Galimov's masterpiece and Ak Bars' crazy comeback: Kazan saves themselves in the match against Sibir
The “Bars” were trailing 1-3 but managed to turn the game in their favor!
Ak Bars secured a victory in their first match of the new KHL season. Regulation time and the five-minute overtime period against Sibir ended with a score of 3:3. However, in the shootout, the hosts were stronger (2:0). For details and results of the match, see the material by Realnoe Vremya.
Sibir — kryptonite for Ak Bars at the Tatneft Arena. But Kazan managed to get their first win of the season!
Ak Bars' first match of the new KHL season fell on September 5. Their opponent was the bold Sibir under the guidance of Yaroslav Lyuzenkov. The specialist took over Sibir midway through last season. Under Vadim Yepanchintsev and Vyacheslav Butsayev, Sibir's play and results were on the verge of disaster. The team was heading toward missing the playoffs. However, with Lyuzenkov's arrival, Sibir's hockey gained a certain system, and clear leaders appeared in the lineup, such as Anton Kosolapov and Mikhail Abramov. As a result, the team managed to reach the first round of the Gagarin Cup.
Yaroslav Lyuzenkov's plans for this season are to take a step forward with Sibir. So that not only the club's results but also the play pleases the fans' eyes. Sibir looked good in August during the preseason and did not appear as clear underdogs before the starting whistle in the match against Ak Bars.
The Kazan club has always found it difficult to play against Sibir on home ice. Only last season did Ak Bars manage to break a monstrous losing streak to Sibir at the Tatneft Arena, which had been ongoing since 2020. Sibir in Kazan is always kryptonite for Kazan. Expecting an easy match for Anvar Gatiyatulin's team was naive.
A masterpiece goal by Artem Galimov
Although everything started perfectly for the hosts. In the third minute of the first period, forward Artem Galimov once again created a masterpiece goal. The forward has already developed a tradition — at least once a year, Galimov consistently delights Ak Bars fans with some incredible goals. This season, Artem decided to close the gestalt, apparently, already in September. After a shot-pass from Nikita Lyamkin, Galimov redirected the puck from under his skate and left Sibir goaltender Mikhail Berdin with no chance.
— Nikita threw it in — I deflected it. That's what we planned to do from the start, — Galimov modestly described his goal in a conversation with journalists.
The quick goal should have set the emotional tone for Ak Bars. However, by the middle of the first period, Sibir had seized the initiative. And by the end of the opening twenty minutes, the Siberians were already leading. First, Taylor Beck tied the game on the power play with a sharp wrist shot from the half-zone. And minutes later, Stepan Nikulin with a shot to the top corner put the visitors ahead.
Ak Bars' disastrous second period and Kuznetsov's “bird”
Ak Bars found themselves somewhat knocked down after such a rapid comeback by Sibir. The second period was terrible for Kazan. Illustrative statistics — shots on goal: 3-14 in favor of Sibir.
— We didn't play very well in the first two periods. Due to lack of coordination, unsynchronized actions, and incorrect positioning in our zone, we made mistakes, which the opponent capitalized on, — explained Anvar Gatiyatulin's poor performance of his players in a conversation with a Realnoe Vremya correspondent.
The situation worsened when, at the end of the period, Evgeny Kuznetsov scored Sibir's third goal. Yegor Korshkov made a pass from behind the net to the near post, where the visitors' #92 responded. After the goal, Kuznetsov performed his signature “bird” celebration on the Tatneft Arena ice.
Ivanov's first goal for Ak Bars and Terekhov's “tennis” goal turned the game around
In the third period, Ak Bars truly turned the game around. Breaking away on a fast counterattack, Kazan scored through 18-year-old Alexander Ivanov. The young defenseman did well on the rebound after a shot by Kirill Semyonov. This goal was Ivanov's debut for Ak Bars.
Interestingly, today there was a real boom in goals scored by young talents in the KHL. In the match against Traktor, Lokomotiv forward Matvei Kotkov (born 2008) scored. And in the game against Spartak, 17-year-old Torpedo forward Sergei Skvortsov (born 2009) found the net.
Ivanov's goal certainly lifted the spirits of the Ak Bars players. By the second minute of the third period, the scoreboard at the Tatneft Arena showed 3:3. Semyon Terekhov restored parity in the match. The Ak Bars forward scored his goal in “tennis style.”
— Playing padel with Galimov this summer helped, — Semyon Terekhov joked in the locker room after the match.
Ak Bars made a comeback, culminating in the shootout. Alexander Khmelevsky and Grigory Denisenko confidently converted their attempts, while none of the Sibir players managed to beat Kazan goaltender Maxim Arefyev.
The hosts secured a hard-fought victory, and the emotions from it for the Ak Bars players were at their peak. After the match, Artem Galimov even managed to troll Sibir's bench by performing Kuznetsov's signature “bird.” Sending greetings to the visitors, so to speak.
Next up for Kazan is a home match against Admiral on September 7. The start is at 19:30 Moscow time.
Ak Bars — Sibir — 4:3 SO (1:2, 0:1, 2:0, 0:0, 1:0)
1:0 Galimov (Lyamkin, Semyonov, 02:46)
1:1 Beck (14:43, 5x4)
1:2 Nikulin (Ditz, Abramov, 18:14)
1:3 Kuznetsov (Korshkov, Mishchenko, 35:17)
2:3 Ivanov (Semyonov, Lyamkin, 40:30)
3:3 Terekhov Sem. (Marchenko, Denisenko, 41:08)
4:3 Denisenko (65:00, SO)
Shootout: Nikulin — saved, Khmelevsky — goal, Abramov — saved, Denisenko — goal.
Tatneft Arena, Kazan. 8,393 spectators.
Goaltenders: Arefyev — Berdin.
Referees: Nikolay Akuzovsky, Anton Hoffman, Evgeny Lyubomirov, Nikita Novikov.
Shots: 52-53. Shots on goal: 24-32. Goals: 3-3. Faceoffs: 34-23. Blocked shots: 11-12. Hits: 17-20. Takeaways: 4-6. Giveaways: 17-14. Interceptions: 4-2. Time on attack: 11:11—10:39. Penalties: 8-8.