Vityaz - SKA

Vityaz - SKA - 0:4

11 November 2016

SKA played their second match of this KHL away series against HC Vityaz in Podolsk. As promised, head coach Oleg Znarok made a couple of changes, with forward Alexander Barabanov given a rest in favour of Viktor Tikhonov. The starting goalkeepers were Igor Shestyorkin and Harri Sateri.

With a sold-out Vityaz Ice Palace behind them, the hosts came flying out of the blocks. They should have scored in the opening shift – Dmitry Shitikov failed to hit the target with the goal at his mercy. Both teams were setting a ridiculously high tempo, charging from one end to the other. In turn, we were leaving holes open in defence, and we had Igor Shestyorkin to thank for two huge point blank stops. As the period wore on, SKA gradually took the initiative, and shorthanded, we managed to take the lead – Jarno Koskiranta had too much strength for Vityaz’s defence, stuffing the puck under fellow Finn Harri Sateri.

The frantic pace continued into the second stanza. However, unlike in the first, it was SKA who were dictating the tempo. Harri Sateri’s goals was being peppered, and the statistics prove it – by the time the period had finished, SKA had registered 37 shots on target. All kinds of chances were going by the wayside, as we couldn’t find that finishing touch to our build up play. Vityaz almost punished us too, coming close on three occasions during one torrid shift. Our players were in control though, and when Vityaz got into penalty trouble, we finally made them pay – Ilya Kovalchuk blasted a one timer into the roof of the net, and then with only two seconds on the clock, Ilya repeated the trick.

If there were any doubts about the outcome, they were soon taken away. Vadim Shipachyov escaped his marker on an odd man rush, teed up Nikita Gusev and the latter made it four. Now, the emphasis switched to whether Igor Shestyorkin could maintain a stunning seventh shutout. Fortunately, he did just that, slamming the door on Vityaz with a brilliant showing. That concluded proceedings, and SKA have thrashed Vityaz 4:0 in Podolsk!

Match protocol:

Vityaz – SKA – 0:4 (0:1, 0:2, 0:1)

Goals:

0:1 Koskiranta, 14.40

0:2 Kovalchuk (Plotnikov, Voynov), 36.57

0:3 Kovalchuk (Plotnikov, Datsyuk), 39.58

0:4 Gusev (Shipachyov, Belov), 44.55

Goalkeepers: Sateri – Shestyorkin

Shots on target: 20 – 47

Penalty minutes: 14 – 8

Faceoffs: 25 – 27

Hits: 17 – 6