Nikolai Goldobin’s hat-trick helped Metallurg win in Kazan

The day before, on December 28, Magnitogorsk played an away match against Ak Bars. The fate of the meeting decided the third period.

The last frontier in the game against Kazan’s Ak Bars was entrusted by the Metallurg coaching staff to defend Vasily Koshechkin. Anatoly Nikontsev, Mikhail Fisenko and Egor Korobkin also got into the application. Andrey Chibisov, Arkhip Nekolenko and Pavel Akolzin did not take part in the meeting.

The first period brought no goals. But there was a lot of power struggle. As a result of one of the tricks, Metallurg lost one defender: after the hit, Grigory Dronov went to the locker room and did not go out on the ice again. The remaining meeting Magnitka was forced to play five defense players.

The score was 0-0 on the scoreboard until the 25th minute. It was at this mark that Metallurg’s outfield players finally managed to break through Timur Bilyalov, the Kazan goalkeeper. The guests came forward through the efforts of Nikolai Goldobin. However, the response of the owners of the ice came pretty quickly. Three minutes later, Alexander Radulov equalized the score.

In the 32nd minute, Ak Bars got sent off, and Metallurg got an excellent opportunity to take the lead again, having played an extra one. And the wards of Ilya Vorobyov did not miss the chance – Yegor Yakovlev’s shot turned out to be an assist. But at the end of the playing segment, Kazan were able to recoup again.

The teams entered the third period with an equal score of 2:2. However, this did not last long. At the very beginning, the hosts were again forced to play “4 on 5” again after the removal of Vadim Shipachyov. Magnitogorsk took full advantage of such a gift from an opponent. The third goal for Metallurg was scored by Nikolai Goldobin. At that time it was his double.

From the middle of the period, Kazan staged an assault on the guests. Most of the time the teams spent in the Magnitogorsk zone. Vasily Koshechkin had plenty of work to do. But neither he nor Metallurg’s defense faltered under the onslaught of the opponent. And two minutes before the end of regular time, the wards of Ilya Vorobyov were able to catch the Ak Bars players on a mistake. Philippe Maillet, Brendan Leipsik and Nikolai Goldobin rolled into the hosts’ zone against one Kazan player. The attack ended with a goal after a throw by Nikolai Goldobin. It was his hat-trick.

The result of the meeting is 4:2 in favor of Metallurg. Note that for Vasily Koshechkin this game was the 750th in the KHL. The victory allowed Magnitka to minimize the gap with the first place in the standings. Now the team is only one point behind Avtomobilist.

Magnitogorsk will play the next match in Chelyabinsk against Traktor. It will take place on December 30th. This will be the last game of the year.