2022 Nikolai Puchkov Tournament. SKA – Sochi

2022 Nikolai Puchkov Tournament. SKA – Sochi – 5:1

26 August 2022

In the third match of the 2022 Nikolai Puchkov Tournament, SKA cruised to a routine 5:1 victory against Sochi at the Ice Palace.

A scrappy first period was littered by penalties, with the two teams racking up a combined total of 12 penalty minutes.

It should consequently come as no surprise that the two goals in the frame were scored on the powerplay.

When pouncing on a rebound after Alexander Nikishin’s slap shot had rebounded off the boards behind the net, Dmitrij Jaskin calmly tapped the puck into the gaping net with Sochi goaltender Maxim Tretyak out of position, before Sochi replied nine minutes later with Andrei Altybarmakyan ripping a strong wrister past Dmitry Nikolaev.

Sochi continued standing their ground in the second stanza.

Defending solidly, the away side protected Tretyak in their net effectively, winning the majority of the neutral pucks and not giving our players space. They were threatening on the counter-attack too, forcing Nikolaev into a handful of tricky saves.

However, SKA burst into life in the closing two minutes of the period.

On the doorstep, the impressive Nikishin turned Zakhar Bardakov’s intelligent pass over the line, a marker which arrived a mere 67 seconds before Jaskin tipped home on the powerplay to suddenly open up a two-goal lead.

That pair of quickfire goals completely took the wind out of Sochi.

SKA put the game to bed in the 47^th minute on the powerplay. Just like in the previous match against Sibir, gifted 18-year-old forward Dmitry Buchelnikov was the hero, unleashing a large one-timer from the left faceoff circle which was too hot for Tretyak to handle.

Moments later, Sochi tried to use a fight to turn the tide as Anton Novikov dropped the gloves against Stepan Falkovsky, but our tall defenseman was in full control and firmly held his opponent in a headlock.

Valentin Zykov rounded proceedings off with a fifth goal in the 56^th minute, whipping a wrister beyond Tretyak after Sochi had carelessly lost the puck inside their own zone.

In accordance with the competition regulations, an overtime period and a penalty shootout were subsequently staged regardless of the result. Maxim Groshev won the extra frame for SKA with a sharp wraparound, while the shootout ended level at 2:2 with Jaskin, Alex Grant, Novikov and Joe Morrow tallying goals.

Tomorrow, at 17:00 local time, SKA will compete the tournament against Avangard Omsk in Saint Petersburg.

Match protocol:

SKA – Sochi – 5:1 (1:1, 2:0, 2:0)

Goals:

1:0 Jaskin (Nikishin, Grant), 05.45 PPG

1:1 Altybarmakyan (Morrow, Tochitsky), 14.27 PPG

2:1 Nikishin (Shvets-Rogovoi, Bardakov), 38.24

3:1 Jaskin (Grant, Nikishin), 39.31 PPG

4:1 Buchelnikov (Zhafyarov, Ozhiganov), 51.13 PPG

5:1 Zykov (Shvets-Rogovoi, Bardakov), 55.23

Goalkeepers: Nikolaev – Tretyak

Shots: 71 - 40