Today was the pre-semifinals matchups, with Mountfield HK and Team Canada going at it in the early game, and the host HC Davos taking on Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.
Mountfield HK 1 - Team Canada 5
Play was fairly even to start the game, with both teams getting a few shots apiece. That changed three-an-a-half minutes in, when Martin Planek went off for holding. Team Canada capitalized on the man advantage, as Andrew Ebbett buried a rebound to make it 1-0 for the Canadians. James Sheppard had a chance to make it 2-0 minutes later, but could not shake his defender, and ended up shooting the puck wide of the net. Canada continued on the attack, with their best chance being Mason Raymond trying to so short side on Ondrej Kacetl, he was stopped. Mountfield HK found themselves back on the penalty kill, as Bedrich Kohler went to the box for hooking. The Czech club managed to kill off that penalty, but found themselves back down a man two minutes later, when Travis Ehrhardt was called for interference. Mountfield once again managed to kill off the penalty. Despite not scoring, Canada would keep up the pressure. Rudlof Cerveny got Mountfield HK's best chance late in the period, slapping one from the top of the faceoff circle. Zach Fucale would stop the shot, marking his first save in 11-minutes of play. Team Canada got a chance soon after, but Cory Emmerton could not finish the tic-tac-toe play, getting stopped by Kacetl. Lukas Lhotak got called for hooking late in the period, putting Team Canada on their fourth powerplay. The Canadians didn't waste this opportunity, as Maxim Noreau snapped one past Kacetl. Team Canada ended the first period up 2-0.
Team Canada had the better share of puck possession to start the second, getting a few chances during that time. It wasn't until seven minutes in when Mountfield registered their first shot of the period, courtesy of Thibaut Monnet. The Czech club looked to have woke up after that, as they started to get the puck on net. Cerveny might think otherwise though, first fanning on a backdoor pass, then getting cut by the stick of David McIntyre after the two got tangled. Mountfield tried to argue for a call, but to no avail. The Czech club did get their powerplay midway through the period, when Jacob Micflikier was called for holding. The man disadvantage didn't hinder Team Canada much, as they managed to get a two-on-one rush. Kacetl shut it down though, sliding over to stop Emmerton's shot. Mountfield's powerplay lasted just over a minute, as they were called for too many men, making it four-on-four for a bit. Team Canada pounced on the opened up ice, as Brandon Gormley whacked home a loose puck to make it 3-0. Mountfield's woes continued when Ehrhardt went off again, this time for holding. Luckily for Mountfield, Team Canada failed to do much on the powerplay (which included a short time on a two man advantage). Team Canada would soon find themselves in penalty trouble, starting with Sheppard getting caught for holding. Just before Sheppard returned to play, Gormley would be sent off for tripping, extending Mountfield HK's time on the man advantage. This was what the Czech club needed, as Jaroslav Bednar one-timed a shot over Fucale's shoulder and into the net.
Team Canada got a powerplay a minute into the third, when Stanislav Dietz was called for holding. The powerplay was helpful for extending their lead, as Mason Raymond wasted no time burying a rebound. Canada's attack continued, and moments later, Francis Pare outmuscled a defender in the slot and put home a loose puck to make it 5-1. Penalties started to be called soon after, starting with Nick Spaling getting sent off for interference. Mountfield HK managed to get one good chance on that powerplay, as Michal Dragoun tip a shot past Fucale, but it rang off the post. Blaz Gregorc was called for tripping, negating the last 42 seconds of Mountfield's powerplay. Team Canada didn't do much on the four-on-four or their powerplay, and would end up getting called for another penalty (Micflikier was called for holding). Mountfield could not muster much on that powerplay. Team Canada spent most of the later half of the third on the offense, partly thanks to two powerplays. Despite this, it was Mountfield who got the best chance at finding the back of the net. Bednar would be sprung on a breakaway, but Fucale kept with him, turning aside his backhand attempt. Mountfield finished the game on the powerplay, as Team Canada took a too many men call late in the period. The Czech squad didn't get much going as time ticked down to zero. Team Canada's 5-1 win eliminates Mountfield HK, and sets them up for a semi-final match against Dinamo Minsk.
Players of the game: Jaroslav Bednar (MHK), Andrew Ebbett (CAN)
The 40-year old Bednar was the only one who found the back of the net for Mountfield. Ebbett's goal opened the scoring for Canada, and his play to keep the puck in the zone was key in setting up Raymond's goal. Ebbett finished with a goal and two assists.
HC Davos 3 - Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1
Just 19 seconds into the game, Yekaterinburg found themselves on the powerplay, as Sven Jung was called for hooking. The Russian clubs best chance came after the powerplay though, as Alexander Torchenyuk and Dmitry Monya worked a give-and-go. Torchenyuk's shot was ultimately stopped by Gilles Senn. HC Davos would get a powerplay opportunity minutes later, when Yegor Zhuravlyov was called for holding Dino Weiser, taking away a prime scoring chance. HC Davos used the powerplay (and their home rink) to their advantage, as Drew Shore's dump in bounce off the boards and right to a streaking Tuomo Ruutu in the slot. Ruutu made no mistake, putting the puck into the net to make it 1-0. Yekaterinburg went on the attack afterwards, but could not find a way to tie the game. HC Davos managed to turn the tables, and it paid off, as Drew Shore's wraparound attempt beat Ivan Lisutin. It didn't get much better for Yekaterinburg. Just seconds later, Torchenyuk was called for slashing. HC Davos wasn't as successful this time, only managing a couple of shots on the man advantage. Yekaterinburg got another chance on the powerplay later in the period, as Enxo Corvi was called for tripping. While the powerplay wasn't successful for the Russian squad, they would find their way onto the scoreboard. Anatoli Goleshev streaked down the right wing, and released a shot that beat Senn high glove, giving Yekaterinburg their first goal. The first period wound down, and HC Davos headed into the intermission up 2-1.
Both teams were sloppy to start the second, with missed passes and neither team able to hold onto the puck for long. Petr Koukal had Yekaterinburg's best chance in the early going, sending a one-timer from the slot just wide of the post. The Russian club would start to push play, looking for a way to tie the game. HC Davos did get their time in the offensive zone, but could not get much in the way of chances. Midway through the period, the Swiss club caught a break, as Nikita Shchitov was penalized for tripping. HC Davos' powerplay was ineffective, as Yekaterinburg hung on to kill the penalty. Seconds later, Yekaterinburg would be the ones going on the man advantage, thanks Jung getting called for holding. A hit from behind by Pavel Turbin cancelled Yekaterinburg's powerplay prematurely, and play went to four-on-four for 45 seconds. Yekaterinburg had the best chance, with Koukal unable to get a stick on Artyom Gareyev's pass. HC Davos went on a shortened powerplay afterwards, and got a couple of opportunities to add to their lead. First was a pass from Shore to Adam Hall, who could not handle the bouncing puck. Moments later, it was Shore streaking in with the puck, but he was stopped trying to go short side on Lisutin. HC Davos had one more chance before the period ended, as a partial breakaway led to Dino Wieser having to shield the puck from a defender and one-hand a drop pass to a trailing Gregory Sciaroni. Sciaroni's shot ended up wide of the net. The line of Alexei Mikhnov, Koukal, and Gareyev were buzzing for Yekaterinburg in the last few minutes, getting multiple chances to tie the game, but could not find the back of the net. Rok Ticar had a last-second rush, but Senn was in position to stop him. The second period closed with HC Davos still up 2-1.
HC Davos got an early powerplay in the third when Koukal was called for hooking. Davos was once again unable to get anything going while up a man. The scoreline would finally change, thanks to Marc Wieser burying a pass from Ruutu. Now down by two, Yekaterinburg tried to put on the pressure. They did catch a break when Noah Schneeberger was called for slashing. Their powerplay was once again futile though, unable to muster any offense. HC Davos went back on the powerplay seconds later, thanks to Denis Mingaleyev going off for holding. Once again, nothing came out of Davos' powerplay. Yekaterinburg started to play desperate, trying to find a way to get back into this game. Senn was up to the challenge though, as he was determined to stop anything Yekaterinburg shot at him. A hooking penalty by Koukal in the last minute all but sealed Yekaterinburg's fate. HC Davos killed off the remaining time until the buzzer went. HC Davos beats Atvomobilist Yekaterinburg 3-1, eliminating the Russian club and setting up an all-Swiss semi-final matchup with HC Lugano.
Players of the game: Gilles Senn (HCD), Anatoli Goleshev (AVT)
There are a few Davos players that could get it, but while the team was flat at times, Senn was consistent. The Swiss goaltender stopped 31 of 32 shots in the winning effort. Goleshev was the only Yekaterinburg player to find the back of the net. He had a few more chances during the game, but was unable to convert on them.
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