Vityaz - SKA

Vityaz - SKA - 1:8

12 November 2020

In Podolsk, SKA produced a ruthless performance to gain their second consecutive victory in the 2020/2021 KHL regular season, thrashing HC Vityaz 8:1.

SKA made the perfect start at the empty Vityaz Ice Palace. With just over a minute on the clock, Miro Aaltonen tapped Viktor Antipin’s intelligent pass over the line from point blank range, before Lukas Bengtsson then doubled the lead with an unstoppable slap shot on the powerplay.

However, Vityaz promptly halved the deficit a mere 42 seconds later, as former SKA forward Alexander Dergachyov completed a flowing play with the hosts on the powerplay.

The Podolsk-based organisation subsequently piled on the pressure throughout the remainder of the first period. Pressing with intensity, Vityaz forced our players into taking three consecutive penalties, however Yaroslav Askarov came to the rescue for SKA with a series of wonderful saves. His superb flash of leather to deny the opponents on the buzzer was particularly impressive.

Vityaz continued competing on the front foot at the start of the second stanza. Nevertheless, after wasting several glorious opportunities, they were punished shorthanded as Igor Ozhiganov got the better of Ilya Ezhov with a rising attempt from the left faceoff circle.

Not long after that marker, Vityaz came exceedingly close to their second of the game, however Ozhiganov heroically swept the puck off the line after Evgeny Artyukhin had snuck his backhander under Askarov when all alone on the crease.

A moment which proved decisive.

Immediately after that scare, young defenseman Danila Galenyuk promptly tallied our fourth goal of the day, deceiving Ezhov with a thunderous shot from the blue line. Going in for the kill, SKA went on to practically put the game out of sight in the 37^th minute, as Vasily Tokranov scored with another perfect slapper. Vityaz head coach Mikhail Kravets made the call to pull the hapless Ezhov in favour of Anton Todykov after that goal.

Todykov was soon picking the puck out of his goal, though, as he was fooled by Vasily Podkolzin’s sneaky wraparound 32 seconds after entering the match.

SKA weren’t prepared to show Vityaz any mercy in the third period.

Within five minutes of the restart, Ivan Morozov joined the party for SKA, batting the puck over the stricken Todykov. Furthermore, 18-year-old forward Marat Khusnutdinov gained his first KHL point in the process, dishing out an assist for the goal.

Joonas Kemppainen rounded off a memorable evening in the 52^nd minute as he converted on the crease to tally SKA’s fourth powerplay goal of the day. Maintaining his concentration, Askarov pulled off a stunning acrobatic save in the closing minutes, in turn sealing the deal to see SKA through to an emphatic 8:1 triumph!

SKA will now prepare to face Severstal in Cherepovets on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 17:00 local time.

Match protocol:

Vityaz - SKA - 1:8 (1:2, 0:4, 0:2)

Goals:

0:1 Aaltonen (Shvets-Rogovoi, Antipin), 01.15

0:2 Bengtsson (Vey), 07.04

1:2 Dergachyov (Danforth, Syomin), 07.46

1:3 Ozhiganov (Tkachyov, Tokranov), 26.49

1:4 Galenyuk (Vey, Podkolzin), 32.50

1:5 Tokranov (Tkachyov, Ozhiganov), 36.51

1:6 Podkolzin (Marchenko, Vey), 37.23

1:7 Morozov (Ozhiganov, Khusnutdinov), 44.58