Gatiyatulin gets revenge on Kvartalnov in spades: Ak Bars takes four straight wins over Dinamo Minsk
Legionnaires fought, referees disallowed goals, and Barabanov scored three points — the fourth game in Kazan was fiery
Ak Bars defeated Dinamo Minsk 3:2 in the fourth game of the KHL playoff series. The meeting in Kazan was intense: there were fights, disallowed goals, and drama until the last second. But Anvar Gatiyatulin's team held on and clawed their way to a Gagarin Cup semifinal berth. Realnoe Vremya reports on how Ak Bars managed to beat Dmitry Kvartalnov's Dinamo for the fourth straight time.
The psychological nuance
The third game of the series against Ak Bars nearly proved fatal for Dmitry Kvartalnov. By the next day, rumors emerged that Minsk had fired their head coach. The main reason cited for such a drastic decision was not the result itself (a crushing 0:4 defeat), but complaints from the team's legionnaires. Sources reported that foreign players went to management to express dissatisfaction with the coach's post-game comments. After the third game, Kvartalnov called his players spineless and their play shameful.
Management was in no hurry to issue denials, and the coach himself was unreachable. However, Dinamo GM Oleg Antonenko then vaguely hinted that the coach remained in place. Kvartalnov was more direct, stating he would be on Minsk's bench that evening. Ultimately, the conflict was defused, but how this would affect the Belarusian team's performance remained to be seen on the ice.
Despite the complaints, all of Dinamo's legionnaires remained in the lineup for the fourth game. Only two changes stood out. First, starting goaltender was not Zach Fucale, but Vasily Demchenko. Second, Alex Limoges was removed from the top forward line and moved to the second line with Vadim Shipachyov. And 20-year-old Yegor Borikov took the ice with Vitaly Pinchuk and Sam Anas.
Ak Bars made minimal changes. Instead of Maxim Arefyev, who played well in the previous game, Timur Bilyalov was in goal. The netminder maintains his number one status on the Kazan team even with his backup's shutout. A brilliant psychological nuance from the coaching staff, capable of boosting the goalie's morale.
Referees disallowed goals for Dinamo, but Ak Bars won deservedly
The start of the game was truly combative. In the first five minutes, Minsk instigated three fights, turning every stoppage into a scrum. Early on, five-minute penalties were handed out to Nicolas Meloche and Xavier Ouellet for the visitors, and Mikhail Fisenko and Nikita Dynyak for the “Bars.” Nikita Lyamkin, Artyom Galimov, Josh Brook, and Darren Dietz were also penalized. As a result, by the sixth minute, each team had 16 penalty minutes.
Kazan answered Dinamo's roughness with a goal. Ak Bars scored just past the midway point of the first period. Lyamkin played a give-and-go with Ilya Safonov and put the puck in the net on his second attempt — 1:0. Nikita extended his playoff point streak to eight consecutive games. After that, there was more hockey on the ice, and Dinamo players desperately tried to come back, but the score remained unchanged until the break.
In the second period, both teams continued taking penalties. First, the hosts failed to capitalize on the power play, then the visitors. However, closer to the middle of the game, the “Bars” finally converted a man advantage. Lyamkin shot from the blue line, and Dmitry Yashkin tipped the puck into the net — 2:0.
Then, referees issued a major penalty to Artyom Galimov. Dinamo had a four-minute power play. And the visitors scored. However, Pinchuk kicked the puck into the net — the goal was disallowed. He scored again at even strength, but Kazan successfully challenged the play. Pinchuk was offside, and the score remained 2:0.
The third period began with a three-man advantage for the “Bars.” At the end of the previous period, Alexander Barabanov scored for Kazan, essentially putting the game and the series out of reach. Coming back from 3:0 against a confident Ak Bars playing with playoff swagger is nearly impossible. But Minsk didn't give up, throwing everything they had at the impossible. With a couple of minutes left in regulation, the visitors got one back — Vadim Shipachyov scored, 3:1. And with 45 seconds left on the clock, Daniil Lipsky beat Bilyalov — 3:2. There was no time left to tie it — 4:0 in the series; Ak Bars moves on.
Gatiyatulin gets revenge for the regular season
Ak Bars secured an early trip to the Gagarin Cup semifinals, beating Dinamo Minsk four straight times. Remarkably, Kazan needed only four games in the series against a team they hadn't beaten in two regular seasons. Gatiyatulin proved smarter (or craftier) than Kvartalnov and got payback for those losses.
The turning point of the series was the second game in Minsk. Dinamo showed character, coming back late in a tough game. However, with seconds left on the clock, Ak Bars scored and then won in overtime. Kvartalnov himself spoke of a certain psychological breakdown after that meeting. The coach became a hostage to his team's mental fragility. And Minsk was expected to do much more in the playoffs than just win one round.
Gatiyatulin spoke most often about concentration on Wednesday. Summing up what we've seen in the series against Traktor and Dinamo, that word likely encapsulates the strength of the Kazan team. In the current playoffs, Ak Bars is holding together as a cohesive, monolithic team capable of beating any opponent.
— I've stated the working principle many times — concentration is important; we work on it. Concentration means going out for every shift focused, not skating with your tongue hanging out when you have the puck, but playing those shifts properly. And concentration is also crucial in moments when you concede a goal with a minute left in the third period, and the guys on the bench aren't pointing fingers or assigning blame. Instead, they go out for the next shift, move the puck into the opponent's zone, and attack. We're working in that direction, and a lot is coming together. So I think it's all well-deserved, — said Gatiyatulin.
Ak Bars — Dinamo Mn — 3:2 (1:0, 2:0, 0:2)
Goals:
1:0 — Lyamkin (Safonov, Barabanov, 12:35);
2:0 — Yashkin (Lyamkin, Barabanov, 29:33, 5x4);
3:0 — Barabanov (Semyonov, Miller, 39:01, 4x4);
3:1 — Shipachyov (Limoges, Pinchuk, 57:18, 6x5);
3:2 — Lipsky (Limoges, Pinchuk, 59:15, 6x5).
Series score — 4:0.
Next, Ak Bars faces a ten-day break. Gatiyatulin's team does not yet know their semifinal opponent. However, it is most likely that Kazan will face Magnitogorsk Metallurg for the right to play in the Gagarin Cup final. So far, the Urals team has lost one game out of four to Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo, but their opponent's chances are slim.