SKA - Sibir

SKA - Sibir - 6:2

15 January 2017

SKA played their third match of this KHL home series against HC Sibir Novosibirsk. Head coach Oleg Znarok made a couple of changes, returning defenseman Dmitry Yudin and forward Ilya Kablukov to the roster. Mikko Koskinen and Ivan Nalimov were the starting netminders.

Despite knowing that SKA were going to come flying out of the blocks, Sibir contrived to concede the first goal within the opening minute – displaying slow reactions, Ivan Nalimov was powerless to prevent Evgeny Dadonov’s wraparound from sliding in. Buoyed by that goal, SKA pinned Sibir inside their own zone, creating plenty of goalscoring opportunities. Sibir rode the storm out though, slowly growing into the game. Towards the end of the period they began to create chances on SKA’s crease, however Mikko Koskinen stood tall to their advances.

Hungry for points, Sibir continued their improved play in the second stanza. All of a sudden, it was now the visitors putting the pressure on, forcing Mikko Koskinen into a number of key saves. Unfortunately, their pressing eventually led up to a goal – pouncing on a juicy rebound, Konstantin Okulov lashed top shelf. Full of confidence, Sibir promptly took their first lead – on the doorstep, Joonas Kemppainen took advantage of a clever Evgeny Artyukhin pass.

Nevertheless, SKA weren’t about to let Sibir feel themselves at home, equalising minutes later – Pavel Datsyuk tricked his way past Sibir’s defensemen, wristed and his effort was tipped in by Viktor Tikhonov. On their feet, the Ice Palace faithful were soon celebrating a third – Nikita Gusev cut to the high slot, took aim and scored with the help of the crossbar. To cap off a thrilling period, Sibir forward Evgeny Artyukhin was chucked out of the game for spearing Viktor Tikhonov.

Beginning the third period on that extended powerplay, SKA soon put the match out of sight. Ilya Kablukov and Vadim Shipachyov netted two identical goals on the crease, both bundling the puck over the line. Bedraggled, Sibir knew the game was up, only having two shots on goal during the frame. The win was sealed by Evgeny Dadonov, who finished off a classic SKA play. 6:2, SKA make it five consecutive victories!

Match protocol:

SKA – Sibir – 6:2 (1:0, 2:2, 3:0)

Goals:

1:0 Dadonov, 00.58

1:1 Okulov (Polasek, Milovzorov), 27.26

1:2 Kemppainen (Artyukhin), 31.23

2:2 Tikhonov (Datsyuk, Kovalchuk), 32.05

3:2 Gusev (Shipachyov), 32.29

4:2 Kablukov (Kovalchuk, Belov), 44.21

5:2 Shipachyov (Dadonov, Gusev), 45.40

6:2 Dadonov (Gusev, Shipachyov), 51.55

Goalkeepers: Koskinen – Nalimov