All this, of course, is very arbitrary. The same COD on the way to the finals just did not meet any serious resistance. The Finns no longer had to try hard against Sparta, and 7-0 against Zilina - an indicator, rather, of the uncompetitiveness of the Slovak team than the strength of its rival.
Ak Bars rivals in the group were more powerful. Nevertheless, at the club level, Sweden and Switzerland are quoted no lower than the Czech Republic and certainly higher than Slovakia. All the more enjoyable is the finals. The main thing now is that he has enough strength ...
Impressed by the “Fairstad”, which Kazan played with in Brazilian style, the defense caused some concern. After all, “Lugano” did not allow the same Swedes to walk around near their gates. Fortunately, the fears were in vain. In defense, the “leopards” played carefully and quite accurately, and if it came to dangerous moments, Noronen acted reliably.
In the attack, Kazan tried to play widely, combined a lot, while often connecting defenders and climbing on a piglet. That is, they demonstrated a kind of symbiosis of the Canadian and Soviet schools. “Lugano” looked less creative, but fought honestly.
Ak Bars habitually soloed the first link. It was from him that the main threat came to the gates of Zuger. Nothing supernatural - just a good move, good interaction and skill of Alexei Morozov, perhaps the best player today outside the NHL.
And all three goals from Kazan were scored by the registered first five, and it was Morozov who organized them. First, in the first period, the 95th issue of Ak Bars, after a solo raid from behind the gate, threw the puck to the throw to one of the partners - Zaripov didn’t get to it, but Proshkin picked it up and sent it off the net - 1: 0. Then, already in the second twenty minutes, Zinoviev put the captain in a goal with a throw straight off. Finally, in the third period, with a double numerical advantage, Morozov, having received the puck from Proshkin on the blue line, entered the zone, waited for Zaripov and brought him out already - 3: 0. Seconds earlier, Jannen rashly ran into the attack, stumbled on Gira and left the partners to defend together. "Lugano" was doomed.
Even a hint of a chance for the Swiss was taken away by the Czech referee Schindler, who did not count the goal of Hentunen. The Lugano striker hit the gate of Noronen after the whistle, but why this whistle sounded, remained incomprehensible. Kazan at that time had a delayed fine, but they still did not take possession of the puck. The already gloomy nature of the face of the head coach of the Swiss Ivano Zanatta became very sad ...
However, this episode is unlikely to somehow affect the outcome of the match. Not to say that Ak Bars played much stronger. But in each period he proved his superiority a little. And if in the third dvadtsatiminutke Kazan did not make a special impression, it was only because they played "in a row." And the course of the game was controlled confidently.
Even without fully realizing the real strength of the COD, there is no doubt that it will be difficult for Ak Bars on Sunday. By definition, the final, after all. It’s enough to recall how the Champions Cup “Vanguard” and “Dynamo” won.
PS . Maxim Sushinsky played in the previous two Champions Cup finals - for Avangard and Dynamo. Forward “Ak Bars” Dmitry Kazionov last year played just in Dynamo, so now he is also twice a finalist. And it would be nice for him to completely repeat Sushinsky’s achievement ...