RIGA — If anyone had dropped a pin in Riga at 10:58 p.m. on Tuesday evening, the sound would surely have reverberated around the city.

It was the 83rd minute of the Western Conference semifinal game 4 between Dinamo Riga and HK MVD, the same minute that Yevgeny Federov sent home the winning goal to put MVD up 3-1 in the best of seven series.

Nearly an hour earlier the scene could not have been more different, with Marcel Hossa’s final minute regulation goal tying the game up at four apiece to send the game into sudden death overtime. It had been enough to bring every one of the 11,128-strong crowd to their feet, chanting “Di-na-mo, Di-na-mo” in unison, a chant that would [private_supervisor]continue until that insufferable moment early in the second period of overtime.

It was a game that exemplified what playoff sport is all about: tension, emotion and skill that young children one day dream of having and old men reminiscing about what could have been.

The plan of MVD has been clear throughout the series: first, shut down Hossa with 2-on-1 defense then paralyze the rest of Dinamo Riga’s first two lines. However, what MVD coach Olegs Znaroks had not counted on was the goal scoring ability of Dinamo Riga’s fourth line, which had the homeside up 2-0 within the opening 10 minutes.

Gints Meija has been anything but a regular in the team this season, relinquished to the ranks of Dinamo Riga’s farm club for the majority of the campaign. However, with key attackers Ģirts Ankipāns and Mike Iggulden missing due to injury, Meija was not about to miss his chance, opening the scoring in the 5th minute, courtesy of a Jēkabs Rēdlihs assist.

Another to have received little mention in the media this year has been Roberts Bukarts, who did not hold back his emotions when he put Latvia up 2-0 in the 13th minute, appearing to try and scale the arena walls following his goal.

To this point it had been one-way traffic, so when MVD finally got their chance they struck with a vengeance with Denis Kokorev sending the puck past a drugged up Edgars Masaļskis in the 13th minute to get his side back into the game.

Signs were all the more ominous for Dinamo Riga as the period came to a close, lucky to survive a last minute onslaught from MVD. At the start of the second period, MVD started back where they had left off, wasting no time in tying the game up 2-2, with their second goal coming just 32 seconds into the period.

But Dinamo Riga were not about to roll over and die. Just like the previous night, Jānis Sprukts was proving a handful on the fast-break, again skating free on an MVD power play. With two defenders narrowing in on him, it looked as if the chance had missed but when he slightly overshot the puck, unknown to him Martins Karsums was following close behind to pick up the lose puck and fire it home.

It was a lead that was to be short-lived with MVD scoring the third goal of the period a minute and a half later, as both teams showed frailties at the back. Tied 3-3 and with penalties coming thick and fast, tempers flared and when Masaļskis took exception to some goings on in front of his goal in the 14th minute, the coin was dropped for the beginnings of an all in brawl, resulting on extended cool-off breaks for any number of players from both sides.

It was MVD who again settled back into the game quicker, grabbing an outright for the first time all night in the 18th minute, leaving Dinamo Riga everything to do in the final period.

While the second period had created more action than Baghdad on a busy day, the third in comparison resembled something closer to a lazy Sunday afternoon’s fishing — at least until the final three minutes. Dinamo Riga coach Július Šupler wasted no time in getting Masaļskis off the ice to give himself an extra attacker pulling his goalie with over two minutes remaining. The move almost twice backfired when MVD shots came frighteningly close to finding the back of an empty net but ultimately the move would prove ingenious.

As already mentioned, Hossa has been a marked man throughout the playoffs, often finding himself double teamed for a good reason. However, it was something MVD could not manage to do with an extra Dinamo Riga attacker the ice. Hossa in turn proved his deadliness in one on one situations, firing the late equalizer through MVD’s defensive wall.

Disaster had seemingly struck early in the first period of overtime when Miķelis Rēdlihs was ordered to the penalty box for four minutes. But not for the first time on the night, it was Dinamo Riga who looked the stronger skating with a man down, ironically creating more opportunities than MVD, skating a man up. As the skaters visibly began to tire, the quality of shots lessened, with the players welcoming the end to the first overtime period and the subsequent 15 minute break.

Unfortunately it was MVD who benefited the most from the break, with Fedorov taking little over two minutes to sink the hopes of a country, given what this team has come to mean in Latvia, as lately they’ve been the only positive story in the newspaper.

Although the series is still alive, it is a long road home now for Dinamo Riga who need to win the three remaining games. If they were to do so, they would create their own piece of history along the way, becoming the first team in KHL history to rebound from being 3-1 down to win a series. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]continue until that insufferable moment early in the second period of overtime.

It was a game that exemplified what playoff sport is all about: tension, emotion and skill that young children one day dream of having and old men reminiscing about what could have been.

The plan of MVD has been clear throughout the series: first, shut down Hossa with 2-on-1 defense then paralyze the rest of Dinamo Riga’s first two lines. However, what MVD coach Olegs Znaroks had not counted on was the goal scoring ability of Dinamo Riga’s fourth line, which had the homeside up 2-0 within the opening 10 minutes.

Gints Meija has been anything but a regular in the team this season, relinquished to the ranks of Dinamo Riga’s farm club for the majority of the campaign. However, with key attackers Ģirts Ankipāns and Mike Iggulden missing due to injury, Meija was not about to miss his chance, opening the scoring in the 5th minute, courtesy of a Jēkabs Rēdlihs assist.

Another to have received little mention in the media this year has been Roberts Bukarts, who did not hold back his emotions when he put Latvia up 2-0 in the 13th minute, appearing to try and scale the arena walls following his goal.

To this point it had been one-way traffic, so when MVD finally got their chance they struck with a vengeance with Denis Kokorev sending the puck past a drugged up Edgars Masaļskis in the 13th minute to get his side back into the game.

Signs were all the more ominous for Dinamo Riga as the period came to a close, lucky to survive a last minute onslaught from MVD. At the start of the second period, MVD started back where they had left off, wasting no time in tying the game up 2-2, with their second goal coming just 32 seconds into the period.

But Dinamo Riga were not about to roll over and die. Just like the previous night, Jānis Sprukts was proving a handful on the fast-break, again skating free on an MVD power play. With two defenders narrowing in on him, it looked as if the chance had missed but when he slightly overshot the puck, unknown to him Martins Karsums was following close behind to pick up the lose puck and fire it home.

It was a lead that was to be short-lived with MVD scoring the third goal of the period a minute and a half later, as both teams showed frailties at the back. Tied 3-3 and with penalties coming thick and fast, tempers flared and when Masaļskis took exception to some goings on in front of his goal in the 14th minute, the coin was dropped for the beginnings of an all in brawl, resulting on extended cool-off breaks for any number of players from both sides.

It was MVD who again settled back into the game quicker, grabbing an outright for the first time all night in the 18th minute, leaving Dinamo Riga everything to do in the final period.

While the second period had created more action than Baghdad on a busy day, the third in comparison resembled something closer to a lazy Sunday afternoon’s fishing — at least until the final three minutes. Dinamo Riga coach Július Šupler wasted no time in getting Masaļskis off the ice to give himself an extra attacker pulling his goalie with over two minutes remaining. The move almost twice backfired when MVD shots came frighteningly close to finding the back of an empty net but ultimately the move would prove ingenious.

As already mentioned, Hossa has been a marked man throughout the playoffs, often finding himself double teamed for a good reason. However, it was something MVD could not manage to do with an extra Dinamo Riga attacker the ice. Hossa in turn proved his deadliness in one on one situations, firing the late equalizer through MVD’s defensive wall.

Disaster had seemingly struck early in the first period of overtime when Miķelis Rēdlihs was ordered to the penalty box for four minutes. But not for the first time on the night, it was Dinamo Riga who looked the stronger skating with a man down, ironically creating more opportunities than MVD, skating a man up. As the skaters visibly began to tire, the quality of shots lessened, with the players welcoming the end to the first overtime period and the subsequent 15 minute break.

Unfortunately it was MVD who benefited the most from the break, with Fedorov taking little over two minutes to sink the hopes of a country, given what this team has come to mean in Latvia, as lately they’ve been the only positive story in the newspaper.

Although the series is still alive, it is a long road home now for Dinamo Riga who need to win the three remaining games. If they were to do so, they would create their own piece of history along the way, becoming the first team in KHL history to rebound from being 3-1 down to win a series. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]continue until that insufferable moment early in the second period of overtime.

It was a game that exemplified what playoff sport is all about: tension, emotion and skill that young children one day dream of having and old men reminiscing about what could have been.

The plan of MVD has been clear throughout the series: first, shut down Hossa with 2-on-1 defense then paralyze the rest of Dinamo Riga’s first two lines. However, what MVD coach Olegs Znaroks had not counted on was the goal scoring ability of Dinamo Riga’s fourth line, which had the homeside up 2-0 within the opening 10 minutes.

Gints Meija has been anything but a regular in the team this season, relinquished to the ranks of Dinamo Riga’s farm club for the majority of the campaign. However, with key attackers Ģirts Ankipāns and Mike Iggulden missing due to injury, Meija was not about to miss his chance, opening the scoring in the 5th minute, courtesy of a Jēkabs Rēdlihs assist.

Another to have received little mention in the media this year has been Roberts Bukarts, who did not hold back his emotions when he put Latvia up 2-0 in the 13th minute, appearing to try and scale the arena walls following his goal.

To this point it had been one-way traffic, so when MVD finally got their chance they struck with a vengeance with Denis Kokorev sending the puck past a drugged up Edgars Masaļskis in the 13th minute to get his side back into the game.

Signs were all the more ominous for Dinamo Riga as the period came to a close, lucky to survive a last minute onslaught from MVD. At the start of the second period, MVD started back where they had left off, wasting no time in tying the game up 2-2, with their second goal coming just 32 seconds into the period.

But Dinamo Riga were not about to roll over and die. Just like the previous night, Jānis Sprukts was proving a handful on the fast-break, again skating free on an MVD power play. With two defenders narrowing in on him, it looked as if the chance had missed but when he slightly overshot the puck, unknown to him Martins Karsums was following close behind to pick up the lose puck and fire it home.

It was a lead that was to be short-lived with MVD scoring the third goal of the period a minute and a half later, as both teams showed frailties at the back. Tied 3-3 and with penalties coming thick and fast, tempers flared and when Masaļskis took exception to some goings on in front of his goal in the 14th minute, the coin was dropped for the beginnings of an all in brawl, resulting on extended cool-off breaks for any number of players from both sides.

It was MVD who again settled back into the game quicker, grabbing an outright for the first time all night in the 18th minute, leaving Dinamo Riga everything to do in the final period.

While the second period had created more action than Baghdad on a busy day, the third in comparison resembled something closer to a lazy Sunday afternoon’s fishing — at least until the final three minutes. Dinamo Riga coach Július Šupler wasted no time in getting Masaļskis off the ice to give himself an extra attacker pulling his goalie with over two minutes remaining. The move almost twice backfired when MVD shots came frighteningly close to finding the back of an empty net but ultimately the move would prove ingenious.

As already mentioned, Hossa has been a marked man throughout the playoffs, often finding himself double teamed for a good reason. However, it was something MVD could not manage to do with an extra Dinamo Riga attacker the ice. Hossa in turn proved his deadliness in one on one situations, firing the late equalizer through MVD’s defensive wall.

Disaster had seemingly struck early in the first period of overtime when Miķelis Rēdlihs was ordered to the penalty box for four minutes. But not for the first time on the night, it was Dinamo Riga who looked the stronger skating with a man down, ironically creating more opportunities than MVD, skating a man up. As the skaters visibly began to tire, the quality of shots lessened, with the players welcoming the end to the first overtime period and the subsequent 15 minute break.

Unfortunately it was MVD who benefited the most from the break, with Fedorov taking little over two minutes to sink the hopes of a country, given what this team has come to mean in Latvia, as lately they’ve been the only positive story in the newspaper.

Although the series is still alive, it is a long road home now for Dinamo Riga who need to win the three remaining games. If they were to do so, they would create their own piece of history along the way, becoming the first team in KHL history to rebound from being 3-1 down to win a series. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]continue until that insufferable moment early in the second period of overtime.

It was a game that exemplified what playoff sport is all about: tension, emotion and skill that young children one day dream of having and old men reminiscing about what could have been.

The plan of MVD has been clear throughout the series: first, shut down Hossa with 2-on-1 defense then paralyze the rest of Dinamo Riga’s first two lines. However, what MVD coach Olegs Znaroks had not counted on was the goal scoring ability of Dinamo Riga’s fourth line, which had the homeside up 2-0 within the opening 10 minutes.

Gints Meija has been anything but a regular in the team this season, relinquished to the ranks of Dinamo Riga’s farm club for the majority of the campaign. However, with key attackers Ģirts Ankipāns and Mike Iggulden missing due to injury, Meija was not about to miss his chance, opening the scoring in the 5th minute, courtesy of a Jēkabs Rēdlihs assist.

Another to have received little mention in the media this year has been Roberts Bukarts, who did not hold back his emotions when he put Latvia up 2-0 in the 13th minute, appearing to try and scale the arena walls following his goal.

To this point it had been one-way traffic, so when MVD finally got their chance they struck with a vengeance with Denis Kokorev sending the puck past a drugged up Edgars Masaļskis in the 13th minute to get his side back into the game.

Signs were all the more ominous for Dinamo Riga as the period came to a close, lucky to survive a last minute onslaught from MVD. At the start of the second period, MVD started back where they had left off, wasting no time in tying the game up 2-2, with their second goal coming just 32 seconds into the period.

But Dinamo Riga were not about to roll over and die. Just like the previous night, Jānis Sprukts was proving a handful on the fast-break, again skating free on an MVD power play. With two defenders narrowing in on him, it looked as if the chance had missed but when he slightly overshot the puck, unknown to him Martins Karsums was following close behind to pick up the lose puck and fire it home.

It was a lead that was to be short-lived with MVD scoring the third goal of the period a minute and a half later, as both teams showed frailties at the back. Tied 3-3 and with penalties coming thick and fast, tempers flared and when Masaļskis took exception to some goings on in front of his goal in the 14th minute, the coin was dropped for the beginnings of an all in brawl, resulting on extended cool-off breaks for any number of players from both sides.

It was MVD who again settled back into the game quicker, grabbing an outright for the first time all night in the 18th minute, leaving Dinamo Riga everything to do in the final period.

While the second period had created more action than Baghdad on a busy day, the third in comparison resembled something closer to a lazy Sunday afternoon’s fishing — at least until the final three minutes. Dinamo Riga coach Július Šupler wasted no time in getting Masaļskis off the ice to give himself an extra attacker pulling his goalie with over two minutes remaining. The move almost twice backfired when MVD shots came frighteningly close to finding the back of an empty net but ultimately the move would prove ingenious.

As already mentioned, Hossa has been a marked man throughout the playoffs, often finding himself double teamed for a good reason. However, it was something MVD could not manage to do with an extra Dinamo Riga attacker the ice. Hossa in turn proved his deadliness in one on one situations, firing the late equalizer through MVD’s defensive wall.

Disaster had seemingly struck early in the first period of overtime when Miķelis Rēdlihs was ordered to the penalty box for four minutes. But not for the first time on the night, it was Dinamo Riga who looked the stronger skating with a man down, ironically creating more opportunities than MVD, skating a man up. As the skaters visibly began to tire, the quality of shots lessened, with the players welcoming the end to the first overtime period and the subsequent 15 minute break.

Unfortunately it was MVD who benefited the most from the break, with Fedorov taking little over two minutes to sink the hopes of a country, given what this team has come to mean in Latvia, as lately they’ve been the only positive story in the newspaper.

Although the series is still alive, it is a long road home now for Dinamo Riga who need to win the three remaining games. If they were to do so, they would create their own piece of history along the way, becoming the first team in KHL history to rebound from being 3-1 down to win a series. [/private_subscription 1 year]

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