The Vaxjo Lakers qualified for the knockout staged of the Champions Hockey League after a 4-3 overtime loss in Minsk against Yunost. Read more in Gamecentre.
The Vaxjo Lakers have qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions Hockey League after a 4-3 overtime loss in Minsk against Yunost. The point means Vaxjo cannot be caught by Mlada Boleslav and are therefore guarenteed to finish at least second in Group L. For the home side, the result means they need just a point from their final two games.
"We didn't use the puck effectively enough tonight. We came up against a very skilled team as we saw in their game a few days ago, and weren't smart enough with the puck," said Vaxjo coach Sam Hallam, who was not too happy despite the fact that his team is now through to the Round of 32. "Then when we did start using it our play got interrupted by the penalties, so our rhythm wasn't there in the game."
A tight opening period saw the home side have arguable the better share of possession, but lacking a cutting edge to make it count. Vaxjo took the lead with just under nine minutes played – a smooth move saw Cory Murphy find Adam Brodecki at the top of the crease and he slid the puck home under Alexander Tryanichev for the 1-0 lead at 8:47. Minsk rallied though, and after someexcellent forechecking in the attacking zone Anton Yeliseyenko had the final shot past Victor Andren to tie the scores at 13:57. That lead though lasted all of two and a bit minutes though, as Pontus Netterberg's deflection off a Cory Murphy shot deceived Tryanichev to have Vaxjo leading after 20 minutes.
If Yunost thought they were unlucky to be a goal down heading in to period two, they didn't let is show as the action resumed. As Vaxjo ran into a bit of penalty trouble, Yunost finally made their advantage count when Daniel Korso latched on to a rebound to score at 28:08. Vaxjo could have been ahead some six minutes later, after Oleg Goroshko's trip on the breakaway warranted a penalty shot for the Lakers, however Joacim Hillding only found Tryanichev's pad. The visitors would later rue that miss – Alexander Kovalev picked up the puck on the attacking bullion, raced into the zone, and beat Brodecki with a super move to put Yunost ahead for the first time at 38:02.
A goal behind going into the final period, Vaxjo finally made use of the home side getting into penalty trouble at the start of the third. Playing two men down, Yunost were unable to contain the Lakers' power play allowing Robert Rosen to score with just 42:01 on the clock. The remainder of the period was tight, both sides with cances but neither able to convert. A penalty on Calle Rosen with 44 seconds to play gave Yunost a final chance to win the game in regulation, but they were unable to make the most of their advantage and the game went to overtime.
With Vaxjo now confirmed in the next round, the onus of the game shifted on Yunost to try and grab the extra point. Helped by a penalty on Josh Hennessy, the home side won the game through Jesse Niinimaki's close-range finish just one second after the minor had expired to claim two points – and move a step closer to the next round.
"I say a big thank you to our fans. They helped us in such a difficult game, and were our ‘six player’ on the ice today," a beaming Mikhail Zaharov, head coach of Yunost, said after the game. "Vajxo have great players with experience in the NHL and KHL. They control the puck very well and do this in a high speed. I asked my team to play with discipline, but the Vaxjo players have shown a high level of hockey. Thanks to my players for this game, they did their job well."