Norilsk vs Gornyak-UGMK Verkhnyaya Pyshma Prediction 4 April 2025
📢 Can Norilsk bounce back from their crushing defeat and close out the series at home? The fiasco in Verkhnyaya Pyshma marked the biggest playoff loss in VHL history. Currently, the "Miners" trail the "Bears" 2-3 in the series. The Urals team have yet to outplay Norilsk on the road.
Head-to-Head
During the regular season, these rivals faced off four times. In each encounter, the home team emerged victorious: the "Bears" secured two home wins (3-0; 5-4 OT), while the "Miners" claimed both their victories on home ice (6-3; 4-2).
The playoff series kicked off in Sverdlovsk Oblast, and the opening matches didn't go entirely in favor of the "Miners." They managed to edge out a win in overtime in the first game (2-1 OT), but in the second clash, the team from Verkhnyaya Pyshma suffered a heavy defeat, losing 6-2. On March 28 and 30, the team from Norilsk added two more wins to their tally (4-0; 3-2). On April 2, the "Miners" scored 12 goals against the "Bears," marking their second victory in this series and becoming the first team in the VHL to score over 10 goals in a single game.
Head-to-head statistics Norilsk - Gornyak-UGMK Verkhnyaya Pyshma
Norilsk Team Overview
The Norilsk team wrapped up the regular season in 13th place on the standings. They managed to accumulate 77 points, scoring 195 goals while conceding 184. It's worth noting that this is a relatively young team, having been established on April 17, 2023. In their debut playoff run in 2024, Norilsk couldn't advance past the round of 16, falling to Tyumen's Rubin with a series score of 1-4.
On Wednesday, the "Bears" lineup saw no changes. Norilsk conceded five goals in the first period, making it clear early on that salvaging the away game would be challenging. Over the next 40 minutes, Vladimir Gusev's squad allowed seven more goals, suffering their second defeat in the series. The lone goal against Verkhnyaya Pyshma came from forward Denis Gorbunov, marking his third goal of the series. The team's top scorer is 26-year-old Sergey Golodnyuk, with a tally of 4 goals and 4 assists.
Match Results: Norilsk
Gornyak-UGMK Verkhnyaya Pyshma Team Overview
The "Miners" wrapped up the regular season in fourth place, amassing 87 points. It's worth noting that last season, the club from Verkhnyaya Pyshma didn't even make it to the playoffs, finishing 19th.
Before Wednesday's home game, the coaching staff made several lineup changes. Maksim Makhrin and Yegor Alekseyev returned to the attack, replacing Danila Mylnikov and Ilya Loza. In defense, Nikita Ishimnikov, Daniil Karpovich, and Yuri Zhuravlyov stepped in for Dmitry Boykov, Nikolai Dumchenko, and Daniil Zaytsev. The team from Verkhnyaya Pyshma managed an incredible 12 goals, fired 47 shots on target, won 36 face-offs, and accumulated only 8 penalty minutes (2 less than their opponents). The top scorers for the "Miners" are Ilya Ovchinnikov, Vasily Filyaev, and Daniil Valitov. All three scored in the last match, enhancing their individual stats.
Match Results: Gornyak-UGMK Verkhnyaya Pyshma
🏒 Projected Lineups
Norilsk: Nikitin - Isaev, Makeev - Dyadenkin, Kaletnik, Kolesnikov
Gornyak-UGMK: Fomin - Trofimov, Zhuravlev - Borisov, Khremkin, Ovchinnikov
🥅 Goaltenders
Norilsk's goaltender Vadim Nikitin has started all five games for the Bears in this playoff run. During the last game, after conceding three goals, he was replaced by Anatoly Smirnov. We anticipate that Nikitin will reclaim the starting position for Friday's game, as he has stopped 166 shots in this series and boasts a solid save percentage of 2.17.
Gornyak's goaltenders Anton Zyuzin and Leonid Fomin have alternated starts throughout the playoffs. It seems likely that the coaching staff will opt for the more experienced Leonid Fomin for the fifth game of the series. Fomin currently holds an impressive save percentage of 1.81 with 60 saves.
Editorial Prediction
After the goal fest in Verkhnyaya Pyshma, don't expect a high-scoring affair in the upcoming game. The sixth game is set to be the most crucial in this series, and both teams will likely focus on defense. Given the strong performances from the main goalkeepers and the fact that in Norilsk, only once in the last ten matches have more than five goals been scored, we suggest a bet on under 5.5 goals.No comments
Betting Tips: Norilsk - Gornyak-UGMK Verkhnyaya Pyshma
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