SKA - Lada - 2:1

SKA played their second home match in a row today against HC Lada Togliatti. Following Andrei Nazarov’s dismissal Sergei Zubov was in charge for this one, and he made a couple of changes to the lineup. Vadim Shipachyov and Evgeny Dadonov were placed together in the second line, with Ilya Kovalchuk paired by Joakim Lindstrom and Jarno Koskiranta. Mikko Koskinen was our netminder, as Edgars Masalskis was his opposite number.

After the home defeat to Ak Bars our players were eager to make the home fans happy again, and instantly took control of proceedings. An early Lada call for holding helped, and the deadlock was immediately broken. Ilya Kovalchuk was teed up on the right faceoff circle, and he blasted beyond the helpless goaltender. That gave the Ice Palace a needed lift, and SKA had plenty of chances to double their money. On another powerplay Anton Belov shot wide alone by the right post, and Joakim Lindstrom backhanded directly into Edgars Masalskis’ stomach. Nevertheless despite all of the pressure Lada were a constant threat on the counterattack, and Mikko Koskinen was forced into a couple of big saves. His best came against Anton Shenfeld at point blank range, as the Lada forward failed to poke beyond Mikko’s right pad.

The second period followed much the tone of the first, with SKA doing all of the attacking and Lada waiting patiently for their chance. Indeed the visitors didn’t allow SKA any space whatsoever, and barely any opportunities were seen in front of goal. Our team did have one opening and it fell to defenceman Dmitry Kalinin, but alone on the slot he couldn’t backhand over Edgars Masalskis’ glove. The Ice Palace began to get rather impatient as Lada continued to frustrate, and their suffocation tactics paid dividends. With Maxim Chudinov in the box after high sticking the dangerous Anton Shenfeld took aim on the doorstep, and he wristed over Mikko Koskinen’s blocker. That did little to raise the mood, and Lada calmly saw the period out.

Our team had to change something up in the third, and an early powerplay gave the players an early boost. Seconds after that penalty ended Anton Burdasov skated all around Lada’s zone, twisted back to between the circles, and wristed beautifully over the goalkeeper's glove for 2:1. SKA took real confidence from that goal, and began to carve Lada open. The best chance for a third fell to the stick of Pyotr Khokhryakov, but the forward smacked the post when alone glove side. As the minutes ticked by Lada took up the initiative, and with seconds left they almost found their desired equaliser. With the netminder pulled Anton Shenfeld had a golden opportunity to send the game into overtime, but on the doorstep he was shut down by an amazing Mikko Koskinen left pad save. That was Lada’s last chance, and SKA held on for a vital 2:1 home victory!

Match protocol:

SKA – Lada – 2:1 (1:0, 0:1, 1:0)

Goals:

1:0 Kovalchuk (Shipachyov), 02.31

1:1 Shenfeld (Viklund, Krysanov), 38.08

2:1 Burdasov (Kablukov, Ketov), 43.34

Goalkeepers: Koskinen – Masalskis

Shots on target: 31 – 28

Penalty minutes: 8 – 8

Faceoffs: 29 – 24

Hits: 15 – 9

Referees: Lavrentyev, Gashilov

18.10.2015. The Ice Palace, Saint Petersburg. Attendance 12085.