Amur - SKA

Amur - SKA - 2:3

16 November 2017

In Khabarovsk, SKA took on HC Amur for the second match of this KHL road trip. Following the victory against Admiral Vladivostok, head coach Oleg Znarok didn't make any changes to the line-up. Finnish pair Mikko Koskinen and Juha Metsola were the starting goaltenders.

Both teams made a positive start to proceedings, throwing bodies into attack when the opportunity arose. To our delight, SKA managed to strike first blood. Dinar Khafizullin was the hero, firing an arrowed wrister under Juha Metsola's glove. Sergei Plotnikov thought he had scored an instant second, but his one timer was swept off the line by an Amur defenseman. Unfortunately, shorthanded, Amur got back on terms. Peeling beyond the SKA defence, Oleg Li went top shelf on Mikko Koskinen. 1:1 after twenty minutes.

Nevertheless, SKA responded well in the second stanza. Yegor Yakovlev deservedly gave our team a second lead, deflecting David Rundblad's effort past the goalkeeper. SKA had plenty of chances to extend the advantage, outshooting Amur 10-7 in the frame. Nikolai Prokhorkin came the closest, firing into Juha Metsola's chest at point blank range.

On an early third period powerplay, Sergei Kalinin tapped home from the doorstep to give SKA a 3:1 lead. That should have killed the game, but Amur had other ideas. Roared on by their loud supporters, the Khabarovsk outfit tested Mikko Koskinen from all angles, creating a number of promising chances. Alexandre Picard eventually got their second goal, catching Mikko Koskinen cold glove side with three minutes remaining. SKA managed to keep Amur at bay during the final few plays though, holding on to an important 3:2 victory!

Match protocol:

Amur - SKA - 2:3 (1:1, 0:1, 1:1)

Goals:

0:1 Khafizullin (Hersley, Plotnikov), 08.39

1:1 Li (Byvaltsev), 13.01

1:2 Yakovlev (Rundblad, Gusev), 23.59

1:3 Kalinin (Koskiranta, Karpov), 40.24

2:3 Picard (Klopov, Jordan), 56.33

Goalkeepers: Metsola - Koskinen

Shots on target: 32 - 23

Penalty minutes: 6 - 6

Faceoffs: 22 - 26