SKA - Ak Bars - 1:2. Game Three

15 April 2015

The third match of this KHL Gagarin Cup final series took place today between SKA and HC Ak Bars Kazan in Saint Petersburg. Defenceman Maxim Chudinov made his return to the team after missing the second game in Tatarstan, while Nikolai Belov was ruled out. Mikko Koskinen was in our net, with Anders Nilsson his opposite number.

The visitors were the quickest out of the blocks inside the Ice Palace, and seconds in Vladimir Denisov flashed a pacy slap shot inches wide of the left post. Ak Bars were set on taking the initiative, and as a juicy rebound popped out to the doorstep a complete air shot was taken with only Mikko Koskinen to beat. Our team were gifted a couple of powerplays though, and that allowed the players to kick on. Moments after an Ak Bars penalty expired Maxim Chudinov slapped from the blue line, and Tony Martensson deftly deflected it beyond Anders Nilsson. As the period drew to its close Oscar Moller came within inches of making it a tied game however, wristing off target beyond Mikko’s blocker.

Ak Bars once again saw most of the possession during the first half of the second frame, and they worked a further two fouls out of our team. That gave the visitors the chance to pile on the pressure even harder, and the puck barely left SKA’s zone at all. Igor Mirnov smacked Mikko Koskinen’s left pad from between the circles, Petr Vrana failed to make contact from point blank range, and Kirill Petrov was denied by the goaltender’s huge frame when all alone. Our team were handed a five on three during the last minute of the period though, and Anders Nilsson had to be on his game to get in the way of attempts from all angles possible.

Our team kept on sitting back in the third, and six minutes into the period Ak Bars made them pay. Yevgeni Medvedev received at the blue line, wristed in, and after a number of deflections it slipped by Mikko Koskinen now. The next goal was always going to prove crucial now, and both teams shut up shop not giving anything away. However with five minutes remaining Ak Bars struck a killer blow. Alexander Svitov took aim from distance, and it fluttered over Mikko’s glove and into the net. SKA gave everything as the minutes ticked by, pulled the goalkeeper for the extra skater, but couldn’t get that equalising goal. 1:2 today, and SKA now lead 2:1 in the series.

Match protocol:

SKA – Ak Bars – 1:2 (1:0, 0:0, 0:2)

Goals:

1:0 Martensson (Chudinov), 14.07

1:1 Medvedev (Moller, Azevedo), 46.44

1:2 Svitov (Koltsov, Zakharchuk), 55.55

Goalkeepers: Koskinen – Nilsson

Shots: 22 – 24

Penalty minutes: 8 – 10

Faceoffs: 25 – 24

Blocked shots: 13 – 8

Hits: 19 – 14