MINSK, 8 February (BelTA) – With the Gagarin Cup playoff spot secured on Sunday against Ugra, Dinamo Minsk continued rolling with another shootout win against the visiting Vityaz, 4-3, on 7 February.
Dinamo found the net midway through the opening period capitalizing on a power play opportunity. Alexander Kulakov was the one to put his team on the scoreboard. Then, in the last minute of the session, another power play saw Rob Klinkhammer extend the lead, with Kulakov assisting on his success.
A five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct penalty on Evgeny Lisovets for tripping gave the guests a chance to narrow the gap. Miro Aaltonen halved the deficit as that major ticked down. Aaltonen later assisted on Alexei Kopeykin who tied the score in the 32nd minute.
In the 39th minute Ilya Shinkevich helped the Bisons retook the lead, 3-2. A two-minute penalty on Fredrick Pettersson for high sticking late in the second meant Dinamo Minsk were going into the final stanza shorthanded. Vityaz' Roman Horak converted the power play shortly after the restart.
Aaron Palushaj dropped the curtain in the match sending home the winner in the shootout series.
The win against Vityaz took the Bisons' total score to 100 points. Dinamo Minsk is currently 6th in the West. The Belarusians will continue the final home series in the KHL regular season against Lada Togliatti on 14 February.
Photo by Andrei Pokumeiko
