Anyang Halla stay alive in Asian hockey final vs. Sakhalin

SEOUL, April 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korean club Anyang Halla defeated Sakhalin 1-0 to stay alive in the Asia League Ice Hockey finals on Saturday.

Brock Radunske scored the winner with six seconds remaining at Ice Palace Crystal in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, as Anyang Halla evened the best-of-five series at two games apiece. The fifth and deciding game will be back at the same venue Sunday.

Anyang's goalie Matt Dalton made 22 saves for his first shutout of the series, keeping Anyang's title hopes alive.

Anyang's last Asian championship came in 2011. The club finished with the best regular season record with 114 points, while Sakhalin had 113 points.

Anyang, which won the first game and then dropped the next two, put 10 shots on Sakhalin's net in the opening frame, though they missed out on some breakaway chances. In the second period, Anyang outshot Sakhalin 12-2, with forward Park Woo-sang hitting the goal post with 33 seconds left in the frame.

Sakhalin tried to finish off Anyang before a home crowd in the third, but Dalton stood his ground in Anyang's net. Yet, the South Korean club struggled to score, wasting two power play opportunities.

When the game seemed destined for overtime, Radunske came through with a deflection of an Eric Regan shot from the point with six seconds left.

The officials reviewed the play to see if Radunske's stick had been above the height of the crossbar on the scoring play, and the initial call stood to give Anyang the series-saving victory.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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