Torpedo - SKA - 1:3. Game Four

3 March 2015

Just 24 hours after the third match, game four of the KHL Gagarin Cup first round series between HC Torpedo and SKA took place in Nizhny Novgorod. Head coach Vyacheslav Bykov opted not to make many changes to the line-up, with only Pyotr Khokhryakov coming into the fourth line and Andrey Kuteikin not playing. Mikko Koskinen was our goaltender, with Mikhail Biryukov taking Ivan Kasutin’s place for Torpedo.

It was a pacy opening period in the Nagorniy Stadium, as both teams looked to burst forward at any given opportunity. Tony Martensson wristed into Mikhail Biryukov’s body from a promising position blocker side, and then seconds later Mikko Koskinen had to cover up a bouncing puck on the crease. That proved to be Torpedo’s first and last chance of the period, as SKA took charge of the initiative. Maxim Chudinov had several slap shots in a row from distance, however Mikhail Biryukov proved up to the challenge. The breakthrough did come six minutes before the end though, as on a quick counterattack Tony Martensson found the net all alone to the left. 1:0 in SKA’s favour after one.

Torpedo naturally upped their tempo moving on into the second stanza, and just like yesterday SKA were forced into taking a couple of penalties. Wojtek Wolski caused some moments of panic on the crease as he burst in from deep, and Mikko Koskinen had to make a few excellent saves from point blank range. Our team were a lot better on the kill however, and later picked Torpedo off on the breakaway. Jimmie Ericsson fed Ilya Kovalchuk on the right faceoff circle, and the latter thumped into the net with unbelievable power. Two promptly became three, as a poor Torpedo turnover was punished by Yevgeni Dadonov on the doorstep.

It had the feel of a match which was already done and dusted in the third frame, and SKA comfortably had control of possession not letting Torpedo get close to the puck. Torpedo still dug out a couple of promising chances though, with Wojtek Wolski missing an open corner of the net by the right hand post. Their play took on urgency as time wore on, and Alexey Potapov did score on a juicy rebound. An ensuing Viktor Tikhonov penalty made it a nervy final few minutes, but some expert Mikko Koskinen play kept the hosts at bay. 3:1 in SKA’s favour, and the series moves back to Saint Petersburg with our team ahead overall by the same score!

Match protocol:

Torpedo – SKA – 1:3 (0:1, 0:2, 1:0)

Goals:

0:1 Martensson (Thoresen), 13.31

0:2 Kovalchuk (Ericsson), 33.54

0:3 Dadonov (Y Alexandrov, Panarin), 38.00

1:3 Potapov (Pepelyaev), 55.02

Goalkeepers: Biryukov – Koskinen

Shots: 29 – 18

Penalty minutes: 16 – 18

Faceoffs: 46 – 15

Blocked shots: 7 – 9