Minsk, 14 February (BelTA) – The 4-2 road win for Dinamo Minsk over Vityaz Chekhov on 13 February will surely boost confidence in players as the team is seeking a postseason session in the 5th KHL season.
Dinamo Minsk forward Andrei Stas missed the game due to knee injury he sustained in the match against Team Ukraine at the 2014 Sochi Olympic qualifiers in Vojens, Denmark. Dinamo’s newcomer Kim Hirschovits who joined the team in January 2013 made his debut in Chekhov.
Missing out a golden opportunity to open the score early in the first period in a 5-on-3 action Dinamo Minsk were fast to make up for it just seconds the hosts returned into their full strength. Alexander Kulakov’s shot from the distance hit Alexander Kitarov’s skate and went right onto Dmitry Meleshko’s stick who slammed it home at 5:39.
Dinamo added two more in the second period. While making traffic on the rivals’ crease Teemu Laine got a pass from behind the net and sent the puck home for 2-0 at 34:58. The third puck found the back of the Vityaz net with Dinamo on the man advantage. Geoff Platt collected Janne Niskala’s distant pass to blast it at point-blank range, while Andrei Mikhalyov was making a screen in front of Vityaz goaltender Ivan Lisutin. After a video review that was claimed because of the net moved off its pegs, the goal was allowed to stand.
Vityaz took the initiative in the final stanza, reduced the gap making it one-goal game with just a minute to play. Tension rose even higher after Vityaz Trevor Gillies struck Dinamo captain Jere Karalahti down and hit him to the face. Jere Karalahti did not respond and Trevor Gillies went to the penalty box alone.
Vityaz called for a timeout and replaced its goaltender with an extra attacker in an attempt to tie the game. Despite Chekhov intense pressure on Haugen’s goal, Tim Stapleton’s empty-netter with four seconds to go brought a confident victory and a chance for the postseason to his team.
It was the second meeting between Dinamo Minsk and Vitayz Chekhov this season. The Belarusian team downed Vityaz 3-1 in their first encounter on 17 October 2012.
Dinamo Minsk have two more games to play at home. Minsk hosts Ak Bars Kazan on 15 February and Salavat Yulayev Ufa on 17 February.
With 71 points after 50 games Dinamo is currently 4th in the Tarasov Division, 8th in the West and 15th in the KHL overall table.
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