SKA – Dinamo Minsk

SKA – Dinamo Minsk – 7:2

15 November 2022

Thanks to a hugely impressive six-goal performance in the third period, SKA emphatically got back to winning ways in the 2022/2023 KHL regular season, thrashing Dinamo Minsk 7:2 at the Ice Palace.

Given that Minsk had conceded eight goals in their last outing against CSKA in Moscow, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the Belarusians put the emphasis on solid defensive play in the first period.

The opponents refused to allow our players to pass through the neutral zone. Moreover, they were proving to be rather dangerous on the counter-attack, with SKA goaltender Dmitry Nikolaev having to make a handful of difficult saves on the slot.

A late powerplay in the frame allowed SKA to start creating shooting lanes. Vasily Glotov wasted SKA’s best chance, lashing wide of the mark from the doorstep after being found by a typically intelligent pass from Damir Zhafyarov.

The start of the second stanza saw the sides trade goals within two minutes.

As he always does, Pavel Varfolomeev hit the jackpot against our team as he completed a flowing play from the doorstep, but Vasily Glotov conjured up an instant reply for SKA with a whipped wrister which caught Minsk goaltender Konstantin Shostak cold. Lively 19-year-old forward Dmitry Buchelnikov notched his first KHL assist for Glotov’s equaliser.

SKA spent the majority of the period competing on the front foot, pressing Dinamo with intensity and making life increasingly difficult for the Belarusian defence with quick attacking play. Towards the end of the frame, Dmitrij Jaskin thought that he had given SKA their maiden advantage of the match, however his marker was disallowed following a coach’s review as a consequence of offside.

Taking into account that the game had been such a close contest throughout the opening two periods, no one could have predicted what was going to happen in the third.

SKA put a sorry Dinamo side to the sword. Jaskin tallied two legitimate powerplay goals midway through the frame, as he connected with two trademark superb passes from Nikita Gusev on the crease.

Dinamo well and truly capitulated following those pair of goals.

Defending terribly, the away team were leaving poor old Shostak out to dry. On the counter-attack, Valentin Zykov practically put the game to bed after being found cleverly by Maxim Groshev, before Alexander Volkov, Gusev – with the assist of the night from 20-year-old defenseman Kirill Kirsanov – and Stepan Falkovsky all hit the jackpot with aplomb. Falkovsky’s unstoppable slap shot crossed the line seconds after Dinamo had returned to full strength.

Interestingly, despite their incredible mauling, Dinamo refused to pull Shostak. Inexperienced 20-year-old Alexei Snytko was their other goaltending option on the bench.

To their credit, Minsk did grab the last goal of the night with Sergei Sapego beating Nikolaev from a tight angle on the left, but it made no difference to the outcome.

SKA will now prepare to play Ak Bars in Kazan on Thursday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 19:30 local time.

Match protocol:

SKA – Dinamo Minsk – 7:2 (0:0, 1:1, 6:1)

Goals:

0:1 Varfolomeev (Duszak), 21.41

1:1 Glotov (Buchelnikov, Kamalov), 23.44

2:1 Jaskin (Gusev, Nikishin), 47.56 PPG

3:1 Jaskin (Gusev, Vorobyov), 48.45 PPG

4:1 Zykov (Groshev, Khusnutdinov), 49.18

5:1 Volkov (Gusev), 51.15

6:1 Gusev (Kirsanov), 54.19

7:1 Falkovsky (Ozhiganov, Glotov), 57.06