SKA – Dinamo Minsk

SKA – Dinamo Minsk – 1:2 OT

22 January 2024

SKA only claimed the one point against Dinamo Minsk at the Ice Palace in the 2023/2024 KHL regular season, suffering a slender 1:2 OT loss at the Ice Palace.

An intense, hotly contested opening stanza was bereft of major opportunities.

Vasily Glotov came the closest for our team, whacking against the right post while competing on the powerplay. Alexander Kadekin subsequently forced away goaltender Alexei Kolosov into a smart stop with his left pad when attempting to complete a flowing counter-attack.

Minsk, a talent-stacked team which boasts plenty of top-quality foreigners, took the game to SKA and created a handful of half-chances. Their first line consisting of Sam Anas, Tanner Fritz and Alexander Volkov was predictably threatening, with the former unleashing one particularly memorable one-timer which flew inches wide of the left post.

The second stanza was contested in a similar manner to the first.

Barely any chances were on show for either side. However, after SKA had contrived to take two penalties in quick succession, a 5-on-3 powerplay opened the door for the Belarusians to break the deadlock.

To their credit, our players had managed to kill Dinamo’s two-man advantage, but the opponents hit the jackpot a mere four seconds after SKA had returned to full strength as Roman Gorbunov hammered into the gaping net from the right flank. SKA had been caught sleeping at the back during a shift change.

That goal did provoke a response from SKA.

A flurry of opportunities came and went during the closing stages of the period. When swinging for a sharp wraparound, Sergei Tolchinsky looked certain to score, but 22-year-old Kolosov got in the way with his outstretched left pad.

Our equaliser finally arrived in the 49^th minute.

Lurking on the right wing, Alex Galchenyuk got the better of the solid Kolosov with an unstoppable one-timer on the powerplay.

Further PP chances came and went for both teams throughout the remainder of regulation.

In such a tight showdown, it was only logical that overtime was required, but it sadly fell Minsk’s way.

With only one second remaining on the clock, the lively Anas left Nikita Serebryakov clutching at thin air when letting fly from the left faceoff circle on another PP. Alexander Nikishin had gifted Dinamo that particular powerplay chance after committing tripping inside the attacking zone.

It’s also worth noting that Anas had already had a goal disallowed for offside at the start of the extra period.

SKA will now prepare to host Barys Astana in Saint Petersburg on Wednesday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 19:30 local time.

Match protocol:

SKA – Dinamo Minsk – 1:2 OT (0:0, 0:1, 1:0, 0:1)

Goals:

0:1 Gorbunov (Moroz, Kodola), 33.57

1:1 Galchenyuk (Rendulic, Tolchinsky), 48.09 PPG

1:2 Anas (Gorbunov, Hamilton), 64.59 PPG

Goalkeepers: Serebryakov – Kolosov

Shots: 73 – 43

Shots on target: 36 – 22

Faceoffs: 44 – 25