KHL Opening Cup. SKA - CSKA

KHL Opening Cup. SKA - CSKA - 4:2

21 August 2017

In Saint Petersburg, SKA and HC CSKA Moscow took part in the 2017 KHL Opening Cup match, a trophy awarded to the winner of the season’s first game. Head coach Oleg Znarok made no surprises with the line-up, instating Pavel Datsyuk, Ilya Kovalchuk and Sergei Plotnikov into the first line. Mikko Koskinen and Ilya Sorokin were the starting netminders.

Inside a sold-out Ice Palace, both teams made an aggressive start to proceedings. CSKA promptly earned themselves two penalties, ill-discipline which resulted in SKA taking the lead. Patrik Hersley scored the first goal of the new KHL season, blasting in a trademark slapper. Rattled by that goal, the visitors contrived to panic in defence. SKA took full advantage, as Nikolai Prokhorkin’s snap shot from the right wing caught Ilya Sorokin off guard for 2:0. CSKA improved as the period wore on, but Mikko Koskinen made a few tricky saves.

Forced into committing to attack, CSKA came flying out of the blocks in the second stanza. Unfortunately, they got their goal which their play had been leading up to. Kirill Kaprizov burst away on a counterattack, found the onrushing Mikhail Grigorenko and the latter fired over the goalkeeper’s blocker. CSKA forward Ivan Telegin should have tied the game minutes later, but Mikko Koskinen pulled off a stunning pad save at point blank range. The Moscow outfit were dominant, however SKA had the right response. Following a spell of pressure inside the CSKA zone, Ilya Kovalchuk whipped a superb wrist shot high into the right corner. 3:1 after forty minutes.

The action became even hotter in the third period. Shorthanded, SKA amazingly made it a 4:1 game. Sergei Shirokov received possession, twisted to the crease and backhanded between Ilya Sorokin’s pads. Nevertheless, CSKA weren’t willing to back down. Maxim Shalunov dragged the Moscow outfit back into the match in the next play, unleashing a fierce wrist shot which beat Mikko Koskinen blocker side. The visitors threw everything at SKA during the closing stages, but our players held on to win 4:2 and become the KHL Opening Cup champions!

Match protocol:

SKA – CSKA – 4:2 (2:0, 1:1, 1:1)

Goals:

1:0 Hersley (Datsyuk), 03.21

2:0 Prokhorkin (Gusev), 09.48

2:1 Grigorenko (Kaprizov), 24.17

3:1 Kovalchuk (Hersley), 31.45

4:1 Shirokov, 45.04

4:2 Shalunov (Grigorenko, Kaprizov), 45.46

Goalkeepers: Koskinen – Sorokin

Shots on target: 20 - 30

Penalty minutes: 8 - 8