Demidov inspires SKA to comeback triumph over Vityaz!

5 January 2025

The unstoppable Ivan Demidov inspired SKA to a dramatic 5:2 triumph over Vityaz Moscow Region in Saint Petersburg, picking up two points to help our team recover from a two-goal deficit!

As a consequence of conceding two avoidable goals in the first period, SKA found themselves on the ropes against a capable Vityaz side, but our team recovered well to eventually get the job done in comfortable fashion.

It really was the worst possible start for SKA.

Frederik Gauthier opened the scoring for Vityaz with a mere 24 seconds on the clock, calmly tapping the puck past the stricken Pavel Moisevich having escaped the attentions of the SKA defence.

Matters soon became even more challenging. After Arseniy Gritsyuk had wasted a glorious opportunity, Vityaz caught us napping on the counter, pouncing on a sloppy error to skate away 2-on-0 and convert with Ivan Chekhovich knocking Dmitry Buchelnikov’s pass in.

SKA grabbed a lifeline with 13 minutes on the clock. Not long after Moisevich had excellently shut the door on familiar face Vladislav Tsitsyura at point-blank range, Ivan Demidov made it six consecutive games with a point, as his goalbound wrister took a slight nick off Zakhar Bardakov.

Our deserved equaliser arrived in the second minute of the second stanza.

Just as Vityaz returned to full strength, Pavel Akolzin got on the end of Mikhail Grigorenko’s slap pass on the doorstep.

Buoyed by that goal, SKA went on to boss the entirety of the period. To our relief, our go-ahead marker eventually arrived with around eight minutes remaining in the frame, as Grigory Kuzmin’s heavy wrist shot crashed against the boards behind the goal, travelled back to the slot and crossed the line as a result of the puck taking a wicked ricochet off the unsighted Kareyev.

19-year-old forward Matvei Korotky incidentally recorded his maiden KHL point on the play!

We didn’t have to wait long for our fourth either. Once again, the impressive Demidov was the hero for us, completing a beautiful give-and-go with Sergei Plotnikov which he had originally started.

Dmitry Yudin should have netted our fifth moments later, but he contrived to smack the left post with the goal completely at his mercy.

Vityaz signalled for their time-out following that missed opportunity. The Balashikha-based outfit made a significant improvement after their 30-second break, notably forcing Moisevich into a handful of tough stops on the crease.

The decisive moment was witnessed early in the third period. Powering through 1-on-1, former SKA forward Dmitry Buchelnikov had an ideal opportunity to cut our lead in half, however he was brilliantly denied by Moisevich.

SKA subsequently punished Vityaz for that miss with a crucial fifth goal on the PP.

Akolzin intended to find a teammate on the doorstep, but his pass was inadvertently turned under Kareyev’s pads by Vityaz forward Vladimir Galuzin.

That goal virtually killed the showdown as a contest. Vityaz called Moisevich into action on a regular basis as they began to force the issue during two late powerplays, but our goalkeeper stood tall to the challenge and saw the game out with minimal fuss.

Our players will now prepare to host Spartak Moscow at the SKA Arena on Wednesday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 17:00 local time.

Match protocol:

SKA – Vityaz – 5:2 (1:2, 3:0, 1:0)

Goals:

0:1 Gauthier (Roy, Makeyev), 00.24

0:2 Chekhovich (Buchelnikov, Stewart), 09.45

1:2 Bardakov (I. Demidov), 13.13

2:2 Akolzin (Grigorenko, Khairullin), 21.16

3:2 Kuzmin (Tolchinsky, Korotky), 31.26

4:2 I. Demidov (Plotnikov), 32.50

5:2 Akolzin, 46.49 PPG

Goalkeepers: Moisevich – Kareyev