O'Reilly Sets Up Metallurg For Third Win in a Row

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(4-0-2-2)

vs

HC Slovan

Bratislava

(4-2-1-2)

Players You May Recognize

Former Pens:  Miroslav Satan

Recap

After back to back blowout wins, a few of Metallurg Magnitogorsk's players entered this game amongst the KHL league leaders.  Center Cal O'Reilly began the day 3rd in assists, with 7 in 8 games.  Winger Sergei Mozyakin came into this matchup 4th in goals (5), 5th in points (10), and leading the league in game winning goals (3).  Meanwhile, goalie Ari Ahonen was 2nd in goals against average (1.63).

The KHL's website lists him a less intimidating "Shatan"

Ahonen would not get the start though as Georgi Gelashvili was between the pipes against HC Slovan Bratislava.  Slovan entered the game in 4th place in the Western Conference as they continue through their inaugural season in the KHL.  Last year, HC Slovan won the Slovak Championship behind leading point scorer and captain, Miroslav Satan.  Over the summer, they petitioned to join the KHL and were accepted.

Much like the last two wins, Metallurg was off to a quick start on the opening faceoff and would score just a few shifts later.  Defenseman Georgi Misharin pinched into the zone and chipped a puck behind the net to Cal O'Reilly.  O'Reilly quickly fed the puck in front to Enver Lisin who scored from about 3 feet away.  After Metallurg took a 1-0 lead, the teams traded powerplay opportunities and Slovan picked up their pace.  The first would end 1-0 though.

The second period started with more failed powerplay opportunities, first by Metallurg and then by Slovan.  As Slovan's powerplay ended though, Cal O'Reilly made a great diving play at the red line to chip the puck up to Sergei Mozyakin who had just exited the penalty box.  Mozyakin entered the zone on a breakaway and scored on a top shelf wrist shot to make it 2-0 Metallurg.  The second period came to a quiet end with Metallurg holding on to their 2 goal lead.

Slovan finally got on the board 7 minutes into the 3rd period as Miroslav Satan and Libor Gudachek entered the offensive zone 2 on 2.  Satan passed to Gudachek on the right, who beat goalie Gelashvili with a seemingly harmless wrist shot.  The goal sparked Slovan and they tied the game roughly a minute later.  Andrei Stastny got away from Evgeni Malkin on the boards behind the net and deked around defenseman Viktor Antipin in the slot before beating Gelashvili with a nice backhander.

The tie would last 5 minutes before Metallurg took the lead back for good.  As Metallurg worked the perimeter on a delayed penalty, Evgeni Biryukov took a shot from the point and Mikhail Yakubov put a stick on the shot to deflect it into the net.  Slovan pushed for the tying goal in the last minute with their goaltender pulled, but Metallurg held on until the final buzzer.

Starting to like that Steel Fox more than Iceburgh.

Final Score:  Metallurg wins 3-2.  

Metallurg moves to 5-0-2-2 and HC Slovan Bratislava drops to 4-2-1-3.

Player Notes

Things I don't like: Malkin on the ground
after a scrum.

Evgeni Malkin - Malkin had a very quiet game, only recording 2 shots in 22:48 of ice time.  He did go 14 for 24 in the faceoff circle, though he seemed to struggle with big offensive zone faceoffs.  He retained the same linemates from last game (Mozyakin and Platonov) and seems to be developing great chemistry with Mozyakin especially.

Sergei Gonchar - Gonchar was also quiet in this one, only recording 1 shot in 20:56 of ice time.  A big reason both him and Malkin were quiet was because of a great penalty kill effort by Slovan.  Gonchar and Malkin were kept to the perimeter on the powerplay and were pressured immediately before they had the opportunity to create chances.

Cal O'Reilly - O'Reilly added 2 assists to keep him amongst the league leaders and had another great defensive game on the penalty kill and overall.  Through the 5 games I have watched, O'Reilly has been a very solid 2 way center and has shown great vision for where his teammates and/or the puck will end up.

Miroslav Satan - As captain of HC Slovan, Satan led by example and effort in his skating all over the ice.  He was limited to 1 shot in 18:39 of ice time and recorded an assist, but he was easily noticeable because of his presence all over the rink.  He was accountable in the defensive zone and tried to create in the offensive zone, though Metallurg defended him pretty well.  Satan looked far more comfortable with HC Slovan than he ever did in Pittsburgh.

Next Game:  10/1, 9am EST vs CSKA

Links:

onhockey.ru came up big with the live stream again.  It looks like that may be the most dependable site for KHL streams.

Malkin Scores For the Home Fans

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(3-0-2-2)

vs

HC Lev

Praha

(6-1-0-2)

Players You May Recognize

Former Pens: Alexandre Picard, Erik Christensen, Tomas Surovy
Other NHLers: Jiri Hudler, Jakub Voracek, Michael Repik, Jakub Klepis, Marcel Hossa, Jiri Novotny, Lubos Bartecko

Recap

We finally meet a Steel Fox!

Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar made the most of their home debuts as Metallurg Magnitogorsk throttled the Western Conference leader, HC Lev Praha.  Praha came into the game boasting a league-low 12 goals against thanks to goalie Tomas Popperle.  Popperle entered the game leading the league in goals against average (1.22) and shutouts (4) while sitting 3rd in save percentage (.950).

Malkin received opening faceoff duties for the 2nd game in a row, but with new linemates as Sergei Mozyakin and Denis Platonov joined him.  The home crowd erupted the first time Malkin touched the puck and then again 6 minutes into the game when the first goal was announced.  Mozyakin dropped a pass for Malkin, who skated it through the neutral zone before dishing it off to Platonov who gave Metallurg the early 1-0 lead.  The first period would end tied at 1 though as Jakub Klepis, who played 2 seasons with the Washington Capitals, blasted a shot from the point that beat goalie Ari Ahonen high on his glove side.

Unfortunately, the first 3 minutes of the 2nd period are a mystery as the online stream went down during intermission.  When it returned though, former NHL defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky drew a 4 minute powerplay for taking a high stick to the face.  Metallurg capitalized on the double minor twice thanks to the magic of Sergei Gonchar.  For the first powerplay goal, Gonchar sent Evgeni Malkin on a breakaway with a long two line pass.  Malkin was stopped, but the rebound sat uncovered for Mozyakin to score easily.  The second powerplay goal came just a minute later as Gonchar fired a shot from the point and Viktor Antipin scored on the rebound.

Cal O'Reilly..international star.

Less than a minute after that, Metallurg made it 4-1 on an offensive zone faceoff where Dmitri Kazionov positioned himself directly behind center Mikhail Yakubov.  Yakubov won the faceoff straight back and Kazionov fired a quick shot that beat Popperle (think the James Neal faceoff play).  HC Lev immediately called a timeout but could not stop the bleeding as Antipin scored his 2nd powerplay goal of the game, assisted by Justin Hodgman and Cal O'Reilly later in the period.

The powerplay was not done yet though.  Towards the end of the 2nd period, Sergei Mozyakin took a pass down low from Platonov at the point and threw a beautiful saucer pass across the crease to an uncovered Malkin.  Malkin was left with a wide open net as the puck landed perfectly on his stick and he finished it off to score his first goal of the season.  In Geno tradition, he celebrated with a right leg kick and went straight to banging on the glass behind the net.


Aside from some chippy play towards the end of the period, the 3rd went along quietly and Metallurg won their 2nd game in a row behind Malkin's second 3 point game in a row.  It will not be long before he approaches the KHL scoring leaders at this rate due to his assists.

Final Score:  Metallurg wins 6-1.  

Metallurg moves to 4-0-2-2 and HC Lev Praha drops to 6-0-1-3.

Player Notes

Sometimes, you just wanna bang on the glass.

Evgeni Malkin - Geno finally got on the scoreboard with a goal which must be a major relief for him.  He is also quickly approaching the assist leaders in the league as well with 2 more in this game.  Malkin's play looks much more fluid and dynamic.  He still hasn't been able to deke through a defender yet (he tried four times in this game with 1 on 1 situations), but his confidence is quickly building to keep trying new things.  Beware KHL, Malkin is getting his stride back quickly.  The one downside to his game today was that he was only 8 for 21 in the faceoff circle.

Sergei Gonchar - Sarge captained the powerplay to perfection as he earned 2 powerplay assists.  He looked very comfortable passing and shooting from the center of the blue line and is clearly developing chemistry with his defensive partner, Alexey Bondarev.  Most importantly, I did not see a single mishap in his own zone.  No turnovers, misplayed pucks, or getting caught pinching.  This was easily Gonchar's best game early in the season.

Cal O'Reilly - O'Reilly entered this game leading the team in assists and managed to pick up another one in this game.  He gets time on the 2nd powerplay and late in penalty kills and is clearly important to this team. He had an excellent game in the defensive zone, intercepting two passes during the last penalty kill.

Tomas Surovy - Surovy was pretty quiet in this game, but I had to include him since he was one of my favorite Penguins in the "dark years" of the early 2000's.  He had a couple shots and was involved in a scuffle towards the end of the game, but nothing panned out...much like with his career as a Penguin.

Jakub Voracek - Honestly, I did not notice Voracek much aside from a shift or two.  He had 0 shots and was 2 for 5 in 16:34 of ice time.

Erik Christensen - Christensen seemed like one of the favorites for the announcers to talk about since I recognized his name at least 10 times.  He was on the first powerplay, but unfortunately for him, this game did not go to a shootout so his real specialty was wasted.  Christensen generally looked good though, the open ice seemed to benefit him more than most players as he skated around.  He finished with 4 shots in 16:30 of ice time and was 5 for 11 in faceoffs.

Next Game:  9/29, 7am EST vs. Slovan.

Links:

Site I used to watch the game this time: onhockey.ru.  Add that to stopstream.tv and livetv.ru as the links I have been using.  My next post will be a long set of links that will be useful during this lockout to watch hockey and learn other leagues.

Hockey Kicks Cancer Schedule

Even though kickball signups are over, you can still come as a spectator ($10 - covers food/donation) or donate to the cause!!  If you wish to do so, send donations to heelsandhockey@gmail.com via PayPal or bring money to the registration table on the day of the events!

Reminder:

Date:  October 6th

Location:  South Hills Dek Hockey

(Schedule - Click to enlarge)

Kickball will begin at 1:00pm.  Please arrive 30 minutes prior to your team’s first game to check in.

Parking is limited, so please carpool with your teammates when possible!

Game Rules:

• Single elimination rounds
• Each game’s home team will be determined via coin toss
• Games will be limited to 5 innings except in the event of a tie
• 3 Strikes anyway you are out
• Throws must be kept at shoulder level- hitting a player above the shoulders will result in the player being called safe (this is not dodge ball!)
• Must kick from behind home plate
• Unnecessary force to throw a player out will result in the runner being called safe (umpire discretion)
• Winning team will receive medals

If you would like to umpire games, please contact Stevie Watson at heelsandhockey@gmail.com!


Other important information:

• When signing in, you will collect your shirt and a ticket to be used for food- choice of hamburger, hot dog, hot sausage, or kilbasa, two sides, corn on the cob, and a drink
• All extra plates of food will be at a cost of $5 per plate to the vendor
• Drinks and snacks will be sold throughout the day at a reasonable price- all proceeds to benefit Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
• A limited amount of Hockey Kicks Cancer shirts will be available for purchase at the event
• Glitter tattoos and eye black can be purchased for $2 each- all proceeds to benefit Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
• 50/50 raffles will take place during each game
• 2-3 cornhole sets will be available to play between games
• Tickets for prize baskets will be sold all day- winners will be contacted via phone if not present when tickets are pulled at the end of the night
• Silent auction winners winners will be contacted via phone if not present when the auction ends at the end of the night
• Checks for all auction items will be made payable to High Heels & Hockey
• All proceeds from auction items and raffle tickets will benefit Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
• Anyone who is not currently signed up to attend as a spectator may pay $10 at the registration table on the day of the event.
• If games run quickly and we have time at the end, we can play some pickup games.

PLEASE BRING CASH AND CHECKS!!!!

Please see this post for more info on prizes and vendors.

Anyone who wishes to donate to the event, can do so via PayPal. Please send donations to heelsandhockey@gmail.com.

Thank you to our blog teams for their help!
High Heels and Hockey
MegaPowers (The PensNation, The PensBlog, and Face-Off Factor)
Slewfooters
Rotowire
Hockey Buzzards

And a special thanks to Stevie Watson from High Heels and Hockey for doing the majority of work on this project!!!