.

In the third period, “Amur” finally woke up. Two goals, in the 45th minute from Stanislav Bocharov and in the 50th minute from Ivan Mishchenko, allowed the game to go into overtime. There, a mistake in their own zone cost the Khabarovsk team a victory. Result of the match: 4:3 in favor of Chelyabinsk “Traktor”, which receives two completely unnecessary points, “Amur” earns one completely unnecessary point. The teams’ standings have not changed.

“The opponent actually dominated the whole game and played a lot in attack. We defended staunchly, the goalkeeper kept us constantly in the game. A number of mistakes were made, which the opponent exploited. But I am grateful to the team that they found the strength, character and motivation to try to turn the tide of the match. An unfortunate mistake in overtime led to defeat. A good game, intensity, both teams felt that the playoffs were about to begin. We especially liked the third period from our team, we will need a game like this. Will we play against Metallurg in the first round? In the playoffs there are no weak teams, especially at the top of the table. To be honest, I didn’t guess who we would end up with – Avangard or Metallurg. The matches will be difficult for us, but we will prepare and try to always play only to win. The team must develop character. Many of our guys don’t even know what the playoffs are; it will be a baptism of fire for them. Morale before the playoffs? I won’t hide the fact that the end of the championship was at the limit, even beyond the limit. We won eight out of nine matches and made it into the playoffs. Naturally, emotions are a little lacking, as well as physical strength. But I have faith in my guys that they will pull themselves together and be in full combat readiness. In any case, I hope so,” he said at the post-match press conference. Andrey Martemyanov, head coach of HC Amur».

In its turn Alexey Zavarukhin, head coach of Traktor, was not very pleased with the third period, in which his team lost all the advantage they had gained. According to him, this is “undignified”, and it’s good that we managed to win. This gives the team the necessary emotions for the playoffs.

Well, the regular season is over. “Amur” will finish in eighth place and, therefore, on March 1, will begin a series of playoff games in Magnitogorsk with the local “Metallurg”.

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