Game one. SKA - Lokomotiv

Game one. SKA - Lokomotiv - 5:4 OT

23 March 2017

SKA and Lokomotiv played game one of their 2016/2017 KHL Western Conference final series. Following the second round, head coach Oleg Znarok didn't make any major changes to the squad, keeping Ilya Kovalchuk, Jarno Koskiranta and Evgeny Ketov in the first line. Mikko Koskinen and Alexander Sudnitsin were the starting netminders.

Both teams came flying out of the blocks, creating a number of chances. SKA’s defence was shaky during the opening stages, allowing Lokomotiv to have a few golden opportunities. Maxime Talbot had the best of them, but despite having only Mikko Koskinen to beat, he contrived to fire off target. In the end, it took a Lokomotiv penalty to fire SKA’s engines up. To the delight of the packed Ice Palace, our team made the breakthrough. Anton Belov hung at the point, wristed through traffic and Jarno Koskiranta deftly tipped in. SKA began bossing proceedings, forcing Alexander Sudnitsin into some tricky saves before the period was out.

SKA continued attacking in the second, laying siege to Lokomotiv’s net. The visitors didn’t help themselves either, committing several fouls in a row. Unfortunately, our players couldn’t make it count, hitting the post through Sergei Plotnikov and being denied by Alexander Sudnitsin. Having ridden that storm, Lokomotiv equalized against the run of play. Dmitry Lugin escaped SKA’s defence, skated clean through and fired under the goalkeeper’s blocker. Stunned by that goal, SKA promptly conceded another. Yegor Averin moved into the zone, wristed from distance and his seemingly harmless effort caught Mikko Koskinen cold. SKA could have got back on terms in the frame, but Anton Belov’s slapper cannoned off the pipe.

Nevertheless, it didn’t take long for SKA to score in the third. Patrik Hersley, a former Lokomotiv player, almost broke the net with a powerful one timer. However, in a surprise turn of events, Lokomotiv then regained their lead straight away. Our defence went missing, the visitors cleverly knocked it around on an odd man rush and Maxime Talbot beat Mikko Koskinen. Sadly, the Yaroslavl outfit doubled their advantage instantly. It was an identical play too, with Denis Mosalyov this time getting himself on the scoreboard. SKA weren’t about to throw the towel in though, refusing to give up. Nikita Gusev gave the Ice Palace hope with five minutes remaining, scoring from between the circles. To cap a simply incredible period, SKA forced overtime in the dying seconds. Jarno Koskiranta sneaked on to the slot, took aim and netted five hole.

More drama was in store during overtime. Mikko Koskinen had a problem with his equipment, no one could fix the problem and Igor Shestyorkin, who hadn’t played since the KHL regular season, skated on to replace him. Lokomotiv thought that they had scored not long after that when Petri Kontiola took aim, but the referee indicated that his shot had hit the post. That moment proved to be Lokomotiv’s last chance. SKA forward Nikita Gusev escaped his marker on the left wing, crept inside and Patrik Hersley got the slightest of touches to end the match. 5:4, SKA win a pulsating game in Saint Petersburg and take a 1:0 Western Conference final lead!

Match protocol:

SKA – Lokomotiv – 5:4 OT (1:0, 0:2, 3:2, 1:0)

Goals:

1:0 Koskiranta (Shirokov, Belov), 06.54

1:1 Lugin (Rafikov, Averin), 34.09

1:2 Averin (Koledov, Lyubushkin), 36.22

2:2 Hersley (Shipachyov, Dadonov), 45.31

2:3 Talbot (Kontiola), 46.34

2:4 Mosalyov (Apalkov, Galimov), 47.21

3:4 Gusev (Hersley, Shipachyov), 55.03

4:4 Koskiranta (Hersley, Belov), 59.50

5:4 Hersley (Shipachyov, Gusev), 72.51