Game four. Torpedo – SKA

Game four. Torpedo – SKA – 3:5

22 March 2023

In an eight-goal thriller, SKA produced the goods when required against Torpedo in Nizhny Novgorod in the fourth match of the 2022/2023 KHL Gagarin Cup quarter-finals, claiming a pulsating 5:3 victory to sweep the series 4-0!

With their backs up against the wall, Torpedo predictably came flying out of the blocks seriously fired up.

A high-sticking penalty committed by Andrei Pedan gifted Torpedo an immediate powerplay opportunity. The hosts duly took full advantage of that chance, as Sergei Goncharuk thumped a powerful effort past Dmitry Nikolaev into the near corner from the left faceoff circle.

Nikolaev was soon picking the puck out of his net again.

Goncharuk was once again the hero for Torpedo, whipping a wrister over Nikolaev’s blocker from a seemingly harmless position on the right flank. Our coaches made the call to pull Nikolaev in favour of Vladislav Podyapolsky after that goal.

That decision did have an effect on proceedings. As the first period progressed, SKA rapidly began to take the initiative, creating several great chances with Damir Zhafyarov and Vasily Glotov being denied by Ivan Kulbakov when clean through.

Our first marker did arrive in the 17^th minute. Roman Rukavishnikov took aim from distance, and his attempt flew low into the left corner with 22-year-old Nikolai Polyakov – a KHL playoff debutant – effectively blocking Kulbakov’s view.

The frantic tempo continued in the second stanza.

SKA initially started the stronger team, calling Kulbakov into action on numerous occasions with our first line consisting of Nikita Gusev, Marat Khusnutdinov and Emil Galimov particularly lively.

Nonetheless, as the frame approached its latter stages, Torpedo began to compete on the front foot again. Thanks to their energetic approach, the hosts managed to protect the puck inside our zone for long periods, and Podyapolsky had to make a few tricky stops - notably one stunning glove save against Vladislav Firstov at point-blank range. The crossbar also came to his rescue on one occasion when a wrister from the blue line took a wicked deflection.

After missing fantastic chances on the powerplay at the start of the third period, SKA contrived to concede an avoidable third goal in the 44^th minute.

Charging towards our crease from deep, Vitaly Atanasov backhanded beyond Podyapolsky who appeared to be unprepared for the shot.

The situation was starting to look somewhat bleak for the visiting team. But, instead of accepting defeat, SKA subsequently took the game by the scruff of the neck and began a relentless onslaught.

Galimov finally tallied his deserved goal at the Nagorny Arena to get SKA back to within one halfway through the stanza, as his pass across the slot was inadvertently deflected under Kulbakov by a Torpedo player. The impressive Polyakov picked up an assist on the play having intelligently taken two opponents out of the game with a sharp move.

Sensing the match was there to be won, our team continued applying overwhelming pressure on the Nizhny Novgorod-based organisation, eventually equalising in the 54^th minute with Gusev launching an unstoppable one-timer beyond the tiring Kulbakov.

Firmly on the back foot, unorganised Torpedo were desperately trying to hold on for overtime, but they crumbled when it mattered the most.

Igor Ozhiganov was the heartbreaker for Igor Larionov’s troops in the 57th minute of play, gathering the loose puck on the crease and carefully placing it in.

The deal was sealed with a large Marat Khairullin slap shot in the penultimate minute after Torpedo had cheaply coughed up possession inside their own zone.

SKA will indeed now prepare to compete against either CSKA Moscow or Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the semi-finals of the playoffs. The series will begin in Saint Petersburg, regardless of who our opponents will be.

Match protocol:

Torpedo – SKA – 3:5 (2:1, 0:0, 1:4)

Goals:

1:0 Goncharuk (Kruchinin, Konyushkov), 01.31 PPG

2:0 Goncharuk (Kovalenko, Fedotov), 04.45

2:1 Rukavishnikov (Vorobyov, Kamalov), 16.25

3:1 Atanasov (Belevich, Veryaev), 43.49

3:2 Galimov (Falkovsky, Polyakov), 50.13

3:3 Gusev (Khusnutdinov), 53.17

3:4 Ozhiganov (Khairullin), 56.42

3:5 Khairullin, 58.19

Goalkeepers: Kulbakov – Nikolaev/Podyapolsky