Saturday night disappointment to Yaroslavl

28 February 2026

SKA were found wanting against reigning Gagarin Cup champions Lokomotiv on Saturday evening, conceding an underwhelming 2:5 loss at the Ice Palace.

Struggling throughout, the hosts never really threatened to fully get to grips with a strong Lokomotiv side, which eased to victory and condemned SKA to a second straight loss in the process.

Richard Panik quickly opened the scoring in the fifth minute, thumping a firm wrister beyond Artemiy Pleshkov from distance.

SKA managed to equalise with a howitzer on the powerplay from Matvei Korotky. However, the Yaroslavl-based organisation responded within a minute, as Georgy Ivanov gobbled up the rebound at point-blank range.

Lokomotiv took firm control of proceedings in the second stanza, doubling their money in the 32nd minute with Rushan Rafikov completing a flowing passing play when alone on the right circle.

Georgy Ivanov subsequently increased Lokomotiv’s comfortable lead to three in the early stages of the third stanza, ruthlessly pouncing on a poor defensive error.

Moments later, the in-form Nikita Dishkovsky provided SKA with a glimmer of hope when capitalising on a similar error from the opponents, but to no avail as the match eventually ended with Artur Kayumov icing it with an empty-netter in the final second.

SKA will now prepare to host Barys Astana in Saint Petersburg on Monday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 19:30 local time.

Match protocol:

SKA – Lokomotiv – 2:5 (1:2, 0:1, 1:2)

Goals:

0:1 Panik (Froese, Kiryanov), 04.07

1:1 Korotky (Menell, Goldobin), 07.46 PPG

1:2 Ivanov (Radulov, Misyul), 08.32

1:3 Rafikov (Surin, Sergeyev), 31.10 PPG

1:4 Ivanov (Radulov), 45.09

2:4 Dishkovsky (Khairullin), 45.59

2:5 Kayumov (Ivanov), 59.59 EN

Goalkeepers: Pleshkov – Isayev