Goldobin saves SKA's blushes with OT heroics!

7 January 2026

SKA were on the brink of a shock defeat to Lada Tolyatti after a late collapse, but Nikolai Goldobin’s PP effort in the extra frame ensured that we escaped with an eventful 5:4 victory in Saint Petersburg.

Against all odds, SKA let slip a two-goal advantage in the closing stages against bottom-of-the-table Lada and were teetering on the edge. However, after Tomas Jurco had committed tripping against Matvei Polyakov in overtime, Goldobin wristed in to avoid a huge upset.

Lada had been rewarded for their initial strong start with the opening marker in the eighth minute.

Lurking on the doorstep, familiar face Andrei Altybarmakyan tipped into the right corner.

Sergei Ivanov was much the busier goalkeeper during the maiden stages, in particular making one tough stop with his left pad against Jurco at close range. Our players were somewhat second best, but a tripping foul committed by Lada defenseman Colby Williams opened the door for us to get on level terms.

And Rocco Grimaldi took full advantage of that chance, lashing home on the left circle when receiving an intelligent pass from the lively Brendan Leipsic.

Another powerplay allowed SKA to open up their maiden advantage in the early stages of the second period.

While competing on a 5-on-3, the impressive Grimaldi whipped past Lada goaltender Alexander Trushkov from a tight angle on the left flank.

SKA did then finally begin to display their potential. Protecting possession effectively, our players pinned Tolyatti deep inside their zone for long periods, creating a handful of clear opportunities with Grimaldi more often than not the creator.

Our third marker arrived in the concluding minute of the stanza, with Goldobin catching Trushkov cold with a snappy attempt.

That goal arrived moments after Jurco had somehow smacked the crossbar for Lada with the goal at his mercy.

SKA’s third appeared to have gone a long way towards putting the game to bed. But, to the shock of the Ice Palace faithful, that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

The third stanza was a complete and utter nightmare from a home point of view. Jurco deservedly made it a one-goal game midway through the period, firing under Ivanov’s glove when presented with far too much time and space.

SKA simply could not grasp any kind of control. Losing the puck with alarming regularity, the hosts were inviting pressure unnecessarily, failing to either keep Lada at a safe distance or protect Ivanov effectively,

Against the run of play, Yegor Savikov reinstated our two-goal lead with an unstoppable wrist shot with a little over four minutes remaining on the clock.

That looked to be that. Not on Lada’s watch, though, as the away side refused to wave the white flag and were suddenly back on level terms less than two minutes later!

Andrei Chivilyov pounced on a poor SKA error to whack a one-timer between the pads, before Ivan Savchik gave a rapid counter-attack the perfect finish.

SKA were well and truly shell-shocked.

Thankfully, Jurco provided us with a helping hand in overtime, which consequently meant that we emerged from a highly dramatic showdown unscathed.

SKA will now prepare to face Metallurg in Magnitogorsk on Saturday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 14:30 Moscow time.

Match protocol:

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

Goals:

0:1 Altybarmakyan (Makarov, Sawchuk), 07.47

1:1 Grimaldi (Leipsic, Goldobin), 15.24 PPG

2:1 Grimaldi (Goldobin, Leipsic), 26.50 PPG

3:1 Goldobin (Plotnikov, Gurzanov), 39.00

3:2 Jurco (Sawchuk, Makarov), 49.40

4:2 Savikov (Khairullin, Vorobyov), 55.54