Barys - SKA

Barys - SKA - 3:5

16 September 2016

SKA begun their latest KHL road trip with a match against HC Barys Astana in Kazakhstan. Stand in head coach Pyotr Vorobyov shook up the line-up, with Steve Moses and Evgeny Ketov returning. There was also a debut, as young forward Ivan Volodin was granted a place in the fourth line. Igor Shestyorkin and Vitaly Kolesnik were the game’s starting netminders.

Matches between these two teams are often goal filled affairs, and this was no different. Both sides earned early powerplays, and incredibly, they were both taken advantage of – Vyacheslav Voynov’s slap shot cancelled out Roman Starchenko’s clever goal. Unfortunately, SKA contrived to commit a second foul moments after equalising, and the hosts pounced on their opportunity. Kevin Dallman wristed through traffic, and Igor Shestyorkin failed to react. They weren’t finished there either, as Cam Barker lashed into the net beyond an unsighted goalkeeper. SKA were in a large hole, and thankfully, we did get one back before the break – Jarno Koskiranta’s long range effort caught Vitaly Kolesnik cold.

After that thrilling first period, SKA knew that they had to keep attacking, and the team took the initiative. As time rolled on, Barys started to falter, and had it not been for Vitaly Kolesnik, we would have tied the game up. Vyacheslav Voynov, Ilya Kablukov and Nikita Gusev all looked set to score until the Barys goalkeeper pulled off fantastic saves, and the home boss was forced into taking an early timeout.

It was set up to be a tense third frame, and SKA immediately got to work. The hosts were being pinned in their own zone, and after Nurstulan Belgibaev took a tripping penalty, we finally got back on terms – Sergei Plotnikov knocked a juicy rebound into the net. That goal floored Barys, and in the next play, Alexander Barabanov backhanded home to give SKA their first lead. It was all one way traffic, and the hosts were fast falling apart. The Kazakhs’ hopes of victory were in tatters, and they sealed their own fate – Kevin Dallman played a horrible back pass off the boards, and Nikita Gusev was on hand to punish him. 5:3 today, and SKA make it two wins in a row!

Match protocol:

Barys – SKA – 3:5 (3:2, 0:0, 0:3)

Goals:

1:0 Starchenko (Rymarev, Pushkaryov), 01.50

1:1 Voynov (Kovalchuk), 03.31

2:1 Dallman (Bochenski, Dawes), 04.08

3:1 Barker (Bochenski, Dawes), 08.27

3:2 Koskiranta (Moses, Rykov), 13.26

3:3 Plotnikov (Voynov, Gusev), 45.55

3:4 Barabanov (Moses), 46.35

3:5 Gusev, 57.49

Goalkeepers: Kolesnik – Shestyorkin