Lada - SKA - 2:3 OT

23 December 2016

SKA travelled to Tolyatti to begin this particular KHL away series against HC Lada. The biggest pre-match news was to see the return of Finnish goaltender Mikko Koskinen, who took his place between the pipes. Ilya Ezhov, ex SKA goalkeeper, was Lada's starting goaltender.

In front of their home fans, Lada always come out all guns blazing. It proved to be the same here today too, as they took the lead early on - Nikita Filatov pulled to the right flank, took on a hopeful shot and caught Mikko Koskinen cold glove side. Nevertheless, despite that setback, SKA didn't lose focus. The score was tied up within minutes - Evgeny Dadonov streaked clear of the Lada back line, wristing firmly into the left corner. Our team took confidence from that goal, taking a prompt lead before the period was out. On the powerplay, the puck was beautifully swung around and Nikita Gusev lashed into the gaping left corner.

Shorthanded, SKA had a golden opportunity to double the advantage in the second stanza - Sergei Shirokov earned himself a penalty shot, however he failed to make use of the chance. Our players were in control of proceedings, creating plenty of openings in front of Lada's net. Ilya Kovalchuk and Evgeny Ketov had the best of them, both being denied by Ilya Ezhov.

However, out of the blue, things were about to turn against SKA. Ilya Kovalchuk received a 5+20 penalty for a rough foul, gifting Lada a chance to get back on level terms. Unfortunately, they did just that - Taylor Aronson launched a one timer beyond Mikko Koskinen. SKA managed to fend off the rest of that extended Lada powerplay though, forcing the match into overtime.

That was where SKA finally killed the away side off. With a man's advantage, Vadim Shipachyov thumped home a thunderous effort on the right faceoff circle. 3:2, SKA take a tough victory away from Tolyatti!

Match protocol:

Lada - SKA - 2:3 OT (1:2, 0:0, 1:0 - 0:1)

Goals:

1:0 Filatov (Ivanov, Gurkin), 09.08

1:1 Dadonov (Kovalchuk, Shipachyov), 11.29

1:2 Gusev (Dadonov, Shipachyov), 16.52

2:2 Aronson (Demagin), 45.00

2:3 Shipachyov (Voynov, Gusev), 62.02

Goalkeepers: Ezhov - Koskinen

Shots on target: 20 - 27

Penalty minutes: 8 - 31

Faceoffs: 26 - 35