SKA - Vityaz

SKA - Vityaz - 4:0

25 February 2021

In Saint Petersburg, SKA made short work of HC Vityaz Podolsk in the penultimate match of the 2020/2021 KHL regular season, cruising to a routine 4:0 triumph.

It was an uneventful start to proceedings at the Ice Palace. However, midway through the first period, SKA made the all-important breakthrough as Igor Ozhiganov’s slap shot was simply too hot for Vityaz goalkeeper Anton Todykov to handle.

Seven minutes later, our team doubled their money moments after a powerplay ended, with Andrei Kuzmenko forcing the puck over the line after his initial shot had been saved by Todykov. Vityaz boss Mikhail Kravets opted to use his coach’s challenge for goaltender interference, but his appeal was dismissed by the referees after video review.

Vityaz’s only real chance of the frame saw Kaspars Daugavins knock the puck wide of the gaping right corner when collecting a big rebound.

SKA made the perfect start to the second period.\

Presented with an odd-man rush, Kirill Marchenko sent a sweeping pass across to the onrushing Ivan Morozov, who calmly beat Todykov with an unstoppable one-timer.

Our players went on to dominate the vast majority of the frame. On the front foot, SKA created chances at will, applying overwhelming pressure on the somewhat shaky Vityaz defence which was struggling to cope. Todykov pulled off a series of difficult saves against Kuzmenko, Marchenko and Anton Burdasov to keep Vityaz in the game.

For his part, Samonov did have to make one tough stop, as he shut the door on the clean through Fyodor Malykhin. Incidentally, Vityaz blew another 1-on-1 chance in the ensuing third period, as lively 20-year-old forward Zakhar Bardakov missed the net completely shorthanded.

The third period saw both teams take a number of penalties with the match becoming scrappy. Nevertheless, while SKA couldn’t use any of their powerplays, they did tally a fourth marker in the 49^th minute as Marchenko tipped the puck in at point-blank range.

SKA will now prepare to host Dinamo Minsk on Saturday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 17:00 local time.

Match protocol:

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

Goals:

1:0 Ozhiganov (Morozov, Galimov), 11.04

2:0 Kuzmenko (Kemppainen, Tkachyov), 18.24

3:0 Morozov (Tokranov, Marchenko), 22.08

4:0 Marchenko (Galimov), 48.50

Goalkeepers: Samonov - Todykov

Shots on target: 31 - 18

Faceoffs: 29 - 29

Hits: 15 - 28