After a bitter defeat in the semi-final, the team players of Ravil Yakubov had to find the strength and sprit and show maximum performance in their match for the third place. The opponent, well remembered after the group stage of the cup, was highly motivated to have his revenge, as the game of the 2nd tour between Ice Wolves HC and Arctic HC had been very dramatic.
The start of the match was very unfortunate for Arctic: in the early minutes, Nikita Lazarev (№49) was carried away from the ice. We wish our player an early recovery! The reds scored their first goal at the fifth minute of the match: Kirill Tomilin (№37) put the puck into the goal. Then, other players scored in the following order: Alexey Telezhnikov (№5) — after a long shot, and Kirill Krasnov (№8) — after a solo rush, ensuring a comfortable advantage for Yakubov’s players.
In the second period, Arctic played pragmatically, although it managed to perform some great attacks. After one of them, Maxim Potoker (№48) scored at a sharp angle — 4:0. Ice Wolves had their chances to reduce the gap, but Ilya Mogilevkin (№1) demonstrated his superior skills. Alexander Zotov (№77) scored at the last minute of the 2 period. The rest of the game was dominated by the reds, who shone once more: Kirill Tomilin (№37) made a double. Arctic has overcome its semi-final failure and won the bronze of the Grand Slam Cup.
One must add that Ravil Yakubov and team captain Sergey Yegorov are dissatisfied with the referee decisions during the semi-final game.