MAGNITOGORSK – It was a thriller for the ages. Jan Alston could have killed the game with a penalty shot with Zurich 2-0 up midway through the third period, but he lost control of the puck and couldn't get a decent shot off. 

The shot shifted the momentum as Metallurg jumped at the opportunity. Vitali Atyushov scored 35 seconds after Alston's miss (51:01) and the equalizer came with only 43 seconds left when Czech Tomas Rolinek beat Ari Sulander with a long shot.

It was the Zurich goalie's only mistake during an otherwise heroic performance. Sulander lost the puck between his pads and the puck trickled over the goal line.

There is no shoot-out in the CHL playoffs, so the teams carry the 2-2 draw to Switzerland next Wednesday. A shoot-out after the second game will take place only if the teams play to a tie again.

Zurich outshot Metallurg 33-26.

Go to www.championshockeyleague.com for more on the game.

Ari Sulander could have been the hero (he still was to a certain extent), but he didn't seem to be too depressed after the game:

"We played them the way we should and we have a very good chance to beat them at home," said the goaltender.

Metallurg coach Valeri Belousov was not entirely happy with his team's performace, "we came back well in the second and third period, but I was not satisfied with the way we played in the first."

ZSC coach Sean Simpson had no difficulties identifying the turning point of the game, "the key moment was of course when Jan Alston missed the penalty shot and they scored on their next posession," said Simpson.

Third period:

The fans simply demanded a goal from their heroes in the third period. Jan Alston returned, the facial cut he got in the second period was sewn up. There was a great chance for ZSC in the fifth minute, but Blaine Down couldn't beat Proskuryakov from four meters.

Denis Khlystov had a dangerous shot from the high slot in the 8th minute, but Sulander made a pad save. With 10 minutes left ZSC still had a 2-0 lead.

PENALTY SHOT for ZSC! Thibaut Monnet was pulled down by Vladislav Bulin and the Czech referees signaled for a penalty shot. Coach Simpson gave Jan Alston the assignment, but Alston lost the puck and didn't even get a decent shot off. Normally, Alston is spot-on with his pentaly shots.

35 seconds after Alstons miss, Vitali Atyushov finally beat Sulander with a shot from the point. The Finn was screened on the one-timer, making it 2-1.

ZSC had a phenominal chance with 3:30 left. Defenceman Malenkikh fell on his back and Thibaut Monnet had goalie Proskuryakov all beaten with a deke but lost the handle on the puck just as he was about to score into an empty net!

Metallurg countered and scored with 43 seconds left! 2-2. Tomas Rolinek took a harmless looking shot from just inside the blue line and Sulander lost the puck between his pads. The crowd went wild.

A penalty against ZSC is whisteled with 10 seconds left (Mathias Seger for hooking) but Metallurg couldn't score. Game over. The teams will take the 2-2 score to Rapperswil one week from today.

Second period:

Metallurg outshot Zurich 13-6 in the second period, but the stat is flattering to ZSC. This period was all "Magnitka" and the score would definitely had been different if not for the amazing Ari Sulander, 40. At one point, it was Metallurg vs. Sulander.

Zurich outshot Metallurg 23-22 after two periods. Jan Alston had to leave the ice with a facial cut and did not return. Metallurg finally got a puck past Ari Sulander, but Evgeni Fedorov was whistled down with an offside call before he let the shot go.

Maybe it was the “METALLURG, METALLURG” chants that got the Russians going. Midway through the second period it was all Metallurg as ZSC had  problems getting the puck out of their zone. The momentum Zurich had in the opening stages seems to have vanished.

Defenceman Vladimir Malenkikh had a great scoring chance after nine minutes but his shot from the high slot was saved by Sulander, who looked like Zurich’s key player.

Jean-Guy Trudel could have scored the 3-0 goal when he stripped defenceman Vitali Atyushov off the puck during a Metallurg power-play and he had clean breakaway in the 12th minute. But Proskuryakov saved his team from being three down.

Just when the penalty was over, Metallurg had the next great opportunity when Stanislav Chistov was all alone with Sulander – again the Finn prevailed with a good save. Can ZSC really rely on Sulander for the rest of the game?

First period:

The first ten minutes were a shocking experience for Metallurg and the capacity crowd. Zurich established early pressure thanks to a minor penalty against Evgeni Varlamov after only 27 seconds. The Swiss didn’t capitalize but gained confidence that eventually paid dividends.

It was strange to see the defending European champions hardly able to get out of their own zone and when Jean-Guy Trudel put the Lions ahead after 9:14 it was by no means a shock. It was a goal that netminder Ilya Proskuryakov definitely would like to have back. Trudel scored from a very sharp angle with one skate on the goal line, but almost in the corner. The Metallurg keeper mishandled the puck, which bounced off him and into the net.

The replays could not reveal whether Domenico Pittis or Blaine Down deflected the puck, just before it trickled by Proskuryakov. Anyway, Trudel stays as the official scorer.

At that point Zurich had a 12-1 shots advantage, but they weren’t done. The hometown fans, used to some beautiful tic-tac-toe plays, were treated to just that – by the guests, at the 12-minute mark.

Ryan Gardner made a nice play to Adrian Wichser who exchanged a beautiful give-and-go with Peter Sejna and Wichser scored his first CHL goal into a virtually empty net. The arena went almost totally silent with the exception of the 60 or so Zurich fans, who had already started to undress.