Admiral - SKA

Admiral - SKA - 1:5

10 September 2015

SKA’s road trip around Far Eastern Russia came to a close today in Vladivostok against HC Admiral. This was going to be a tough test for our team against tricky opponents, and head coach Andrei Nazarov was happy to welcome Vadim Shipachyov to the second line following a one match ban. Ilya Grebennikov made way as a result, and Mikko Koskinen was still our netminder with ex SKA man Ivan Nalimov his opposite number for Admiral.

Admiral are always fast starters at home, and with the rink being a Canadian sized one unlike other arenas in the KHL, they knew how to pressure SKA. Right from the off all the goalmouth action was coming at one end, and the hosts managed to take a deserved lead. Yaroslav Alshevsky’s wrister was pushed out onto the doorstep, and Jonathan Blum gobbled up the rebound. Our players couldn’t get into things at all, and a mere five shots on target were recorded during the opening frame. Yegor Yakovlev was the only player to come close as he took an air shot with an open net to aim at, however luck was on our side at the end of the period. Alexander Kuznetsov snuck clean through, and Mikko Koskinen made a stunning glove save to keep the difference at one.

That stop proved to be crucial, as all of a sudden our team began to take over control in the second period. Three minutes after the restart Alexei Ponikarovsky dumped the puck into the zone, Ivan Nalimov lost it behind his net, and Alexander Dergachyov poked in from point blank range for his debut KHL marker. SKA had been given a serious lift with that goal, and out of nothing the second goal arrived. Evgeny Ketov powered down the right wing, took aim, and cannoned his effort in off the far post. Admiral were deflated now, and an Oskars Bartulis penalty opened up the door for the third. The puck was cleverly worked around Admiral’s crease, and on the right post Vadim Shipachyov swept in. The Fetisov Arena had gone rather flat, and SKA kept on firing in shots on Ivan Nalimov from all positions. At the other end Mikko Koskinen wasn’t having too much work to do, although he did keep hold of a few dangerous shots by his blocker.

At 3:1 up the next goal was going to be vital, and thankfully it was scored by our team. Evgeny Ketov skated on to the left faceoff circle, shot hopefully, and Ivan Nalimov saw it too late to catch. Admiral were all over the place, and on a powerplay SKA finished the game completely. Anton Burdasov found room at the high slot, and went top shelf over the netminder’s blocker. Our players could enjoy themselves with time running down, and the puck was kept expertly with Admiral’s players spending much of the time chasing for possession. Alexander Dergachyov could have even made it six as he broke away two on one, but he opted to shoot himself and the goaltender read the play to hold. Mikko Koskinen had a few strong pad saves to make as Admiral made one final push for a consolation in front of their home fans, but it wasn’t to be as SKA confidently triumph 5:1 in Vladivostok! Our team will now return home to Saint Petersburg to prepare for the game against HC Dynamo Moscow next week.

Match protocol:

Admiral – SKA – 1:5 (1:0, 0:3, 0:2)

Goals:

1:0 Blum (Alshevsky, Pelletier), 05.12

1:1 Dergachyov (Rukavishnikov, Ponikarovsky), 23.34

1:2 Ketov, 26.24

1:3 Shipachyov (A Belov, Burdasov), 36.21

1:4 Ketov, 41.22

1:5 Burdasov (Shipachyov, A Belov), 49.36

Goalkeepers: Nalimov – Koskinen

Shots on target: 23 – 32

Faceoffs: 35 – 37