Russia edge past Belarus in OT at the SKA Arena

In a topsy-turvy encounter, the Russian national team eventually broke through against a stubborn Belarusian side, claiming a thoroughly exciting 4:3 victory in overtime at the Channel One Cup.

Matters initially appeared to be going swimmingly well for Russia, as quickfire goals from Ilya Safonov and SKA forward Grigory Kuzmin - the latter scoring a particularly impressive marker with a stinging wrister from distance - put the hosts in control in the early stages of the second stanza.

However, out of the blue, Belarus struck with three consecutive goals within a minute and a half through Andrei Stas, Vadim Moroz and Yegor Borikov to suddenly take the lead.

Nevertheless, the home team weren't to be denied, as Bogdan Konyushkov equalised on the powerplay in the 46th minute before SKA's Evgeny Kuznetsov hit the target in the ensuing extra frame.

SKA teammates Mikhail Grigorenko (0+1), Marat Khairullin (0+1) and Vasily Glotov (0+1) also finished the game with points on the board.

Russia will now prepare to host Kazakhstan at the SKA Arena in Saint Petersburg tomorrow. Puck-drop is scheduled for 14:00 local time.

Match protocol:

Russia - Belarus - 4:3 OT (0:0, 2:3, 1:0, 1:0)

Goals:

1:0 Safonov (Sorkin), 21.04
2:0 Kuzmin (Grigorenko, Khairullin), 22.09
2:1 Stas (Skorenov), 32.08
2:2 Moroz, 32.45
2:3 Borikov (Skorenov, Stas), 33.16
3:3 Konyushkov (Sorkin), 45.50 PPG
4:3 Kuznetsov (Glotov), 60.53

Goalkeepers: Nabokov - Kulbakov

Shots: 50 - 48

Shots on target: 20 - 27

Faceoffs: 28 - 27

Blocked shots: 9 - 13

Hits: 24 - 15

Penalty minutes: 2 - 12

Referees: Khazhiev, Smirnov

Linesmen: Buturlin, Litvinov

14.12.2024.