SKA edge past Magnitogorsk in tense battle!

8 March 2025

SKA earned an important triumph over Metallurg Magnitogorsk, emerging victorious by a score of 4:2 during a nervy duel in Saint Petersburg.

After initially taking the lead, our players contrived to concede two markers in quick succession towards the end of the opening period from the dangerous Dmitry Silantyev, but they came roaring back with three unanswered goals.

Alexander Nikishin gave SKA the perfect start, firing home from distance midway through the first frame.

However, Silantyev equalised seven minutes later with a wired wrister on the counter-attack, before the same player bundled the puck over the line with a mere 16 seconds remaining on the clock with Yegor Zavragin agonisingly close to keeping it out.

SKA produced the required response in the second period.
Sergei Tolchinsky notched our all-important equaliser in the 32nd minute, carefully lifting the puck over away goaltender Ilya Nabokov at point-blank range.

In such a tight, hard-fought showdown, the first goal in the third stanza was always going to prove decisive, and to our delight it was SKA who scored it
Valentin Zykov was the hero in the third minute of the period, catching Nabokov cold with a sharp wrister from distance.

Tolchinsky then made the points save moments later, brilliantly going top-shelf on Nabokov when completely clean through.

Metallurg promptly swapped the frustrated Nabokov in favour of Alexander Smolin, but the game was gone and SKA calmly saw out the remainder of regulation time with minimal fuss.

SKA will now prepare to host Dinamo Minsk on Tuesday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 19:30 local time.

Match protocol:

SKA – Metallurg Magnitogorsk – 4:2 (1:2, 1:0, 2:0)

Goals:

1:0 Nikishin (Yudin, Khairullin), 09.58

1:1 Silantyev (Kantserov), 16.57

1:2 Silantyev (Zernov, Kantserov), 19.44

2:2 Tolchinsky (Gritsyuk, Nikishin), 31.10 PPG

3:2 Zykov (Vorobyov, Nikishin), 42.32

4:2 Tolchinsky (Dedunov, Zinchenko), 45.51

Goalkeepers: Zavragin – Nabokov/Smolin

Shots: 51 – 48