KHL
Torpedo – Neftekhimik 3:4 (end) | Lokomotiv – Ak Bars 2:3 (end) | Vityaz – Metallurg M 4:3 (after OT)
Donbass – SKA St. Petersburg 3:2 (end) | Dinamo Minsk – Avtomobilist 3:6 (end)
final
HC Donbass Donetsk
3:2 (1:1,2:0, 0:1)
SKA St. Petersburg
Wednesday 28.11.2012, 17:00 • Druzhba Palace of Sports • KHL
     
    A much deserved win for underdog Donbass today. The home team simply outhustled and outworked SKA for much of the game, especially in the third period. Donbass put forth a tremendous defensive effort in the game, and did a good job of containing SKA's deadly top line.

    Shots on goal in the third period were 12-6 in favor of SKA. For the game, Donbass outshot SKA by a narrow 32-31 margin, but they had the better of the scoring chances.

    Thank you for joining us today! See you next time.... (20:12:45)
     
    57:55
    SKA calls timeout.
     
    60:00
    Game over.
     
    58:59
    Donbass calls timeout.
     
    58:07
    SKA penalty. Even up up call. Pricha off for tripping behind the Donbass net. Teams will skate 4-on-4 and then Donbass gets a short power play late in regulation.
     
    56:44
    Donbass at full strength.
     
    54:44
    Dombass penalty. Babchuk flipped the puck over the glass and got a delay of game penalty. SKA to the power play.
     
    57:55
    Donbass penalty. Tupparainen off for tripping. SKA with the power play again and a chance to tie.
     
    55:17
    Thoresen came with a hair of tying the game. Laco got just enough of the shot and then smothered the rebound.
     
    54:36
    Fedorov has dominated Fedotenko in the faceoff circle today. Just won another one cleanly.
     
    53:25
    Rybin dialed up a slapshot from the deep slot and overpowered Laco.

    SKA is now back within one goal. As the late, great Gene Hart used to say, "Buckle your seatbelts, my friends!"
     
    53:25
    Goal for SKA!
    Scorer is RYBIN.
     
    47:55
    Kiiskinen eludes a check and makes a nice move to the outside. Couldn't hang onto the puck as he tried to to cut from the circle.
     
    47:15
    Play has stabilized as mid-period approaches. Bobrovsky just squeezed the pads on a shot from Fedotenko from the right point. Stoppage of play.
     
    45:12
    Best shift for SKA since the first period. Thoresen in particular had his skating legs going and kept Donbass hemmed in deep for nearly 40 seconds.
     
    43:56
    Bobrovsky denies a wrap-around try for Nedorost.
     
    41:06
    Nice move to the outside by Fedotenko. Puts a backhander on net but Bobrovsky had that one covered all the way.
     
    40:01
    3rd period began.
     
    Sergei Bobrovsky singlehandedly kept SKA even for much of the period but Donbass finally broke through. The goal late in the period is potentially huge for Donbass.

    Shots in the second period were 17-6 in Donbass' favor. Shots are 26-19 for Donbass through two periods.
     
    40:00
    2nd period finished.
     
    39:42
    Donbass adds to its lead late on the 2nd period on a give-and-go sequence. Defenseman Wilson carried up the ice, passed to Tupparainen and then hammered the return pass short-side high over Bobrovsky.
     
    39:42
    Goal for Donbass! Scorer is WILSON. Assistant Tuppurainen.
     
    39:13
    Donbass at full strength.
     
    37:13
    Penalty for Donbass. Nikiforov off for high-sticking minor. SKA to its second power play of the game.
     
    37:40
    Nearly a 2-on-1 rush for Donbass, but Fedotenko fumbled the puck a bit and SKA recovered.
     
    36:14
    Laco hasn't seen too much action at his end of the ice but just made a decent stop on a quick wrister by Makarov, who was using the D as a screen.
     
    35:32
    SKA at full strength.
     
    33:32
    Penalty to SKA. Alexandrov off for hooking. Donbass to the power play for the second time.
     
    29:58
    On the last Donbass goal, Bobrovsky was beaten from the right circle on a one-timer by Pettersson off a pass from Tupparainen. Pettersson really didn't get all of the shot and angle seemed to be covered but the puck had eyes and found its way home.
     
    32:11
    Bobrovsky has been incredible in this period; goal aside. Just robbed Nedorost again from in close.
     
    30:30
    Yet another odd-man rush for Donbass.... Bobrovsky with a diving stick save.
     
    29:58
    Goal for Donbass!
    Scorer is PETTERSSON. Assistants are Tupparinen and Dadonov.
     
    28:11
    Yet another odd-man rush for Donbass; a 3-on-2 this time. Never really developed into anything dangerous, and Bobrovsky stopped a low shot from the deep slot.
     
    27:25
    Some continued loose play in the defensive zone by SKA. The Western Conference frontrunners are not playing very well in this period. They are fortunate the game is still tied, 1-1.
     
    26:11
    Big hit by Dallman. Caught his man with his head down and knocked him to the ice with a clean body check.
     
    25:20
    Bobrovsky just robbed Nedorost. The SKA goalie is settling in but the team in front of him needs to start elevating its play.
     
    24:30
    Bang-bang chance in front for Donbass. Bobrovsky made his best save of the game thus far.
     
    23:01
    SKA at full strength.
     
    21:46
    Bobrovsky barely fights off a short side shot by Pettersson. Nearly snuck in.
     
    21:01
    Penalty on SKA. Thoresen off for a high-sticking minor. Donbass gets its first power play.
     
    20:43
    Nice save by Latso on a right circle drive by Dallman.
     
    20:01
    2nd period began.
     
    Shots on goal in the first period were 9-8 in favor of SKA. It was a fairly evenly played first period, although Donbass goaltender Latso has outplayed Bobrovsky in the early going.
     
    20:00
    1st period finished.
     
    17:37
    Donbass at full strength. Latso made three saves on the PK to keep game at 1-1.
     
    15:37
    Donbass penalty. Nedorost off for holding. SKA to the game's first power play.
     
    15:01
    Bobrovsky and SKA caught a huge break. The goaltender turned over the puck behind the net, and was caught way out of position as the puck came in front. The defense denied the pass, and no goal was scored.
     
    14:11
    Laco fights off a tough chance from the high slot . Still 1-1.
     
    10:14
    On the Donbass goal, Dadonov skated up the right wing and carried past the goal line. He made a quick centering feed to Kiiskinen, who poked the puck home.
     
    10:14
    Goal for Donbass!
    Scorer is KIISKINEN. Assistant Dadonov.
     
    4:35
    Nice backchecking play by Ruslan Fedotenko, lifting the stick of the SKA attacker and getting the puck to the defense.
     
    3:14
    On the goal, Kovalchuk snapped off a tricky shot from the left circle.
     
    3:14
    Goal for SKA!
    Scorer is KOVALCHUK. Assistant Kalinin.
     
    1:25
    Centering pass in front to Nedorost provides the game's first scoring chance. SKA recovered quickly and Bobrovsky smothered the puck.
     
    0:00
    Game is underway.
     
    Today's game sees Western Division leading SKA St. Petersburg travel to Ukraine to take on ninth-place Donbass Donetsk.

    SKA enters the game on a roll. The club has won its last three games and has only lost once (via shootout to Severstal) in the month of November. In its last game, SKA defeated Vityaz 4-3, led by a three-point game from Patrick Thoresen (one goal,two assists) and a two-point effort from Tony Mårtensson (one goal, one assist).

    Donbass has lost three straight games coming into this game. On Sunday, the Ukrainian team dropped a 6-4 decision to Ak Bars Kazan.

    In that game, Tuomas Kiiskinen had a three-point game for Donbass (one goal, two assists in a losing cause) before frustration set in and he was ejected from the game in the third period for a spearing major. He was not suspended and is slated to play today. Ruslan Fedotenko registered a pair of assists in the game.

    The last time SKA met Donbass was on Nov. 2. It was no contest, as the team from St. Petersburg romped, 9-2. SKA's Igor Makarov racked up five points (two goals, three assists) while Alexander Kucheryavenko had four points (two goals, two assists) and defenseman Kevin Dallman compiled three points (one goal, two assists).

    This time around, the scene shifts from St. Petersburg to Donetsk. Will home ice for Donbass make a difference? We'll soon find out...
     
    Welcome. Game starts at 17:00.
    Commentary by

    Bill Meltzer

    Goals & lineups Match log
    Goals and assists: 11. Kiiskinen (Dadonov), 30. Pettersson (Tupparainen, Dadonov), 40. Wilson (Tuppurainen) - 4. Kovalchuk (Kalinin), 54. Rybin

    HC Donbass Donetsk: Laco (Berezin); Bartulis, Wilson, Babchuk, Kolar, Peretyagin,Podhradsky, Tereshchenko; Fedotenko, Ponikarovsky, Pettersson, Dadonov, Nedorost, Virtanen, Kiiskinen, Belukhin, Varlamov, Kvitchenko, Matousek, Nikiforov, Tupparainen.
    SKA St. Petersburg: Bobrovsky (Ezhov); Dallman, Kalinin, Alexandrov, Vorobyov, Berdyukov, Serkin, Chudinov; Kovalchuk, Thoresen, Mårtensson, Prucha, Kucheryavenko, Rybin, Tarasenko, Afinogenov, Artyukhin, Fedorov, Makarov, Burdasov, Nepryayev.
    Referees: Rogachyov, Sergeyev, Maitak (L), Pronskikh (L)
    Attendance: 4004