Friendly match. SKA - Avtomobilist - 4:1

In the first of two planned friendly matches against these particular opponents, SKA managed to defeat Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in Saint Petersburg, earning a hard-fought 4:1 victory.

Mikhail Vorobyov pounced on the loose puck at point-blank range to open the scoring in the first period, before Jesse Blacker subsequently equalised for Avtomobilist at the start of the second. Nevertheless, SKA soon took the lead again, as Andrei Kuzmenko sent a fierce effort beyond opposing goaltender Dmitry Shikin when unmarked on the left faceoff circle.

Zakhar Bardakov and Evgeny Ketov added two further excellent markers in the ensuing third frame to secure the win. Solid goalkeeper Dmitry Nikolaev stopped 23 of the 24 Avtomobilist shots he faced.

SKA will now prepare to host Avtomobilist in Saint Petersburg again on Thursday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 19:30 local time.

Match protocol:

SKA - Avtomobilist - 4:1 (1:0, 1:1, 2:0)

Goals:

1:0 Vorobyov (Galimov), 12.10

1:1 Blacker (Cormier), 22.37

2:1 Kuzmenko (Burdasov), 30.18

3:1 Bardakov (Timkin, Shvets-Rogovoi), 51.51

4:1 Ketov (Khusnutdinov), 54.45

Goalkeepers: Nikolaev - Shikin

Shots: 37 - 49

Shots on target: 25 - 24

Faceoffs: 34 - 25

Blocked shots: 13 - 4

Hits: 8 - 22

Penalty minutes: 10 - 6

22.02.2022.