Metallurg Remembers How to Score. KHL 3×3 Championship Match Review: June 28

KHL.ru provides a summary of the game day in the KHL 3×3 Championship on June 28.

Sibir (Novosibirsk) – Dynamo (Minsk) — 7:3

Sibir and Dynamo had met earlier in this tour. The memory of that encounter wasn`t pleasant for the team from Novosibirsk, as their mathematical chances of reaching the Superfinal were extinguished then. The Minsk team had won that close game (5:4), making them untouchable in terms of points. So, Sibir took to the ice fueled by a desire for revenge, and more…

Sibir immediately asserted their claim for victory. By the fifth minute, they led 3:0, and finished the first period with a 4:1 advantage. Stepan Zvyagin attempted to spark his Dynamo team in the second frame, scoring twice just seven seconds apart, but Dynamo simply couldn`t find its rhythm.

Their leaders struggled. Even Vitaly Pinchuk, who notched a poker in the previous game against Sibir, failed to register a single point this time. And the efforts of Zvyagin alone, who ultimately secured a hat-trick, proved insufficient.

Sibir (Novosibirsk) – Metallurg (Magnitogorsk) – 9:2

Sibir seemed completely absorbed in the joy of playing hockey. So much so that a match, whose primary intrigue revolved around the scoring achievements of Sergey Shmelev and Pavel Varfolomeev, ended in a sensation. Sibir, having missed out on the Superfinal, left no stone unturned in their demolition of one of the season`s leaders.

Metallurg, in part, paid the price for their complacency. Despite having excellent scoring chances in the first period, their players were undone by their desire for overly fancy plays, which resulted in productive counter-attacks for Sibir.

Stepan Sannikov`s goal late in the first period was likely the decisive moment. If Metallurg had scored to make it 1:2, the game`s direction might have changed. Instead, the Novosibirskin team gained a boost of confidence, which they amplified with two more goals in the second period. The third period then turned into a rout for Metallurg.

Surprisingly, the only Sibir player to register more than two points despite this scoreline was Stepan Sannikov, who had two goals and one assist.

Varfolomeev and Shmelev did score their goals, but it offered little solace to Metallurg. They had never conceded nine goals in a single match before.

And Sibir captain Sergey Gritsenko essentially repeated the words previously spoken by Gleb Zyryanov: “We don`t have the weight of responsibility, we play relaxed, enjoying the hockey.” Following this performance, Sibir, who had lost three previous games in this tour, unexpectedly entered the ranks of contenders for the Supergame.

Salavat Yulaev (Ufa) – Dynamo (Minsk) – 4:3

The captains opened the scoring in this match. Nikita Shchitov put Salavat ahead midway through the first period, and Maxim Slysh tied it at the end of the frame. Slysh could have scored again later but missed the top corner, which had been left open by Ufa goalie Yuri Sirotkin, late in the second period.

Dynamo`s scoring throughout this tour has generally been weak. Only once out of four matches have they scored more than three goals – in that crucial game against Sibir (5:4). That victory remains the only one for the Minsk team in this tour.

Seeing that their skaters were struggling offensively, Dynamo decided to involve their goaltender in the process. In their downtime between stopping pucks, they`ve recently been actively trying to initiate attacks with their sticks.

The Minsk team came close to ending their losing streak. Towards the end of the second period, Daniil Lipsky reduced their deficit, and at the start of the third, Stepan Zvyagin tied the score. Dynamo increased their movement and activity, but for the most part, they still played disjointed, which Sergey Kuznetsov described rather bluntly after the game.

The winning goal came from Salavat`s top scorer, Ildus Suleymanov, who is closing in on 80 points and 50 goals for the season.

Salavat Yulaev (Ufa) – Metallurg (Magnitogorsk) — 3:5

Evgeny Timkin was yelling during the first intermission. Metallurg`s head coach had reason to explode. The season`s most productive team hadn`t scored for two full periods (starting from the third period against Sibir).

Salavat Yulaev led 2:0 at that point, and looked to be giving their opponent few opportunities. But, as it turned out (or rather, was confirmed once again), the more concise, shorter, and louder the word, the faster it penetrates the brain!

Timkin, it seems, is a persuasive orator. Metallurg`s transformation in the second period was dramatic. This was especially true for Pavel Varfolomeev, who started moving completely differently.

As a reward for his effort, the league`s leading scorer quickly got a chance to take a penalty shot, which he converted. Two minutes later, Sergey Shmelev tied the game with an assist from Varfolomeev.

This moment was arguably the key in the match. Varfolomeev became unstoppable. At the start of the final period, he completed his double with an assist from Shmelev, and finished the game with a hat-trick.

Magnitka`s leaders began this game day tied with 117 points each. After the loss to Dynamo, they were separated by one point – 119/118. But after scoring 4 points (3+1) against Salavat, Varfolomeev pulled ahead: Pavel now has 123 points compared to Sergey`s 120.

Salavat had opportunities to tie the game. But Ildus Suleymanov, the `little prince` of penalty shot mastery – surprisingly! – failed to convert two penalty shots (he did, however, score his 80th point of the season). Nor did Eduard Gimatov`s goal a minute before the end of the third period inspire a heroic comeback for the Ufa team. For the team`s newcomer, this was his first goal in the 3×3 format!

Metallurg, whose goals in this match were scored exclusively by players wearing numbers containing either `6` or `9` (which is `6` upside down), thus guaranteed their participation in the Superfinal.