Continental Cup: Asiago narrowly beaten by Nomad Astana despite strong performance

Asiago opened their IIHF Continental Cup semifinal campaign with a 3-2 defeat against Nomad Astana, at the end of a closely contested game that remained in the balance until the final minutes. It was a very positive performance from the home side, who matched their more highly rated Kazakh opponents and repeatedly put them under pressure. The game was ultimately decided by a late goal scored while Asiago were on the power play, leaving the Giallorossi with plenty of regrets over their missed opportunities.

On the lineup front, the game marked the debut of new signing Waltteri Lehtonen, who was placed on a line alongside Szypula and Porco. Ryan Valentini, Fallou Mbow and Michele Forte were unavailable.

Asiago got off to a strong start, showing an attacking mindset from the opening exchanges and taking the lead as early as the 3rd minute. Just nine seconds into their first power play, Nick Porco received the puck near the faceoff circle and fired an unstoppable shot past Nurek to make it 1-0. The Kazakh response was not long in coming, and in the 5th minute Nomad had a power play of their own. The visitors displayed a well-organized man advantage, creating several scoring opportunities through Muratov, Panyukov and Mangisbayev, but Rudy Rigoni was equal to the task, producing a series of excellent saves.

The game remained lively, with chances at both ends. In the 10th minute, Traversa became dangerous after stealing the puck near the blue line and sending his shot narrowly wide, while Gross came close to scoring for the visitors on the ensuing counterattack. The equalizer arrived shortly afterwards, when Nikitin found the smallest of gaps at the near post and managed to beat Rudy Rigoni, bringing the score to 1-1. Asiago refused to be discouraged and pushed forward again, first threatening through Porco and then with Lehtonen, whose effort forced Nurek into an outstanding save to prevent the home side from regaining the lead. Towards the end of the period, Soderberg also went close to scoring, but the score remained unchanged as the two teams headed to the locker rooms level after an intense and hard-fought opening twenty minutes.

The second period began with an immediate opportunity for Asiago, as Szypula broke away on a counterattack but was well challenged by Kazakh defenseman Kenesbay. However, on the ensuing transition, Nomad took the lead through Korolyov, who found himself unmarked in front of goal and beat Rudy Rigoni with a powerful shot into the top corner to make it 2-1. In the 23rd minute, Asiago found themselves shorthanded once again and had to withstand sustained pressure from their opponents, but defended with discipline and successfully killed off the two-minute penalty.

Back at even strength, the Giallorossi increased the tempo and found a deserved equalizer through Marco Magnabosco. The captain made the most of a clever assist from Porco, who faked a shot before passing to his teammate in a wide position. Magnabosco lifted the puck past Nurek to make it 2-2. The goal gave Asiago renewed confidence, and they nearly completed the comeback through Filippo Rigoni #19, who found himself one-on-one with the Kazakh goaltender but was unable to beat him. The remainder of the period saw an open game, with opportunities at both ends and frequent end-to-end action, but neither team managed to find the go-ahead goal, leaving the score perfectly balanced after forty minutes.

Asiago began the third period with another minute and a half remaining on the power play and immediately looked to create scoring opportunities, although they were unable to find the back of the net. The home side maintained their attacking approach and, in the 44th minute, created a golden opportunity through Alessandro Parco, who found himself in a shooting position at the end of a three-on-one rush, only to be denied by a crucial save from Nurek. Shortly afterwards, Asiago were handed another power-play opportunity, but struggled to generate clear scoring chances. As soon as the teams returned to even strength, another penalty against the Kazakhs gave Asiago a further two minutes with the man advantage. This time, the home side looked more convincing, with an attempt from Marchetti and, most notably, an excellent combination between Traversa and Magnabosco, once again denied by Nurek. During that same play, however, Traversa was penalized for goaltender interference, forcing Asiago to defend shorthanded. The Giallorossi handled the situation well and successfully killed off the remaining minute and a half of the penalty.

After surviving that spell, Nomad began to threaten again, first in the 53rd minute and then a minute later through Alibek, but the score remained locked at 2-2. The closing stages appeared to offer Asiago a golden opportunity when the visitors were penalized in the 54th minute, followed by another infraction just a minute later that gave the home side approximately one minute of a five-on-three advantage. Szypula came agonizingly close to putting Asiago ahead, first hitting the post and then being denied by Nurek. However, just as the Kazakhs returned to four skaters, the decisive moment arrived: in the 57th minute, Korolyov produced an outstanding individual effort, catching the Asiago defense off guard and putting Nomad Astana ahead 3-2 with a shorthanded goal. It proved to be the game-winner, condemning Asiago to a narrow defeat at the end of a contest in which their performance arguably deserved a better result.

With the defeat against the Kazakh side now behind them, Asiago must quickly turn their attention to the next challenge. The Continental Cup continues tomorrow with the second day of action, which will begin to shape the group standings, with every point potentially proving crucial in the race for qualification. Asiago will return to the ice at the Odegar Stadium at 8:00 PM to face Herlev Eagles, in a game that already carries considerable importance for their European campaign.

Captain Magnabosco commented after the game: "Facing teams of international caliber is always tough, but today we played our game and it was a very evenly matched contest. Unfortunately, we couldn't capitalize on our power-play opportunities, and they made us pay for it."

Score: 03:03 Porco (Parco, Szypula); 10:14 Nikitin (Tussupbekov, Muratov); 21:30 Korolyov (Shulga, Muratov); 26:46 Magnabosco (Porco, Rigoni); 56:24 Korolyov

HC Migross Asiago: Rigoni (Santangelo) - Casetti, Calisti, Parini, Tolomelli, Soderberg, Pietroniro, Rigoni - Parco, Stevan, Rigoni, Marcazzan, Lehtonen, Marchetti, Porco, Ferretti, Traversa, Rigoni, Szypula, Magnabosco All. Parco

Nomad Astana: Nurek (Shestakov) - Tussupbekov, Korolyov, Suleimenov, Makarov, Nikitin, Kengesbay, Dikhanbek - Boiko, Alibek, Gross, Tsybin, Beisembayev, Shulga, Mangisbayev, Merzlikin, Ruslanuly, Muratov, Migunov, Panyukov, Sitnikov All. Pushkarev