SKA - Jokerit

SKA - Jokerit - 3:5

19 January 2017

SKA completed this KHL home series with a match against HC Jokerit Helsinki. Following five wins in a row, head coach Oleg Znarok didn’t make many changes to the line-up, only replacing the injured Sergei Plotnikov with Alexander Barabanov. Mikko Koskinen and Ryan Zapolski were the starting netminders.

Having lost in Finland a few weeks ago, SKA were always going to come flying out of the blocks. Five minutes in, the first goal duly arrived – on the powerplay, Ilya Kovalchuk opened up on the right faceoff circle, launching a rocket past Ryan Zapolski. That marker enabled SKA to dictate the play, refusing to let Jokerit in their zone. The Ice Palace didn’t have to wait long for a second – hanging on the doorstep, Ilya Kovalchuk deftly tipped Yegor Yakovlev’s feed home to make it two. The frustrated Finns were struggling to keep their emotions in check, provoking SKA’s players into nasty brawls.

Nevertheless, to the stadium’s shock, Jokerit suddenly came roaring back. Out of nothing, the visitors managed to get back on level terms within three minutes after the restart – Jesse Joensuu battled a loose puck over the line, before Oliver Lauridsen’s long range wrister drifted over Mikko Koskinen. It was about to get worse too – Jokerit had a breakaway, SKA’s defensemen got in a muddle, and Tommi Huhtala made them pay. 2:3.

Thankfully, those goals brought SKA back to life. With a Jokerit player in the box, we managed to get on level terms – Ryan Zapolski made the initial save, however he was powerless to prevent Evgeny Dadonov from stabbing the rebound home.

Sadly, that proved to be the match’s last bright point for SKA. After Nikita Gusev smacked the woodwork early on in the third period, Jokerit took full control of proceedings. They took their second lead through Tommi Huhtala, whose dump into the slot took a cunning deflection which deceived Mikko Koskinen. The Finns promptly doubled their advantage, as Pekka Jormakka slotted into the right corner at point blank ramge. Despite pulling Mikko Koskinen, SKA failed to score any more goals, succumbing to Jokerit 3:5 in Saint Petersburg.

Match protocol:

SKA – Jokerit – 3:5 (2:0, 1:3, 0:2)

Goals:

1:0 Kovalchuk (Gusev, Shipachyov), 05.41

2:0 Kovalchuk (Yakovlev), 11.33

2:1 Joensuu (Niemi), 21.28

2:2 Lauridsen (Marjamaki, Talaja), 22.35

2:3 Huhtala (Genoway, Wirtanen), 28.07

3:3 Dadonov (Khafizullin), 34.09

3:4 Huhtala (Antilla, Wirtanen), 46.51

3:5 Jormakka (Regin, Jaakola), 50.10

Goalkeepers: Koskinen – Zapolski