SKA - Salavat Yulaev

SKA - Salavat Yulaev - 5:3

9 December 2015

SKA’s fourth match of this home series took place against HC Salavat Yulaev Ufa. Head coach Sergei Zubov handed a debut to American forward Steve Moses in the third line, with Alexander Barabanov dropping to the fourth. Andrei Kuteikin was added to the fourth as well, and our starting goaltender was Mikko Koskinen. Salavat, coached by Igor Zakharkin, had Niklas Svedberg in net.

Given the match’s top status it was tense affair right from the off, and being the home team SKA took the initiative. An early Salavat penalty gave our players the ideal opportunity to take the lead, and they did just that. Nikita Gusev rolled the puck back for Andrei Kuteikin to blast, and on the left faceoff circle the latter launched a rocket into the far corner. That shot was something to behold, and the team drew confidence from that. Salavat were being camped inside their own zone, and on a second man’s advantage SKA doubled their money. Clever build up play between Vadim Shipachyov and Nikita Gusev set up Evgeny Dadonov on the doorstep, and Evgeny doesn’t miss those. Nevertheless Salavat aren’t the KHL’s top scorers for nothing, and 28 seconds later they cut the deficit in half. Skating away on a breakaway Maxim Mayorov was left open on the slot, and he slotted in under Mikko Koskinen’s glove.

Both teams opted to tighten up in the second, and very few openings were witnessed at either end. SKA were still having more of the possession, but Salavat’s defence was making it tough to stay in the attacking zone for a prolonged amount of time. Chances still did come though, and Vadim Shipachyov should really have made it three. Taking up a loose puck at point blank range, Vadim’s goalbound effort was somehow tipped over by Niklas Svedberg. That proved to be the last chance in the period for SKA, and it was all Salavat after that. Mikko Koskinen was being called into action regularly, and eventually Salavat made their pressure count. A juicy rebound popped out, and Teemu Hartikainen made no mistake. That shocked the Ice Palace, and only a minute after that goal Salavat struck again. Igor Grigorenko took aim from an impossible looking angle on the left, and the puck rolled over Mikko’s back before crossing the line.

A comeback was required in the third period, however for the most part it didn’t look like coming. Salavat were calmly controlling the game, and didn’t give our players much joy at all. Their counterattacks were causing problems too, and Mikko Koskinen kept the difference at one with a sprawling save blocker side. SKA weren’t going to go down without a fight though, and levelled up out of nothing. Anton Burdasov skated in from the right, let a quick wrister go, and caught the unsighted Nikals Svedberg cold. The arena burst back into life with that goal, and Salavat found that a blow too hard to recover from. All the action was coming at one end, and the crucial fourth goal found its way in. An off balance Alexander Kadeikin one timed at the high slot, and the netminder couldn’t get enough on it. Salavat capitulated after that, and practically killed the game as a contest taking two late penalties. They still did have time to pull their goaltender with half a minute remaining, but that only resulted in American Steve Moses backhanding in for a debut goal. 5:3, and SKA take their seventh win in a row! The next match will take place in Saint Petersburg against HC Metallurg Magnitogorsk on Friday.

Match protocol:

SKA – Salavat Yulaev – 5:3 (2:1, 0:2, 3:0)

Goals:

1:0 Kuteikin (Shipachyov, Gusev), 03.46

2:0 Dadonov (Shipachyov, Gusev), 14.29

2:1 Mayorov (Prokhorkin), 14.57

2:2 Hartikainen (Loginov, Prokhorkin), 36.55

2:3 Grigorenko (Engqvist), 37.51

3:3 Burdasov (Kovalchuk), 48.31

4:3 Kadeikin (Kovalchuk), 52.10

5:3 Moses (Koskiranta), 59.32

Goalkeepers: Koskinen – Svedberg