The golden match. Ak Bars - SKA

The golden match. Ak Bars - SKA - 1:6

19 April 2015

SKA travelled to Kazan to take on HC Ak Bars Kazan, as in the fifth match of the KHL Gagarin Cup final series. With the score being 3:1 in our favour head coach Vyacheslav Bykov didn’t make any changes in the line-up after taking the fourth match 3:2, and Mikko Koskinen was facing Anders Nilsson in the goaltending duel.

It was an intimidating atmosphere inside the Tatneft Arena, as all Ak Bars fans were draped in the club’s colours. That didn’t faze our players at all though, and just a minute in the breakthrough was made. Jimmie Ericsson took up a strange rebound off the left boards, and ripped a slapper past Anders Nilsson and into the far corner. Ak Bars seemed to go into a state of shock after that, and what happened afterwards was unexplainable. Firstly Ilya Kovalchuk hit the net from the right faceoff circle with a man’s advantage, and then Yevgeni Dadonov dinked the puck over Anders Nilsson when one on one. SKA had firmly smelt blood now, and a shocking fourth came. Alexey Ponikarovsky took aim from the high slot, and the goaltender let it slip through the five hole. The home fans looked distraught, as Mikko Koskinen in our net had virtually nothing to do at all.

The second stanza began in the same frantic state, and this time Ak Bars managed to get on the board themselves. Mikhail Glukhov closed down to the doorstep, and backhanded between Mikko Koskinen’s legs. Our team weren’t willing to give the opponents any glimmer of hope though, and under a minute later it was 5:1. Ilya Kovalchuk powered down the left wing, and wristed clinically beyond Anders Nilsson’s glove. That proved to be the final straw for the hone coach, and Zinetula Bilyaletdinov pulled him for Emil Garipov. That didn’t seem to make much difference however, as Ilya came so close to his hat trick hitting the crossbar.

It was a foregone conclusion moving into the third, as both sides took down the pace a notch. SKA did begin to take penalties, and Mikko Koskinen made a few excellent gloves saves as Ak Bars slapped from distance. Mikko then made one of the best saves of these playoffs, as he somehow denied Kirill Petrov from point blank range with his stick. With the seconds ticking down Roman Cervenka rounded off the party, tapping home when almost on the goal line. 6:1 today and 4:1 in the series, and SKA are the KHL Gagarin Cup champions for the first time ever!

The Gagarin Cup is ours!

Match protocol:

Ak Bars – SKA – 1:6 (0:4, 1:1, 0:1)

Goals:

0:1 Ericsson, 01.13

0:2 Kovalchuk (Panarin, Shipachyov), 06.31

0:3 Dadonov, 10.44

0:4 Ponikarovsky (Khokhryakov, A Belov), 14.05

1:4 Glukhov (Vrana, Medvedev), 21.17

1:5 Kovalchuk (Thoresen), 22.03

1:6 Cervenka (Panarin, A Belov), 58.57

Goalkeepers: Nilsson/Garipov – Koskinen