A first-period strike from Alexander Perezhogin proved enough for Avangard Omsk to take a 2-1 lead in the Gagarin Cup final on Tuesday, as Dynamo Moscow laid siege to the visitors’ goal.
The third game of the best-of-seven series was marred by brawls, with three players sin-binned for roughing amid numerous scuffles.
Ex-Montreal Canadiens wing Perezhogin scored his third goal of the final series after 13 minutes when he picked up Roman Cervenka’s pass and fired between the legs of Dynamo goaltender Alexander Eremenko.
Avangard goaltender Karri Ramo saved 31 shots to record his third playoff shutout, and was praised for his performance by Avangard head coach Eduard Zankovets.
“The team played well in defense, especially Karri Ramo,” Zankovets said.
Dynamo came closest to leveling the scores when Ramo deflected Leonid Komarov’s shot onto the frame of the goal just seconds after Perezhogin scored.
Dynamo went 20-11 on shots in the second and third periods as the team fought to get back into the game, but the Moscow side was unable to score.
The second period saw Dynamo’s Sergei Soin and Avangard’s Sergei Kalinin and Anssi Salmela all sin-binned for their parts in numerous skirmishes on the ice.
Dynamo could have equalized just seconds from the end when Mikhail Anisin went one-on-one with Ramo, but the Finnish goaltender tipped his shot over the goal.
The next match in the series takes place in Moscow on Thursday.
