Dawes lifts Ak Bars past Metallurg

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2:1 (SO) Ak Bars Kazan (0-1, 1-0, 1-1, 0-0, 0-1)

Metallurg’s recent problems — the team is stuck in sixth place in the East and lost three of its previous four games — prompted a significant change. On the morning of this game against table-topping Ak Bars, the club announced the return of Mike Pelino as assistant coach to Ilya Vorobyov. The pair were in tandem when Magnitka last won the Gagarin Cup in 2016, and the prospect of a return to familiar surroundings persuaded Pelino to return to Russia after leaving Lokomotiv at the end of last season.

The news inspired an improved performance from Metallurg. Up against an impressive Ak Bars team, the host battled all the way to take it to a shoot-out. However, Nigel Dawes proved too hot to handle in the extras, scoring with two attempts to give the visitor the verdict. Before that, though, there were at last some encouraging signs for Magnitka.

True, Kazan made the better start and deservedly led at the first intermission on a goal from Dawes. The opening stanza was also marked by a fight between Patrice Cormier and Artyom Minulin. Ak Bars then had a goal disallowed early in the second when Artyom Lukoyanov’s effort was cancelled for offside.

Almost immediately, a home power play saw Sergei Mozyakin tie the game. And after that, Metallurg began to seize the initiative, enjoying the better of the play for much of the second period. Midway through the third, the pressure paid off and Maxim Karpov led a 2-on-2 breakaway. The forward feinted to pass, then beat Timur Bilyalov with a surprise shot to give Magnitka the lead. Had the home power play been more effective, the game might have got away from Ak Bars. But Metallurg failed to convert three chances in the third period, and Mikhail Glukhov’s equalizer sent us to overtime. That could not separate the teams, but Dawes delivered the decisive blow for Ak Bars in the shoot-out.