By Igor Leshin
The Minsk ice hockey team needed victory to reach the play-offs. The first period saw lots of action, although no real chance to score in the first 20 minutes. It ended with a penalty for Dinamo’s Teemu Laine, who was forced to sit out in the next period. Salavat Yulaev took advantage of their numerical supremacy to open the score.
At the end of the second period, Salavat Yulaev’s Stefan Ruzicka and Andrey Konev were sent off briefly with penalties, allowing Dinamo to play five against three for 20 seconds. They failed to score however.
In the middle of the third period, Ufa used a numerical advantage for the second time, scoring again. By the end, Dinamo Minsk had equalised, scoring twice within 24 seconds. In both cases, goalkeeper Lars Haugen was replaced with an extra attacker. However, when Haugen was replaced for a third time, the rivals delivered a puck into Dinamo’s empty net.
“I’ve never seen such a match in my coaching career in terms of intensity and drama,” noted Mr. Andrievsky — as quoted on the official site of Dinamo Minsk HC.
Dinamo Minsk now continues in the Cup of Hope — established not long before the end of the current regular championship. It will feature those teams failing to qualify for the Gagarin Cup.
