On the eve of the fourth match between Traktor and Metallurg, there were no signs of defeat.
In previous meetings, the teams showed that they deserve each other, and no one has a clear advantage.
In only one game out of three, the fans witnessed a victory with a difference of two goals.
In Magnitogorsk, the guests unexpectedly turned out to be stronger - 6:4.
In others, the wards of Ilya Vorobyov took over - 3:2, 2:1.
On Saturday, the team of Anvar Gatiyatulin was considered the favorite.
With the support of the home stands, he had a great opportunity to even the score in the series.
In addition, the leader of the hosts, Lukasz Sedlak, returned to action, who was out of action after a hard power reception from the captain of Salavat Yulaev, Grigory Panin.
It seemed that with the Czech, the Traktor attack should sparkle.
However, the striker not only failed to cope with his immediate duties, but also became one of the main anti-heroes.
Instead of scoring goals, he made blunders that ended in goals.
As a result, the forward showed one of the worst utility rates (-3).
Amazing statistics: in the first period, Magnitogorsk scored three times, and in all three cases Sedlak did not act in the best way.
In the tenth minute, he lost the puck in the neutral zone, and the opponent immediately took advantage of this.
The guests organized a swift counterattack, and Maxim Karpov brought Denis Zernov to the goal with a magnificent pass.
Then Lukash gave an inaccurate pass to a partner and again allowed Metallurg to run ahead.
This time, Nikolai Goldobin from the left circle of the face-off struck a click exactly at the far nine with a rebound from the rack.
Perhaps it is difficult to blame Roman Villa for what happened.
Finally, shortly before the break, Sedlak made an unsuccessful power move and did not have time to return to his zone, and Laipsik, who had previously assisted his partner, scored on his own - 3:0.
It is not surprising that Vorobyov, after the final siren, called the good implementation of moments in the first period one of the main components of success.
“Then the guys blocked everything, and Vasily Koshechkin showed his game.
The guys got decently, but they are heroes, ”the specialist praised the wards.
Such a failure in the debut in Chelyabinsk was clearly not expected.
Moreover, Traktor had the advantage and showed no worse hockey.
In the first period, the team made nine shots against the opponent's seven, and by the end of the match secured an even more confident advantage in this component - 29:19.
But luck completely turned away from the owners.
Several times they hit the bar.
For example, Vitaliy Kravtsov missed a 100% moment when the score was 0:0.
He failed to realize a one-on-one exit.
Hammer forward, and things could have gone differently.
“Maybe we need to stay more focused at the end and on the last passes.
There is no point in blaming bad luck.
Of course, missing six goals is a lot, ”Gatiyatulin complained.
Koshechkin also had a great match, who played to zero, made 24 saves and in the end gave way to Ivan Nalimov on the ice.
For the remaining eight minutes, he also did not miss.
Fully worked bet guests on counterattacks.
Over and over again, they punished their opponents for the slightest mistakes and converted almost all the moments.
Not rescued Chelyabinsk and Will.
He became the protagonist of the previous game, having conceded only once, but on Saturday he did not cope with his task.
It is even surprising that the coaching staff did not change the Czech for Emil Garipov.
“Will played at his level.
There are more errors in the defense affected.
We have time to figure it out and prepare for the next match," Gatiyatulin said after the final siren.
Rough blots the owners really made on a regular basis.
For example, at the start of the second period, they did not figure it out when changing the composition in the minority and missed the fourth goal.
Linus Hultström performed an excellent pass across the entire court, and Karpov again acted as an assistant, bringing Philippe Maillet to the final throw.
Finally, in the final 20 minutes, Traktor finished off Linus Wiedell and Leipsik.
Legionnaires of Metallurg in general had a great match.
So, Leipsik scored a double, scored three points in the "goal + pass" system and with eight goals took the lead in the playoff sniper race.
Maye added the same amount to his asset, who caught up with Nikita Gusev from SKA in the list of top scorers of the tournament.
Both players have 15 points each.
Lipsik and Goldobin are only one behind them.
Also for Metallurg, this victory is the largest in the current season of the Gagarin Cup, while Traktor suffered a crushing defeat for the first time and was on the verge of relegation from the tournament.
In the next match, which will take place on April 11 in Magnitogorsk, Vorobyov's wards have an excellent opportunity to put an end to the confrontation.