SKA - Severstal

SKA - Severstal - 4:1

27 January 2021

In Saint Petersburg, SKA had too much class and experience for HC Severstal Cherepovets, claiming a 4:1 triumph to make it three consecutive wins in the 2020/2021 KHL regular season.

Despite fielding a young, inexperienced team largely made up of players from the MHL and VHL, Severstal made a fearless start inside the Ice Palace. Not showing any signs of nerves, the youthful visitors took the game to SKA during the opening stages, with Nikita Moiseev notably firing just wide when speeding to a shooting position on the right flank.

After weathering the storm, though, SKA promptly took the lead midway through the first period.

Unmarked on the right faceoff circle, Anton Burdasov calmly tapped into the empty net, connecting with the rebound after 20-year-old Severstal goalkeeper Konstantin Shostak had lost sight of the puck.

Our players went on to dominate the remainder of the frame with Vladimir Tkachyov, Danila Galenyuk and Burdasov all missing wonderful chances. In the closing stages of the period, Jindrich Abdul was suddenly presented with a glorious opportunity to draw Severstal level as he skated clean through, but Alexander Samonov denied him with a superb stop.

The pace of proceedings took a large increase in the second stanza.

Continuing to play on the front foot, SKA were creating the vast majority of chances, as Shostak kept Severstal in the game by pulling off tough saves to prevent Vladislav Tsitsyura, Vasily Podkolzin, Burdasov and Tkachyov from doubling the advantage. When taking aim from between the circles, Andrei Kuzmenko did manage to beat Shostak, however the crossbar came to Severstal’s rescue.

The second marker eventually arrived in the 32^nd minute.

Seconds after Severstal had failed to bundle the puck in at point-blank range, the energetic Podkolzin grabbed his deserved goal, firing an unstoppable wrister beyond Shostak glove side. Defenseman Kirill Kirsanov had picked out the onrushing Podkolzin with an accurate feed from deep.

In the box seat, SKA looked to be home and dry, but Severstal had other ideas and halved the deficit in the first minute of the third period as Andrei Alexeev gathered a juicy rebound to poke the puck past the stranded Samonov.

The entire third stanza proved to be somewhat tense. Having gained confidence from their goal, Severstal made life difficult for SKA with their robust, ambitious approach, and our team had Samonov to thank for a crucial save to keep Abdul off the board on the doorstep.

The game was threatening to get away from SKA. However, with less than four minutes remaining, Morozov effectively put the match out of sight as he carefully lifted the puck over Shostak with the backhand. In the penultimate minute, Burdasov iced it with a searing one-timer on the powerplay, in turn securing the 4:1 victory!

SKA will now prepare to face Spartak Moscow in the Russian capital on Saturday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 17:00 local time.

Match protocol:

SKA - Severstal - 4:1 (1:0, 1:0, 2:1)

Goals:

1:0 Burdasov (Khafizullin, Kuzmenko), 09.58

2:0 Podkolzin (Kirsanov), 31.38

2:1 Alexeev (Tikhonov, Kazakov), 40.26

3:1 Morozov, 56.19

4:1 Burdasov (Bengtsson, Morozov), 58.47

Goalkeepers: Samonov - Shostak

Shots on target: 39 - 20

Faceoffs: 46 - 19