Late Spartak show sinks SKA

22 January 2026

SKA were undone by a late Spartak show on Thursday evening, as the visitors snatched a smash-and-grab 2:1 victory in Saint Petersburg.

Having taken an early lead through Nikita Nedopyokin's opportunistic effort, SKA were on course for a moral-boosting win, but Spartak provided a sting in the tail with a pair of markers in the concluding eight minutes.

Nedopyokin had initially got SKA on the board in just the fourth minute of proceedings, catching away goaltender Alexander Georgiyev cold with a snappy wrist shot which flew over the glove.

Both teams went on to create their fair share of opportunities during the remainder of the match.

Nathan Todd smacked the crossbar from a tight angle in the opening period for Spartak, before SKA's Valentin Zykov repeated the trick in the second.

After successfully killing Joe Blandisi's high-sticking penalty in the third frame, SKA looked to be heading for a well-needed shutout triumph.

However, Nikita Korostelyov hauled Spartak level with a goal out of nothing in the 53rd minute, tapping home from close range after the initial attempt from Luke Lockhart had taken a wicked deflection.

And Danil Pivchulin then delivered the hammer blow with less than three minutes remaining, wiring a rising wrister beyond Artemiy Pleshkov's outstretched glove.

SKA really should have forced overtime during an almighty final-minute onslaught. Joe Blandisi, Matvei Polyakov and Brendan Leipsic all contrived to waste golden opportunities, though, as the Moscow-based opponents just about clung on for dear life.

Our team will now prepare to face Torpedo in Nizhny Novgorod on Saturday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 17:00 local time.

Match protocol:

SKA - Spartak - 1:2 (1:0, 0:0, 0:2)

Goals:

1:0 Nedopyokin (Sapego, Polyakov), 03.04

1:1 Korostelyov (Lockhart, Solovyov), 52.42

1:2 Pivchulin (Todd, Maltsev), 57.06

Goalkeepers: Pleshkov - Georgiyev

Shots: 68 - 58

Shots on target: 36 - 32

Faceoffs: 33 - 23

Blocked shots: 13 - 10