Dramatic results in Continental Cup semis

Group E

Arlan’s Continental Cup journey took it from rock bottom to top spot in the space of three days. The Kazakhs made a sluggish start to the competition, falling behind 2-0 in the first period of their opening game against Vlci Zilina. From that point, things improved, but Arlan still lost 4-3 in overtime.

Next up, Arlan trailed outsider Ritten Buam at the first intermission. Despite recovering to win the game 2-1 and move into second place, there was still work for the Kazakhs to do. Failing to defeat Cardiff in the third game would open the door for Vlci to sneak into second place.

Cardiff, meanwhile, impressed with comfortable wins over Ritten (5-1) and Zilina (4-1). However, those results came at a cost. In the opener, GB international goalie Ben Bowns limped out after taking a knock in the build-up to the Italians’ goal. Then, against the hosts, Mac Carruth left the game injured, forcing Bowns to return “on one leg,” according to Peter Russell. The Devils did a great job for their netminder, limiting Vlci to just four shots on goal in the third period.

Given those injury worries, Cardiff needed to draft in another goalie for game three. Maks Duve, a 24-year-old Ukrainian who played in Lithuania last season, got the call. Slovak worries that this would hand Arlan a decisive advantage initially seemed groundless: Cardiff got up 3-1 inside 26 minutes.

But Arlan is used to fighting back. The game was tied 3-3 by the second intermission. And after a cagey third period, experienced forward Stepan Sannikov put the Kazakhs ahead for the first time when he got a drop pass from Danil Paramonov and scored from between the hash marks with 2:03 left. Just 15 seconds later, Dmitri Arkhipov made it 5-3.

The game finished amid chaotic scenes. Riley Brandt’s interference foul sparked a fight between Jarrod Gourley and Arseni Barysau. Arlan finished with a 5-on-3 power play and Sannikov set up Arkhipov to round out the scoring at 6-3.

The result put Arlan atop the group with seven points, one better than Cardiff. Zilina finished with a 5-0 win over Rittner, but could do no better than third place. The host club suffered from injuries and was forced to deploy Martin Bellus as a defender in the absence of Canadian duo Brenden Miller and Miguel Tourigny. The Ritten game was chiefly notable for 19-year-old Michal Dubek collecting a shutout in his senior hockey debut for the hosts.