CSKA and Lokomotiv met for the fourth and final time in the regular season. Defenseman Nikita Okhotuk returned to our team, young forward Yaroslav Yapparov got another chance in the KHL and took the ice with Tahir Mingachev and Kirill Dolzhenkov.
The match was combative and close to the playoffs style. Lots of skirmishes, fighting, solid play on defense. The Army team allowed the opponent to seize the initiative because of four minutes in the penalty kill. The team defended solidly, but another penalty early in the second period led to a goal. A Lokomotiv player did a good job on the slot. The second goal was scored in a similar fashion, with a stick setup. With the score at 0-2, CSKA didn't let up and kept fighting. They managed to score one goal. Egor Afanasiev gave a beautiful touch pass to Denis Guryanov, who once again showed his trademark shot. Emotions on the court began to swell, and players from both teams got excited. Unfortunately, we failed to catch the goal impulse from these emotions. Yaroslavl scored the third goal, after which the Army team couldn't hang on to the result.
