The theme to Day 2 was the number 5, as in that's how many goals the winning team scored. It also featured a few hard hits (in both games), a great save (Endras), and Ryan MacMurchy continuing his multi-goal-game streak.
Jokerit Helsinki 3 - Alder Mannheim 5
The game started off with a bit of a scare, as Jesper Jensen hit Mannheim player Martin Buchwieser into the boards. Buchwieser would go off under his own power, and returned to the game later in the period. Despite at one point playing four-on-four, play was slow for a while. Things didn't pick up until midway through the period, when pressure by Mannheim saw them have a couple quality chances, highlighted by two-on-one where Glen Metropolit's shot was stopped. The ensuing faceoff saw Jokerit turn it the other way, as they entered the attacking zone on a three-on-one. After about a hundred or so passes between the two, Juhamatti Aatonen would be stopped, but Peter Regin was right there to put the rebound over a downed Dennis Endras and into the net. Not even 30 seconds later, Jere Sallinen would complete a give-and-go and score, putting the Finnish squad up 2-0. Mannheim would respond two minutes later, as Brett Raedeke found an open Metropolit in the slot, who had no trouble beating Riku Helenius this time. Jokerit tried to regain their two-goal lead, but only ended up getting penalized, as Niko Kapanen was sent to the box for tripping. Mathieu Carle wound up scoring on the man advantage, as he shot was deflected by a Jokerit defender and floated past Helenius. Metropolit had a chance to give Mannheim the lead, but was stopped. At the other end (and with time winding down) Ville Lajunen would find himself with a loose puck and an open net to shoot at, and unfortunately for Jokerit, he would shoot wide. The period ended with both teams tied at two.
It didn't take long for Mannheim to strike in the second. Two minutes into the period, a tic-tac-toe play saw the puck go from behind the net to Ryan MacMurchy in the slot. MacMurchy had no trouble from there, as he scored to give Mannheim their first lead of the game. Mannheim's lead would not last long though. Minutes later, Niklas Hagman tipped a point shot past Endras to tie the game. Jokerit would get a powerplay shortly after, as they looked to regain the lead. While they had a few chances (and even a post), it was not to be. They did sustain the pressure after the powerplay was over, but still could not beat Endras. Mannheim would get a good chance later, as a two-on-one resulted in Brandon Yip sliding the puck past Helenius and the net. Mannheim would get a powerplay late in the period, as Jokerit's Atte Ohtamaa was sent off for tripping. It was just the thing Mannhiem needed, as MacMurchy's one-timer beat Helenius to put Mannheim up 4-3.
Looking for the tying goal once again, Jokerit would get a few chances early on, but could not capitalize on any of them. Jokerit got a golden opportunity on the powerplay. Aaltonen got the puck on a backdoor chance and wasted no time getting the shot off. It wasn't high enough though, as Endras slid his pad over to make the save. Play would shift in Mannheim's favour after the penalty, as they looked to add an insurance marker. Their best chance of that came when a Jokerit defender lost the handled on the puck, resulting in Metropolit getting a breakaway. He could not out-deke Helenius though, and ended up having to take a poor shot from in close. Jokerit was pressuring for a tying goal as the period went on, but they also ran into some icing trouble, as they kept looking for a stretch pass. The Finnish squad would catch a break late in the period, as Mannheim's Kyle Wilson was penalized for tripping. Helenius was pulled for an extra attacker, making it a six-on-four for Jokerit. It was a game of passing for the Finnish team, as they weren't able to get much on net. Kai Hospelt managed to get the puck, deke past a Jokerit defender in the neutral zone, and score on the empty net to seal the game for Mannheim. Jokerit simply ran out of time, as Mannheim redeemed themselves after losing their opening game.
Players of the game: Peter Regin (HEL), Glen Metropolit (MAN)
It was kind of hard to pick a player for Jokerit, so I'm going with Regin. He did open the scoring on a nice play, and was the player they looked to to get the tying goal on the late powerplay. For Alder Mannheim, Metropolit had a good game. The 41-year old scored once and had multiple opportunities to get another.
HC Davos 1 - Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 5
Just like the game before it, this game took a while to start. Yekaterinburg would control play for a few minutes before HC Davos had their turn. Davos would get the first powerplay of the game, as Yekaterinburg's Petr Koukal was sent off for hooking. It yield nothing for the Swiss squad, as their Russian counterparts were able to kill their penalty. Both teams had chances in the middle part of the first, but neither could find the back of the net. Alexei Mikhnov looked to have something, as he danced through a few Davos defenders, but he came up empty in the net. Yekaterinburg would find themselves on the powerplay late in the first, as Davos' Ville Kostinen was called for tripping. Yekaterinburg had a few chances early on in the man advantage, but Leonardo Genoni turned them aside. The Russian club would have the last laugh though, as Mikhnov wasted no time burying a loose puck as Genoni scrambled for position. HC Davos had a late chance to tie the game, but David Moss was stopped by Jakub Kovar.
HC Davos had a prime chance to tie the game 54 seconds into the middle period, as Alexandre Picard was awarded a penalty shot after his leg was hooked from behind on a breakaway. Picard could not convert on the penalty shot though, as he shot it over the net. Yekaterinburg had a chance soon after, but Genoni was there to save the shot. HC Davos found themselves on a three-on-one later on, but the pass would miss its target. Yekaterinburg lost a forward for a little bit, as Kirill Knyazev was checked into the boards by Jan Brejcak. Knyazev did get back to the bench by himself and didn't miss much time. A counterattack moments later by Yekaterinburg midway though the period proved to be successful, as the two-on-one saw Golyshev finish off a pass by Koukal to put the Russian team up by two. Koukal had a chance of his own seconds later, but could not convert on it. HC Davos would collect the puck from there and turn it up ice. Samuel Walser's shot was stopped by Kovar, but Setoguchi was right there to whack home the rebound, putting the host team on the board. HC Davos would get a powerplay soon after, as Yekaterinburg was assessed a team penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Swiss club had a few chances on the man-advantaged, but whiffed on them. Seconds after serving the penalty, Goleshev would step out of the box and work a give-and-go with Sergey Yemelin, who scored to extend Yekaterinburg's lead. Goleshov soon got a chance to score his second of the night, but Genoni stopped him. HC Davos' play would drop, as they could not connect on much. Yekaterinburg was in control most of the way, as they had the majority of chances. One of them came late in the period off a draw, as Nikolai Timashov's point shot was deflected by Andrei Alexeyev and bounced past Genoni and into the net. Yekaterinburg ended the period up 4-1 on the host club.
The third period started slow, as both teams had trouble doing anything offensively once they entered the attacking zone. HC Davos caught a break five minutes in, as Golyshev was penalized for a delay of game. The Russian coaches argued the puck went off the glass, but their argument fell on deaf ears. Davos couldn't set anything up on the man advantage, as Yekaterinburg had no problem killing off the penalty. Yekaterinbrug had an excellent chance, as Artyom Gareyev danced between two defenders and drop-passed to a streaking Alexander Torchenyuk. Luckily for Davos, a defender was able to poke the puck away before Torchenyuk had a chance to shoot. Mikhnov would get his second of the game midway through the period, as he buried his own rebound. HC Davos had a hard time getting anything going, as Yekaterinburg did well in limiting their chances. David Moss did get a couple of chances for the Swiss club, but Kovar was there to keep him from scoring. Davos did pick it up in the last six minutes, as they continued to pressure for a second goal. All that happened though was them running into penalty trouble. Beat Forster's trip was followed a minute later by Walser's hook. Yekaterinburg went for the goal differential, as they pulled Kovar to make it 6-on-3. It almost backfired, as Davos had a couple chances at the empty net. Kovar would be placed back in net before the penalties ended. Yekaterinburg couldn't capitalized on the powerplay, but it didn't matter in the end, as they won the game 5-1.
Players of the game: Alexei Mikhnov (AVT), Devin Setoguchi (HCD)
Mikhnov was great for the Russian squad. He scored twice, added an assist, and was involved in a few other chances. Hard to pick a Davos player when non really stood out. Setoguchi gets the nod as he managed to score the only goal for the Swiss club.
No comments:
Post a Comment