Nikolai Puchkov tournament. SKA - Canada - 3:0

In the headline Nikolai Puchkov tournament group stage match, SKA and the Canadian national team did battle. Following the win against HC Sochi, head coach Oleg Znarok’s only serious change saw Igor Shestyorkin replace Mikko Koskinen in net. Ben Scrivens was Canada’s starting goaltender.

A sold-out Ice Palace was pumped up for this blockbuster clash. As expected, it was a fast and furious start, with the Canadians setting an aggressive tempo. They had the best of the opening stages, however they came up against an inspired Igor Shestyorkin. SKA’s number 31 pulled off a series of excellent stops, refusing to let Canada make their early dominance count. Nevertheless, as the period wore on, SKA grew into the game. Evgeny Ketov thought that he had scored, but after video review, it was determined that a high stick was involved.

The pulsating action continued in the second stanza. Canada held the initiative for the majority of the period, testing Igor Shestyorkin’s reactions from any angle. However, SKA’s players began to slowly up the intensity on the Canadian goal. Evgeny Ketov should have broken the deadlock, but he whacked a fierce effort wide from a perfect position. With the period drawing to a close, the goal finally came. Already shorthanded, Canadian goalkeeper Ben Scrivens earned a double minor for a dirty foul on Sergei Shirokov, and Patrik Hersley duly scored the first goal with a traditional hammer shot. That was scored with just seven seconds left in the stanza.

With the game on a knife’s edge, SKA needed that second goal. To the Ice Palace’s delight, it arrived midway through the third period. Nikita Gusev was the scorer, blasting a one timer over Ben Scrivens’ body from the blue line. 0:2 down, Canada had no other option than to throw everything at SKA. The visitors registered nine shots on target in that frame, but Igor Shestyorkin wasn’t going to be beaten. Viktor Tikhonov sealed the victory in the final stages, sliding the puck into the empty net after Ben Scrivens had been pulled for the extra skater. 3:0, SKA defeat Canada and qualify for the 2017 Nikolai Puchkov tournament final! The showpiece game will take place tomorrow at 19.30 local time against Jokerit Helsinki HC.

Match protocol:

SKA – Canada – 3:0 (0:0, 1:0, 2:0)

Goals:

1:0 Hersley (Kovalchuk, Belov), 39.53

2:0 Gusev (Karpov, Chudinov), 49.20

3:0 Tikhonov (Kablukov), 58.07

Goalkeepers: Shestyorkin – Scrivens

Shots on target: 25 – 32

Penalty minutes: 6 – 12

Faceoffs: 34 – 35

Hits: 14 – 11

Referees: Oskirko – Kulyov

16.08.2017. Ice Palace, Saint Petersburg.