11-goal thriller falls Severstal’s way

16 January 2025

Defensive woes once again were SKA’s downfall, as seven conceded goals resulted in an avoidable 4:7 home loss to Severstal in the 2024/2025 KHL regular season.

Just like in nearly all of our recent games, SKA found the net with relative ease, but awful mistakes at the back took away any possibility of emerging victorious.

Severstal bossed practically the entirety of the first period in which Mikhail Grigorenko and Valentin Zykov both saw markers disallowed for goaltender interference.

David Dumbadze opened the scoring shorthanded in the 10^th minute in somewhat fortunate circumstances, capitalising on a poor misunderstanding between Pavel Moisevich and Alexander Nikishin.

SKA responded with Ivan Demidov tallying a wonderful individual effort with the help of a wicked ricochet. Nevertheless, Severstal weren’t affected by that setback, as they continued to run the game with their intricate, technical passing plays.

Nikolai Chebykin pounced on the rebound on the slot to put Severstal ahead in the last minute of the frame. Fast forward 12 seconds and it was three, as Danil Aimurzin burst past the somewhat static SKA defence and backhanded under Moisevich.

Matters escalated dramatically in the second.

Passive defending allowed Kirill Pilipenko to take aim and snap a strong wrister Moisevich. Firmly on top, the confident visitors had well and truly sensed blood, registering a fifth in the 31^st minute as the impressive Mikhail Ilyin carefully backhanded in when through 1-on-1.

SKA opted to pull Moisevich in favour of Yegor Zavragin following Severstal’s fifth. The Cherepovets-based outfit soon netted their sixth, though, with Dumbadze catching Zavragin cold from distance.

The hosts shell-shocked. However, our team did claw one back before the second period was out, as Zykov completed a flowing passing play while competing on the PP.

To their credit, our players came out fighting for the third period.

Sergei Plotnikov added intrigue to the battle in the 47^th minute, whacking the loose puck home after Shostak had kicked Andrei Pedan’s low wrister clear.

Zykov then really did make it a grandstand finish when tucking the puck in after receiving a superb pass from Demidov with Zavragin on the bench. Throwing everything at Severstal, SKA created a handful of chances and called Shostak into action from any angle possible, but a late hooking penalty taken by Sergei Plotnikov ruined any hope of completing the comeback.

SKA will now prepare to host Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 19:30 local time.

Match protocol:

SKA – Severstal – 4:7 (1:3, 1:3, 2:1)

Goals:

0:1 Dumbadze (Davydov), 09.42 SHG

1:1 I. Demidov (Plotnikov, Grigorenko), 14.07

1:2 Chebykin (Abrosimov, Kaldis), 19.02

1:3 Aimurzin (Pilipenko, Barberio), 19.12

1:4 Pilipenko (Aimurzin, Churkin), 27.09

1:5 Ilyin (Aimurzin), 30.10

1:6 Dumbadze (Grudninin, Churkin), 34.34

2:6 Zykov (Grigorenko, Nikishin), 37.55 PPG