SKA - Barys

SKA - Barys - 9:1

27 November 2017

Following six days off, SKA returned to the Saint Petersburg Ice Palace for a KHL match against HC Barys Astana. Head coach Oleg Znarok decided to give Mikko Koskinen a start between the pipes, while young Sergei Kudryavtsev was Barys' goalkeeper.

In the mood for pleasing the packed Ice Palace, SKA made a fast start. Nikolai Prokhorkin broke the deadlock within five minutes, as he took advantage of a juicy rebound. Evgeny Ketov netted with a superb backhand shot to make it 2:0, but Barys thought they had scored a goal of their own when Linden Vey netted from distance. However, the goal was ruled off for offside. A deflated Barys side then conceded a third goal with Yegor Yakovlev scoring from the right faceoff circle, before Sergei Plotnikov thumped in on the slot during a powerplay.

Our players continued holding the initiative in the second stanza. Vadim Shipachyov and David Rundblad both had golden scoring opportunities at point blank range, but they were somehow denied a goal by the acrobatic Sergei Kudryavtsev. James Wright beat Mikko Koskinen at the other end, but after a second video review, it was determined that the play was again offside.

SKA completely run away with the match in the final stanza, scoring an incredible five goals. Sergei Kalinin netted SKA's second powerplay goal of the match, sweeping a loose puck under the hapless goalkeeper. Sergei Plotnikov and Nikolai Prokhorkin then scored their second goals, sending the jubilant fans into raptures. Barys did eventually score when Nigel Dawes caught Mikko Koskinen cold, but SKA were going to have the last say. Vadim Shipachyov grabbed his goal 1 on 1, and Ilya Kovalchuk whipped a gorgeous wrister in with just six seconds remaining. 9:1, SKA thrash Barys in Saint Petersburg!

Match protocol:

SKA - Barys - 9:1 (4:0, 0:0, 5:1)

Goals:

1:0 Prokhorkin (Khafizullin), 04.13

2:0 Ketov (Hersley), 05.39

3:0 Yakovlev (Gusev, Plotnikov), 13.46

4:0 Plotnikov (Gusev, Shipachyov), 18.39

5:0 Kalinin (Kovalchuk, Shipachyov), 42.32

6:0 Plotnikov (Gusev, Prokhorkin), 45.04

7:0 Prokhorkin (Rykov, Plotnikov), 49.18

7:1 Dawes (Vey), 52.08

8:1 Shipachyov (Kovalchuk, Ketov), 56.18