SKA - Vityaz - 5:1

SKA completed their home series with a match against HC Vityaz Podolsk. For the first time since playing Medvescak, head coach Oleg Znarok opted to put Mikko Koskinen in net. Defenseman Patrik Hersley, who signed last week, was handed his debut in the third line. Oleg Saprykin was Vityaz’s starting goaltender.

To the amazement of the Ice Palace, SKA opened the scoring with an incredible eleven seconds – splitting the Vityaz defence, Ilya Kovalchuk ripped a cannon into the net. Shocked by that goal, it took a while for Vityaz to regroup. The visitors were coming under huge pressure, and SKA’s forwards were causing havoc every time they skated forward. Eventually, it led up to a second goal – after a video review, it was ruled that Jarno Koskiranta’s wraparound crossed the line. SKA weren’t finished there either, as moments later, Sergei Plotnikov’s powerful one timer ripped past the goalkeeper.

Nevertheless, Vityaz weren’t willing to throw the towel in. With SKA looking relaxed, the Podolsk outfit grabbed the initiative in the second stanza, forcing Mikko Koskinen into some sharp saves. The visitors’ gritty effort was rewarded with a goal – Maxim Afinogenov’s feed was stuffed in by Alexei Makeev at point blank range. Our players were slack, but that Vityaz goal managed to wake them up out of their slumber. Just like in the first, SKA started pressing all over the ice again, and it resulted in a crucial fourth goal – Jarno Koskiranta pounced upon a juicy rebound to bag his second of the day.

Despite the match long having been over as a contest, the high tempo continued into the third period. To their credit, Vityaz refused to give up, creating some half chances in our zone. Mikko Koskinen wasn’t to be beaten again though, pulling off an excellent stop up close. The win wouldn’t be complete without one more SKA goal, and to the fans’ delight, we got it – a beautiful combination play was finished off by Ilya Kovalchuk. 5:1 today, SKA make it six victories on the bounce!

Match protocol:

SKA – Vityaz – 5:1 (3:0, 1:1, 1:0)

Goals:

1:0 Kovalchuk (Voynov, Datsyuk), 00.11

2:0 Koskiranta (Moses), 17.02

3:0 Plotnikov (Kovalchuk, Datsyuk), 18.03

3:1 Makeev (Afinogenov, Semyonov), 26.49

4:1 Koskiranta (Dergachyov, Moses), 37.56

5:1 Kovalchuk (Voynov), 43.45

Goalkeepers: Koskinen – Saprykin

Shots on target: 30 – 23

Penalty minutes: 6 – 4

Faceoffs: 36 – 21

Hits: 8 – 7

Referees: Sergeev, Sidorenko

16.10.2016. Ice Palace, Saint Petersburg.