Jakub Klepis earned himself a place in Russian hockey folklore after his goal settled the destiny of the 2012 Gagarin Cup final. The Czech forward kept his composure on the slot to score the only goal of the decisive seventh game of the final series, returning the championship to Moscow for the first time since 2005 and condemning hosts Avangard Omsk to an agonizing defeat by the narrowest of margins.

The goal means Oleg Znarok can add a winner’s medal to the runners-up award he picked up with MVD two years ago, as can six of the players who featured in the 0-2 defeat to Ak Bars Kazan in the decisive game of the 2010 season.

Klepis struck on 52:03 as the tension around a packed Arena Omsk was reaching fever pitch. The Dynamo man’s compatriot Marek Kvapil got free behind Karri Ramo’s goal and picked out Klepis unattended on the slot. His first effort was blocked, but the rebound was kind and before Nikita Pivtsakin could reach him, Klepis was able to lift the puck over the sprawling goaltender to send Dynamo’s traveling fans into raptures.

That was far from the action of the action, however: Avangard threw everything forward in a desperate bid for an equalizer, and with less than 20 seconds to go Alexander Yeryomenko was called upon for his final save of the night, staying big on the crease to block a close-range effort from Alexander Frolov and end Avangard’s last hope of retrieving the game and the series.

In a series dominated by goaltenders - Yeryomenko was voted MVP after conceding just ten goals in seven games - it was fitting that the final encounter was another low-scoring affair. But Dynamo might have grabbed the lead slightly earlier when presented with a 5v3 powerplay on 44:32. Despite holding a two-man advantage for 70 seconds, though, there was no way through the Avangard defense, even as the home crowd simmered with rage at the penalty call against Sergei Gusev after a big open-ice hit on Mikhail Anisin.

Earlier, despite the shortage of goals, there was plenty to keep the fans entertained. The first period brought plenty of goalmouth action. Dynamo’s best chance came on 7:30 when Filip Novak’s shot got away from Karri Ramo, but Denis Mosalyov couldn’t reach the loose puck before Pivtsakin sliced it out of the danger zone. At the other end Alexander Popov almost ended the session on a high for Avangard, but Yeryomenko pulled off a stunning reaction save to pluck the puck from the top corner.

In the second period, after a slow start, Avangard began to take command of the game. The home side steadily tightened the screw around Yeryomenko’s goal but was unable to find a way through. But that pressure counted for little in the end after Klepis got the vital strike.

Dynamo goaltender Alexander Yeryomenko praised the fates that brought him to Moscow, league president Alexander Medvedev hailed the best-ever KHL final and a jubilant Mikhail Anisin promised another victory song - but defeated Omsk forward Anton Kuryanov was left reflecting on what might have been after a hard-fought final series.

A goalie’s fate
Yeryomenko finished the season in perfect style - a shut-out in the decisive game, wrapping that safe pair of hands around not just the Gagarin Cup itself but also the MVP award for the final series.

And, one year after watching Erik Ersberg keep him on the bench as Salavat Yulaev took the top prize, he saluted his good fortune in getting the chance to come to Moscow and play an active part in a title-winning team.

“It’s important for players to play hockey and I thank the fates that brought me to Dynamo to win the cup,” he said. “At Salavat Yulaev I was third choice and last year I didn’t even touch the trophy. Apparently destiny knew what was in store for me.”

The whole of the KHL season has been touched by the tragedy of the opening day, when the aircraft carrying Lokomotiv Yaroslavl’s players and coaching staff to a match in Minsk crashed on take-up, claiming 44 lives.

And Yeryomenko was quick to remember his fellow sportsmen who perished that day. “I’d like to dedicate this win to the guys on the Lokomotiv team who are no longer with us,” he told R-Sport. “I’m sure everyone on our team would agree with me. It’s been tough for everyone throughout the season, coming to terms with it. We’ve all had to quietly step around it and play. We’ll always remember those guys.”

Something missing
For Avangard forward Anton Kuryanov, coming up short was a painful experience. And he conceded that his team had not quite been good enough. “Probably we lacked a bit of experience and quality,” he told Sovietsky Sport. “Maybe Dynamo had a bit more desire, a bit more organization - not just on the ice but also outside the locker room. That was the decisive detail. Sometimes we saw some crazy things which cannot happen in the final.”

Kuryanov would not be drawn on the details, saying it was a matter for the club’s directors, but paid tribute to the fans who traveled from all over Russia to support Avangard in the final. “Without their support we would not have reached the finals, but unfortunately we still lost.”

Sing when we’re winning
Dynamo’s forward Mikhail Anisin, whose 14 play-off goals set a new KHL record, promised to treat his team-mates to another song to celebrate the team’s win. Anisin won fame for an operatic rendition of “O Sole Mio” before this season’s all-star game, and the young winger has cited Pavarotti among his inspirations.

“I don’t know what I’ll sing,” he told KHL TV. “First let’s drink some victory champagne, then we’ll see. But it’s essential to sing as well!”

Anisin paid tribute to the team’s character, and also to the support which came from fans and fellow sportsmen. “The guys from [Anisin’s former club] Vityaz Chekhov came to the games in Moscow, Dynamo’s footballers supported us, the boxers Lebedev and Povetkin. I want to thank everyone who was there for us during the series. We’re number 1! We’re the champions!”

The best yet
KHL President Medvedev praised the “heroic” fightback of Oleg Znarok’s team after Dynamo won three games in a row to recover from the brink of defeat in dramatic style. “Znarok’s players are strong in spirit, and they battled for victory from the first minute to the last,” he said. “In this team every player is a real star. I think Dynamo deserved the win and we have witnessed the most brilliant final in the four-year history of the league.”

“We won because we were better”
Oleg Znarok, who two years earlier tasted the despair of losing a grand final decider after leading in the series, said that this season’s final had left him drained.

“I’m almost without emotion,” he told Sportbox.ru. “It’s a kind of emptiness and fatigue. I want to thank the players for the trust and character they showed right through the play-offs. It was all very difficult and tense but we went step by step to our success and I’m happy that everything ended well.

“Even when it was 1-3 [in the final series] I had no doubts about these guys and I was confident we could still do it. That’s why I said it was only just starting, and I was right. We won because we were the better team. There’s no other way to succeed in sport.”

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO ON THE GAGARIN CUP BEING UNVEILED FOR 2012 CHAMPIONSHIP

Articles 1st Published at http://en.khl.ru