The lead in the game has been changing hands, and the extra-period decided the outcome of the game
On February 25, "Amur" reached the finish line. The Tigers played their penultimate game of the season in Helsinki.
The result of the game would not affect the championship standings of "Jokerit”, they booked the fifth place in the conference. However, there was no talk of an easy walk. The Jesters, for sure, wanted to recoup their away defeat and finish the season on a positive note. The motivation of "Amur" - the ninth place.
The game started with two shorthanded goals scored by the Tigers. Zohorna stroke first by shooting in stride during the powerplay. Arkhipov consolidated the success by running away during a four-man game to meet Kalnins face-to-face. Alikin distinguished himself with an effective pass in this attack.
After the second goal let in, the home team increased its speed, while Amur's play got some slight confusion. Active actions of the Jesters paid off. In the last minute, they squeezed their rival in the zone, forced the Tigers to make an inaccurate pass, and counterattacked. The goal was scored by Schroeder, who successfully tipped in.
The second period was a period of missed opportunities. "Jokerit" had more of them, but Alikin played reliably, holding off Joensuu’s one-on-zero breakaway, Maenalanen's one-timer shot during the powerplay, as well as he coped with the dead puck that came from a one-meter shot of Savinainen. As for "Amur", Pyanov caused a bright moment during the two-on-one attack, but the net bar prevented scoring and saved “Jokerit”. To be fair, the net itself once played for the Tigers as well.
The period could have gone without goals if it hadn't been for the Tigers' mistake in their own zone. At the 37th minute, the Jesters regained the puck at the blue line, sent it towards the net twice, and only after the second attempt, the puck treacherously rolled into the net from under Alikin's ammunition.
The visiting team had a chance to get the lead back before leaving for the lockers. Maanalainen was punished with a minor disciplinary penalty for a head shot. However, the Far Eastern team could not capitalize on the man-advantage, although they were close to it.
At the start of the third period, the home team manage to take the lead for the first time in the game. Jensen succeeds with a powerful shot into the top corner. "Amur" was chasing the rival almost 15 minutes. Butuzov managed to even the score during the powerplay. The Tigers' top scorer dealt with the rival's goalie in close battle.
The game flowed into the extra period, where the penalty issued to the visiting team benefited the rival. The winning goal in the game was scored by Schroeder. The result of the game is 4:3, the victory of the Jesters.
“Jokerit” (Helsinki) – “Amur” (Khabarovsk) 4:3 (1: 2, 0:1, 1:1, 1:0)
Location: Helsinki, “Hartwall Arena”.
Goals: 0:1 Zohorna (Golubev, Turbin, 6:04), 0:2 Arkhipov (Vasiliev, Alikin, 9:57), 1:2 Schroeder (Lipeste, Joensuu, 18:51), 2:2 Regin (Jensen , 36:39), 3: 2 Jensen (Kreichik, Kivest, 41:36), 3: 3 Butuzov (Pianov, Jordan, 55:50 +1) 4: 3 Schroeder (O Neill, 62: 03, +1)
Game statistics: Shots: 50-49; Shots on goal: 35-31; Faceoffs: 40-26; Blocked shots: 9-4; Hits: 12-10; Attack time: 13: 10-08: 31; Penalties: 22-10
Goaltenders: Kalnins – Alikin
"Amur": Alikin (Shiyanov); Koryagin - Tereshchenko, Mikhasyonok - Rasskazov - Zaseda; Vasiliev - Jordan, Arkhipov - Pyanov - Butuzov; Masin-Turbin, Polunin - Golubev - Zohorna, Zimin - Sivchuk, Gizdatullin - Kuznetsov - Masin