PET 5:3 LEV | SKA St. Petersburg - Lev Praha (KHL)

KHL

Avangard – Mytishchi

0:1 (end)

SKA St. Petersburg – Lev

5:3 (end)

final

SKA St. Petersburg

5:3 (1:2, 2:1, 2:0)

Lev Praha

Sunday 30.12.2012, 13:00 • Ice Palace, St Petersburg • KHL

		Lev Praha won on Friday in Moscow over Dynamo and had a good start here today in St Petersburg against another one of the league's powerhouses, but ultimately SKA came back strong and won 5-3. Still, they have to be somewhat satisfied with earning a split from a difficult pair of road games. The win gives SKA 83 points, and they overtake Dynamo Moscow for top spot in the Western Conference and the KHL overall. (16:14:47)
		Goal for SKA! Well, apparently they're giving ILYA KOVALCHUK credit for an empty-net goal, even though it appeared time had expired. After revue, yes, it is a goal, even though it has no influence on the final result. Assists: Viktor Tikhonov, Kevin Dallman.
	60:00	Game over.
	59:28	Timeout Lev. They're shorthanded with the faceoff in their own end, but they're going to try something at least.
	59:28	Finally Ondrej Neme cross-checks Patrick Thoresen into the boards and gets called. That will probably do it. That penalty was the result of frustration from Lev not being able to get possession of the puck. Great job by SKA.
	58:50	Lev back at full strength, but SKA keeps possession in Lev zone killing time . . .
	58:09	Finally a shot by Tarasenko, save Stepanek, :32 left in the ower play.
	58:00	SKA seems content to control the puck around the perimeter on their PP, killing time.
	56:50	Jakub Voracek getting the initial penalty for kneeing along the boards and Viktor Tikhonov is also getting a penalty, probably for retaliatiory roughing. Looks like we'll stay 5-on-4 in SKA's favour.
	56:50	Now some pushing and shoving after a whistle and we're going to get more penalties.
	56:39	Now Lev called for too many players on the ice. What an untimely penalty this is. It will be served by Michal Repik.
	56:30	SKA content to waste time now. Long slapper easily handled by Stepanek.
	55:06	From the boards, Ondrej Nemec lobs a shot at Bobrovsky, who easily catches it and hangs on. Time becoming a factor now for Lev.
	54:41	Kovalchuk feeds Viktor Tikhonov, his wrister from the top of the slot held onto by Stepanek.
	54:23	From the corner, Vitali Karamno tries to center in front to Jakub Voracek, but Bobrovsky got the puck and covered.
	52:40	From a turnover, Ilya Kovalchuk led a SKA rush and fired a shot wide.
	51:52	High shot by Ondrej Nemec from inside the line, Bobrovsky blockers it aside.
	51:08	Puck out of play in the neutral zone. Faceoff in the Lev zone.
	51:02	Vitali Karamnov takes a wrist shot on a rush, pad save Bobrovsky and he covers.
	49:30	Quick shot off the draw by Nathan Oystrick, turned aside.
	49:26	Icing SKA. The wave now going in the arena in St Petersburg.
	49:09	Icing Lev.
	48:30	Lev finally mounting some pressure, but a pass to the point missed and goes all the way down the ice, they have to retreat.
	47:00	Crazy scramble in front of Stepanek, somebody got a great chance and hit the goalie with it before it's cleared.
	44:43	Burdasov with a shot from the side for SKA, turned away.
	44:29	Voracek leads a Lev offensive, puck squibbles to Bobrovsky and he covers it.
	42:40	Goal for SKA! Great individual effort from ILYA KOVALCHUK, cutting out from the boards with the puck and, while being hooked, beats Stepanek high to the glove. Assist: Viktor Tikhonov.
	42:20	Kevin Dallman rips a slapper wide. He's been shooting from the point a log today, as usual.
	41:40	Kovalchuk controlling the puck a lot on this shift, sets up defenceman Yuri Alexandrov for a one-timer, kicked out.
	40:30	Early pressure from SKA.
	40:01	Start of 3rd period.
		Teams are on the ice and the 3rd period will start shortly.
		Shots on goal in the 2nd period (and game): SKA 9 (17), Lev 10 (29). Faceoffs still almost even, SKA winning 22/42 draws. Martensson (SKA) is 10/13, Christensen (Lev) is 11/17. Ice time leaders: Dallman SKA, 15:21; Chara Lev, 20:11. 3rd period will begin at 15:37 CET, 09:37 EST.
		A good portion of that period belonged to SKA, and they scored a pair to take a 3-2 lead, but Lev showed some resilience and came back to tie the score, and we go to the 3rd period tied 3-3.
	40:00	2nd period finished.
	39:30	Lev back at full strength, they come out into the neutral zone.
	38:50	Almost another shot from Dallman but the pass is behind him, then the puck is iced.
	38:00	Kevin Dallman set up for a big point shot on the power play but it doesn't get through.
	37:18	SKA going to the power play late in an exciting 2nd period, Jakub Krejcik gets called for putting the hook on a rushing Petr Prucha.
	36:49	Now Bobrovsky finally covers the puck.
	36:29	Petr Vrana with a golden chance for Lev, Bobrovsky got a right pad on his shot from in close.
	36:00	Petr Prucha rips a shot from the boards and just about scores another one, Stepanek tips is away.
	34:48	Goal for Lev! After being qhiet for a while, Leve finally gets some pressure and JAROSLAV SVOBODA knocks in a loose puck in the slot. Assists: Marcel Hossa, Tomas Surovy.
	34:03	Shot from Tomas Rachunek caught and held by Bobrovsky, first Lev shot in a while.
	33:32	Icing SKA.
	33:17	Goal for SKA! SKA really buzzing in the Lev zone, and PETR PRUCHA puts in a rebound on the backhand. Assists: Tony Martensson, Alexei Semyonov.
	32:53	Vladimir Tarasenko with a dangerous one-timer, Stepanek robs him with a nice glove save.
	31:58	Offside SKA, Prucha couldn't keep the puck in at the point, though he thought he did.
	30:55	One-timer from Kucheryavenko at the point hits a stick and misses the net.
	30:05	Christensen feeds Voracek with a one-timer that's turned away, then Voracek's nailed into the boards by Yevgeni Artyukhin.
	29:45	Offside SKA, Kovalchuk trying to get too fancy with his stickhandling at the blueline.
	28:37	From the boards, Tony Martensson fed Petr Prucha at the top of the slot, his hard wrist shot handled by Stepanek, play continues . . .
	26:12	Offside Lev.
	26:00	Lev back at full strength, puck still in their end.
	25:00	One-time slap shot attempt sails high, then puck is iced . . .
	23:56	Michal Repik gets called for high sticking, SKA to the power play with momentum.
	23:20	Puck deflected out of play in the Lev zone, faceoff inside.
	21:39	Goal for SKA! Just after the expiration of the penalty, IVAN NEPRYAYEV gets sprung on a breakaway and he beats Stepanek high to the stick side. Assist: Anrei Pervyshin.
	21:07	Offside Lev. :11 left in the penalty.
	20:38	Teed up for a one-time slapper from Nicklas Danielsson, stopped and held by Bobrovsky. :40 left in the penalty.
	20:01	Start of 2nd period.
		Teams are on the ice and the 2nd period will begin shortly. Lev still has 1:18 left of power play time with Patrick Thoresen in the box.
		Faceoffs were even in the 1st period, each team winning 11. Tony Martensson of SKA 6/7 and Erik Christensen of Lev 7/10 led their respective teams. Ice time leaders were Kevin Dallman of SKA 7:27 and Zdeno Chara of Lev 8:33. 2nd period will begin at 14:50 CET, 10:50 EST.
		Lev with another strong road period in St. Petersburg, two days after an impressive road victory against another league powerhouse, Dynamo Moscow. Shots on goal in the 1st period: SKA 8, Lev 19.
	20:00	1st period finished.
	19:22	Slap shot by Jakub Krejcik right off the draw that Bobrovsky had to be sharp on.
	19:18	Patrick Thoresen is now going off for giving Ondrej Nemec a bump that sends him flying into the end boards. Interference is the call.
	18:52	Goal for Lev! Erik Christensen feeds from behind the net to JAKUB VORACEK, who gets the lead back for Lev. Assist: Erik Christensen.
	18:45	After the goal, Lev comes down and Bobrovsky makes a save.
	18:32	Goal for SKA! And just as I say that they cash in. KEVIN DALLMAN with the quick one-timer to the open short side. Great no-look pass from Kovalchuk at the point. Assist: Ilya Kovalchuk.
	18:20	SKA having all sorts of trouble getting this PP going.
	17:18	Petr Vrana intercepted a pass and got a shorthanded chance, he took a shot from the blueline that was stopped easily . . .
	16:43	Lev's Jakub Krejcik gets called for holding along the boards in his own end. SKA to the power play for the first time.
	16:29	Offside SKA.
	15:38	Micahl Repik with a shot from the boards, Bobrovsky kicked it out the other way.
	14:50	Nicklas Danielsson attempted a slap pass that slid through the low slot untouched, just out of the reach of Jakub Voracek.
	14:30	A couple of shots for Kovalchuk on that shift, one on the rush, and then the second after he recovered at the point and took a long wrister that Stepanek caught and held.
	13:25	Weak-angle shot from Tony Martensson turned away by Stepanek.
		One of the big stories of this game is Jakub Stepanek starting in goal for Lev Praha. Last season he backstopped SKA to the Western Conference Final but started this season badly and ended up getting waved after the team acquired Sergei Bobrovsky.
	12:00	Long shoot-in handled by Bobrovsky, another faceoff in the SKA zone.
	11:34	And back the other way, more pressure from Lev. Chara's shot to the front of the net was almost tipped in in front.
	10:20	Back the other way now, SKA putting on some pressure in the Lev zone. Petr Prucha in close has his rebound stopped by Stepanek.
	09:50	Lev almost makes it 2-0 right away, as Repik deflects a shot from Porseland that Boborovsky had trouble with.
	09:37	Goal for Lev! ONDREJ NEMEC pinches in from the point and converts a pass for a power play goal. Assist: Petr Vrana.
	09:25	Shot Marcel Hossa, save Bobrovsky, :43 left in the penalty.
	11:52	From a scramble in front of the SKA goal, Andrei Pervyshin gets called for a cross-check on Martins Cipulis that dislodged the net. Power play Lev.
	12:50	Puck played by a Lev high stick in front of the SKA goal, faceoff will come outside.
	13:57	Offside Lev.
	15:16	Ondrej Nemec shoots right off the draw, Bobrovsky holds for another faceoff.
	15:20	Michal Birner gets a shot from the corner for Lev, then SKA clears it and gets called for icing.
	15:41	Now Jakub Stepanek faces his first shot of the game from Patrick Thoresen, and he holds on for a whistle.
	16:03	Michal Repik with the game's first quality shot from teh top of the slot, Bobrovsky holds it for the game's first whislte.
	16:30	Ivan Nepryayev shoots wide for SKA--they're still shotless.
	17:00	Still no whistles and just the one shot on goal so far . . .
	19:00	Lev's Petr Vrana gets the game's first shot from the blueline, Bobrovsky steers it to the corner.
	00:01	Game started.
		The national anthems of the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation have been played, and the opening faceoff is moments away.
		Starting lineups: SKA St. Petersburg: Bobrovsky (Ivannikov) - Alexandrov, Kalinin, Dallman, Semenov, Chudinov, Pervyshin, Berdyukov - Tarasenko, Burdasov, Afinogenov, Artyukhin, Thoresen, Rybin, Fedorov, Kovalchuk, Kucheryavenko, Nepryayev, Prucha, Tikhonov, Martensson. Lev Praha: Štěpánek (Kocián) - Hunkes, Porseland, Chára, Němec, Oystrick, Krejčík, Mikuš - Voráček, Hossa, Karamnov, Cingel, Christensen, Cipulis, Danielsson, Surový, Rachůnek, Řepík, Vrána, Birner, Svoboda Referees: Zakharov, Ronn - Zakharenkov, Putilin.
		Welcome. Today's game starts at 13:00 GMT, 17:00 MSK local time in St Petersburg, 14:00 CET in Prague, and 08:00 EST/05:00 PST in North America.

Commentary by

Derek OBrien

@@Djob76

Goals & lineups Match log

Goals and assists: 19. Dallman (Kovalchuk), 22. Nepryayev (Pervyshin), 34. Prucha (Martensson, Semyonov), 43. Kovalchuk (Tikhonov), ?. Kovalchuk (Tikhonov, Dallman) - 10. Nemec (Vrana), 19. Voracek (Christensen), 35. Svoboda (Hossa, Surový)

SKA St. Petersburg: Bobrovsky (Ivannikov) - Alexandrov, Kalinin, Dallman, Semenov, Chudinov, Pervyshin, Berdyukov - Tarasenko, Burdasov, Afinogenov, Artyukhin, Thoresen, Rybin, Fedorov, Kovalchuk, Kucheryavenko, Nepryayev, Prucha, Tikhonov, Martensson.

Lev Praha: Štěpánek (Kocián) - Hunkes, Porseland, Chára, Němec, Oystrick, Krejčík, Mikuš - Voráček, Hossa, Karamnov, Cingel, Christensen, Cipulis, Danielsson, Surový, Rachůnek, Řepík, Vrána, Birner, Svoboda

Referees: Zakharov, Ronn - Zakharenkov, Putilin

1st period
	11:52
	09:37
	16:43
	18:32
	18:52
	19:18
1st intermission
2nd period
	21:39
	23:56
	33:17
	34:48
	37:18
2nd intermission
3rd period
	42:40
	56:39
	56:50
	59:28
Final