CSKA - SKA - 2:1

SKA played their first KHL match for five days against HC CSKA Moscow away. Pyotr Vorobyov was the interim head coach for this one, with Oleg Znarok, Pavel Datsyuk, Vadim Shipachyov, Evgeny Dadonov and Mikko Koskinen all away on World Cup duty. Igor Shestyorkin was our starting netminder, while Alexander Khokhlachyov made his SKA KHL debut.

Matches with CSKA are always headline makers, and SKA immediately took the initiative. Our players were having the majority of possession, and should really have scored when Yegor Rykov missed the target with an empty net to aim at. CSKA were quiet, but against the run of play, they made the breakthrough. Igor Ozhiganov dumped in from the point, and Greg Scott tipped beyond Igor Shestyorkin. That came as a shock to the system, and after regaining our composure, Alexander Khokhlachyov was denied an equaliser by the left post.

SKA took back control of the game in the second, and eventually found the net on the powerplay. Vyacheslav Voynov wristed through traffic, and the CSKA goaltender couldn’t prevent it from sailing over his blocker. Now we had something to build on, however after Alexander Barabanov took an untimely high sticking call, a stinging Stephane Da Costa slapper gave CSKA their second lead. The game was opening up, and despite CSKA committing two fouls in practically one play, we failed to tie the match up before the break.

The hosts predictably shut up shop, and all the emphasis was on whether SKA could break down their defence. Sadly, CSKA were up to the challenge, and our players were largely kept on the outside. As time rolled on, we were forced into increasing the intensity, and during the final minutes, we saw two glaring openings come and go. Ilya Kovalchuk lashed over the bar, and at point blank range, Nikolai Prokhorkin failed to squeeze the puck over the line. That completed proceedings, and SKA have fallen to HC CSKA Moscow 1:2.

Match protocol:

CSKA – SKA – 2:1 (1:0, 1:1, 0:0)

Goals:

1:0 Scott (Enlund, Ozhiganov), 08.28

1:1 Voynov (Kovalchuk), 27.48

2:1 Da Costa (Kiselevich, Enlund), 29.45

Goalkeepers: Fasth – Shestyorkin

Shots on target: 21 – 25

Penalty minutes: 20 – 6

Faceoffs: 24 – 28

Hits: 33 – 28

Referees: Gebei, Olenin

09.09.2016. LDS CSKA, Moscow.