Kalev Valk Tartu – Energija Elektrenai 3-2 OT (0-0, 0-0, 2-2, 1-0)
0-1 42:17 Martynas Slikas (Vaiciukevicius, Ivanuskin)
0-2 51:08 Martynas Slikas (Ivanuskin) PP
1-2 58:21 Vasili Titarenko PP
2-2 59:39 Veiko Suvaoja (Loginov)
3-2 63:14 Ivan Loginov
PIM: 7x2 – 4x2 + 1x10
MVP: Maksim Robuskin - Nerijus Dauksevicius

Lithuanian champion Energija Elektrenai and Estonian representative Kalev-Valk Tartu opened the IIHF Continental Cup 2nd Round in Krakow, Poland, in front of a decent crowd with many students taking advantage of a day off from school.

The kids didn't get to see a very good game, unfortunately. The game featured few chances for either team, and no on-ice drama. However, Kalev-Valk at least tried to pressure their Lithuanian opponents and win the game, while Energija's attitude could almost be described as passive. The Estonian players showed more technical skills and good moves than the Lithuanians, but were largely unable to capitalize on the chances created.

Estonian national team members Anton Jastrebov and Vasili Titarenko were the most dangerous weapons for Kalev-Valk, but despite their presence, Energija goaltender Nerijus Dauksevicius merely need to make mostly routine saves, other than one big save to rob Ivan Loginov. His counterpart in the Tartu goal, Kristjan Eerme, was tested even less, simply needing to deflect long range shots away.

One thing that did favor Energija Elektrenai was conditioning: the Lithuanian team has already been on the ice competing for the last month in the Latvian league (as the Lithuanian league has only amateur teams that are no competition for the semi-pro Elektrenai squad), whereas Kalev-Valk came into this contest having only played one game in a now shrunken 3-team Estonian league. As a result, the 3rd period saw Energija, despite major puck possession by Kalev, score twice. At the 42:17 mark, Martynas Slikas was completely left alone by the Estonian defense with time to shoot twice after Eerme's initial saves, and he scored again at 51:08 with a simple finish to a Sergei Ivanuskin pass during a power play.

The game's turning point came when Energija's best player, Petr Nauseda, was called for ten minutes of penalties. Kalev-Valk had the opportunity to use various power plays, and on a big mistake by the Energija defence with about a minute and a half left to play, Kalev-Valk's Vasili Titarenko scored on a breakaway to close the gap to 2-1.

Kalev-Valk then pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, and with 19 seconds left to play, Veiko Suvaoja hammered in the tie goal after another mistake by the Energija defense.

Overtime was much the same as regulation time, with Kalev-Valk attacking but without many dangerous chances, apart from a Pavel Narvet shot which was stopped with a good save, and Energija wasting the chance to close the game one minute into overtime when Tomas Vysniauskas' shot was stopped. Kalev kept up the pressure, and after a confusing looking passing play, ended the match at 63:14 with a tap-in by Ivan Loginov, for a tough but deserved success for Kalev-Valk.

photo: James Muus

In the press conference, Energija coach Rimantas Sidaravicius admitted: “We made stupid and big mistakes, especially Nauseda's 10 minute penalty was decisive for us. Our attack has to play with more determination. In general it was a tough game, and the tougher team won.”

Kalev-Valk's Finnish coach Ismo Lehkonen was very happy: “This was a great result! In the first 2 periods we played good hockey, but we didn't have enough luck or skill to close out the game. In the 3rd period we were tired, and took stupid penalties, but at the end I think we deserved to win.”

Cracovia Krakow - Sary Arka Karaganda 3-2 (1-1, 1-0, 1-1)
1:0 03:14 Dulęba (Dudaš)
1:1 11:02 Pikalov (Ivantsov)
2:1 25:12 L. Laszkiewicz (Csorich)
2:2 49:25 Nazhmutdinov (Filin)
3:2 52:01 L. Laszkiewicz (Csorich)
PIM: 8x2 - 5x2 Att: 2.200
MVP: Aleksei Ivanov - Leszek Laszkiewicz
Comarch Cracovia: Radziszewski – Bondarevs, Csorich, L. Laszkiewicz, Słaboń, D. Laszkiewicz – Dudaš, Dulęba, Radwański, Pasiut, Łopuski – Noworyta, Kłys, Piotrowski, Musial, Drzewiecki – Wajda, Landowski, Rutkowski, Biela, Witowski.
Sary-Arka: Ivanov – Filin, Kokorev, Yessirkenov, Sayfullin, Nazhmutdinov – Vafin, Korshkov, Ivantsov, Pikalov, Zotkin – Miroshnichenko, Korobolin, Berezenskiy, Strelchuk, Glotov – Shalabanov, Knyazev, Mushtayev, Duma, Yegorov.
  

In an electric atmosphere, with the fans massively and noisily supporting the home side, Poland's Cracovia Krakow and Kazakhstan's Sary Arka Karaganda closed the
1st day of the IIHF Continental Cup. Considering the difference in level between Cracovia and Sary Arka on the one hand, and Energija Elektrenai & Kalev-Valk Tartu on the other, this game could be considered the decisive one in terms of deciding which team will advance from the group, despite its having been scheduled for the very first day of the tournament.

Sary Arka arrived in Krakow after a 3 day long trip, with a perfect record in the Kazakh league, and, on paper, the favorite to win the group. However, the home team invested a lot of money and effort in this year's campaign and wanted to give its passionate fans a night to remember.....and Cracovia delivered.

The first period was very intense. Cracovia, pushed by its fans, pressured Sary Arka and opened the scoring early, with a goal at 03:14 on the power play: defender Mariusz Duleba found the net from long-range with a shot that was probably unexpected by Sary Arka goalie Aleksei Ivanov.

Sary Arka is an experienced team and didn't allow their level of play to slip after the disadvantage. In fact, the Kazakh club slowly took control of the game, and scored at 11:02 on the power play to tie the score at 1-1 with a Mikhail Pikalov goal that capped a nice series of passes.

photo: James Muus

The second period saw early dominance by Cracovia and saw Sary Arka try to keep the game pace slow to ease the pressure and try to quiet the crowd. Finally, Cracovia took a 2-1 lead with a nice solo effort by Leszek Laszkiewicz at 25:12. In the following two minutes, the home team had a few opportunities to break the game open, but Filip Drzewiecki and Patryk Noworyta wasted great chances. Sary Arka seemed tired and had its first real chance in the period at minute 31 with a shot by Aleksei Korshkov that was stopped, before missing a great opportunity at minute 34, when Vadim Strelchuk, forgotten by Cracovia's defense, skated in but hit the post. The second period ended with a brawl and a large number of penalties.

In the last period Sary Arka showed how dangerous it is to underestimate the favorite - with 10 minutes to play and the game quite sleepy, Eldar Nazhmutdinov scored on the rebound of a Sergei Filin shot to tie the game 2-2. However, a wonderful crowd possibly literally pushed the home side over its real potential, and, two minutes after Sary Arka had tied the game, Leszek Laszkiewicz delighted the fans with another masterpiece at 52:01, going around Ivanov for a 3-2 Cracovia lead. In an ecstatic arena the Poles managed to hold the lead for a 3-2 victory that may prove to be decisive in terms of advancing to the next round.

After the game both coaches were impressed by the atmosphere and fan support. "Our fans were great!" said Cracovia coach Rudolf Rohaczek; "They certainly contributed to this important success, as much as the players on the ice. But we won a single game, not the tournament, so we have to keep our concentration and begin to fight again tomorrow."

Kazakh coach Oleg Bolyakhin said that "Obviously I'm very disappointed in our game; too many mistakes and penalties, and our first line especially has to work more."