PET 5:0 LEV | SKA St. Petersburg - Lev Praha (KHL)

KHL

Barys – Neftekhimik	5:1 (end)	\|	Lokomotiv – Riga	1:2 (end)	\|	SKA St. Petersburg – Lev	5:0 (end)
Dinamo Minsk – Novokuznetsk	5:2 (end)	\|	Donbass – Khabarovsk	5:1 (end)

final

SKA St. Petersburg

5:0 (0:0, 0:0, 5:0)

Lev Praha

Wednesday 30.10.2013, 16:30 • KHL

		Welcome. Game starts at 16:30.
		Good evening and welcome to today's contest between SKA St. Petersburg and HC Lev Praha. It's a crucial match between two of the favourites for the Western Conference who are having differing fortunes currently as we stand 20 games into the season. SKA are once again a dominant force, currently sitting 2nd in the West with 50 points, and they roll into Wednesday evening's game on the back of a three game win streak. For Lev Praha, it has been a season of inconsistency so far, and new head coach Kari Jalonen is still yet to get the best out of his charges. The Lions have lost four of the six games their new Finnish coach has been in charge. This is the third game of a four game roadtrip for the Prague based club, and they have so far beaten Lokomotiv Yaroslavl but lost in their last match to Severstal Cherepovets
		It's Alexander Salak vs. Atte Engren in the battle of the goaltenders as we are five minutes away from faceoff.
		Starting lineups: SKA St. Petersburg: Salák – Ryasensky, Alexandrov, Kalinin, Kuteykin, Semyonov, Chudinov, Yudin – Martensson, Tikhonov, Thoresen – Kovalchuk, Červenka, Shipachyov – Ponikarovsky, Kucheryavenko, Panarin – Makarov, Sigarev, Skachkov. Lev Praha: Engren – Ševc, Nakládal, Jaakola, O'Byrne, Gragnani, Neměc, Maenpaa, Humphries – Novotný, Klepiš, Ridderwall – Birner, Vrána, Řepík – Azevedo, Sekáč, Thornberg – Kubalík, Zackrisson, Cingel. Referees: Anisimov, Buturlin – Golovlyov, Shikhanov.
		The teams are on the ice, and it's time for the national anthems
	00:01	Game started.
	00:56	Penalty coming against SKA. Dmitri Kalinin breaks Michal Birner's stick with a slash and gets called for two.
	01:42	Good early chances for Lev. Vrana works the puck well below the goal line, and Repik tries to jam it home but Salak makes two good saves.
	02:47	Another great chance for Lev. Zackrisson at the back post is denied by the pad of a sprawling Salak
	03:03	Home team at full strength.
	03:30	SKA go offside
	04:03	First save for Atte Engren on Roman Cervenka
	05:05	SKA have started the better side at full strength. Engren has to make a good pad save to deny a close range Kucheryavenko shot
	06:08	SKA had a partial 2 on 1 there, but Cervenka was wasteful with the puck and Lev were able to clear
	06:27	Fantastic save by Engren. The Lev defence collapsed too deep, Shipachyov found Ilya Kovalchuk right at the hash marks, but the former New Jersey Devil was denied by a brilliant glove save by Engren
	08:45	Yet more action for Engren, but the Finnish goalie makes a pair of saves and manages to keep the puck out
	09:40	Penalty against Topi Jaakola of Lev, two minutes for holding
	11:00	Engren does well, fighting through traffic to make the save on Panarin and then cover the puck
	11:40	Visiting team at full strength.
	12:36	The shots on goal are currently 10-4 to Lev, but that does not reflect the flow of the game one bit. SKA are in control
	13:59	Gragnani fires a shot from the left point but Salak saves with relative ease.
	14:57	Engren freezes the puck. Another good shift for the Kovalchuk line.
	16:13	Salak puts on his best Dominik Hasek impersonation, sprawling around in his crease to make a breakaway save on Justin Azevedo
	19:00	The game has died down somewhat in the last few minutes.
	19:35	Lev go close in the final minute. Thornberg brings the puck up the right wing and Azevedo and Jaakola both get bites of the cherry but it stays out.
	19:48	Penalty against Lev. Jiri Sekac for roughing.
	20:00	1st period finished.
		The players for both teams are out for the second period.
	20:01	Start of 2nd period.
		Shots on goal in the first period were 16-9 in favour of the away side, but that really does not tell the story of the game. SKA have looked in control
	20:39	Engren makes a save early on in the second period. SKA are still on the powerplay as Sekac remains in the box.
	21:10	Tikhonov shoots wide from the left circle
	21:23	Good work by SKA below the goal line. It's worked out front and Thoresen has a chance in front but he pokes the puck wide
	21:47	Visiting team at full strength.
	22:44	Kucheryavenko fires wide on a bad angle shot
	23:22	Good work by Novotny bringing the puck up the ice. Klepis gets the shot away but Salak makes the save.
	24:58	Martensson makes a good pass from the right corner to Tikhonov, but the Russian sharpshooter fires wide.
	25:17	A defensive breakdown in the SKA zone sees a mass of bodies fighting for the puck in front of Salak. It falls to Repik but his shot is blocked well by the defenceman out in front.
	26:31	Jiri Sekac weaves his way into the SKA zone past a sprawling defenceman, then tried to beat Salak high with the backhander, but the SKA goalie reached up to deflect it away with the glove. Eventually Salak covers for a stoppage.
	27:10	Puck on the doorstep in front of Engren, Ponikarovsky re-directed a pass from Kucheryavenko in the corner but Engren made a stick save.
	28:22	Shot from Klepis at the top of the slot, Salak catches and holds on.
	28:50	Viktor Tikhonov with a one-time blast that grazes that skate of Michal Birner and sails just wide of the post.
	29:34	Slapper from the point by jaakola, stopped and held by Salak.
	30:36	Ilya Kovalchuk dangerous in the Lev zone, takes a shot that Engren kicks out, then Lev is called for icing.
	33:00	Turnover near the blueline leads to a flurry of chances for SKA but I don't think any of their shot attempts landed on goal -- either went wide or were blocked in front. Play continues in the Lev zone.
	33:55	Kovalchuk circles the net and shoots, then Cervenka on the rebound both stopped by Engren.
	34:08	Offside Lev.
	34:21	Cervenka carries the puck into the Lev zone, finds Kovalchuk streaking to the net but he didn't receive the pass cleanly and by the time he shot he was behind the goal line and hit Engren in the pad.
	34:47	Offside Lev again.
	35:35	Makarov and Panarin orchestrate a couple of SKA chances in close but Engren keeps it out.
	35:41	Now SKA to the power play as Patrik Zackrisson is called for interference in the corner.
	37:40	SKA works the puck around and just at the tail end of the penalty Cervenka found somebody at the side but Engren slid across to keep it out.
	37:48	Back the other way, Azevedo shoots and hits Salak up high, and he traps it against his body for a stoppage.
	39:14	Low wrister from Alexei Ponikarovsky, Engren scoops it up with the glove.
	40:00	2nd period finished.
		We're still scoreless after 2 periods. Both teams with chances, though SKA's dangerous players were starting to create more chances there in the late going. Shots on goal in the 2nd period (and game): SKA 12 (21), Lev 10 (26). Faceoffs: SKA 15/38 (Thoresen 4/4), Lev 23/38 (Azevedo 9/12). Icetime leaders: SKA – Kovalchuk 14:48, Lev – Sevc 14:04. 3rd period begins at 18:08 CET, 13:08 EDT.
		The teams are back on the ice and the 3rd period will begin shortly.
	40:01	Start of 3rd period.
	41:15	Shipachyov in front to Kovalchy in front and he's robbed by Atte Engren stretching out the left pad.
	41:15	There's a Lev penalty on the play as Justin Azevedo is sent off for slashing.
	42:00	Zackrisson does a good job of killing time, ragging the puck in the neutral zone and then taking a long shot on goal.
	42:47	Scramble in front of Engren and he covers it with :28 left in the penalty.
	43:02	Another Lev penalty as Marc-Andre Gragnani is called for hooking. SKA 5 on 3.
	44:03	Goal for SKA! One penalty was over, but SKA cashes in on the 5 on 4 as Dmitri Kalinin sends a low slapper toward the net and VIKTOR TIKHONOV deflects it in for a power-play goal. Assists: Dmitri Kalinin, Ilya Kovalchuk.
	44:53	Icing Lev and we get a collision behind the net between Alexandrov and Thornberg, but nothing comes of it.
	46:30	More pressure from SKA looking for more, finally the puck hits Engren and deflects out of play. Faceoff inside.
	47:20	Shipachyov leads an SKA rush into the Lev zone but Nakladal slides to block a pass attempt.
	48:20	SKA to the attack again, wrister from Sygarov is caught and held by Engren.
	48:31	Goal for SKA! An unfortunate break for Lev as ANDREI SIGARYOV drove to the net with the puck and just as he's hammered by Ryan O'Byrne, the puck hits Engren and slides into the net. Assist: Yevgeni Skachkov.
	50:21	Offside Lev.
	50:19	Lev is going to go to the power play now as Patrick Thoresen put the clutches on Gragnani in the attacking zone and gets called for holding. Lev's been back on their heels this period but it's imperative they get some offence going now.
	50:36	It's now a 5-on-3 Lev power play for 1:38 as just off a faceoff Alexander Kucheryavenko's stick came up and clipped Azevedo.
	51:40	Sevc with the wrister from the point, glove save Salak with :39 left in the first SKA penalty.
	52:00	Thornberg trying to set things up in the zone, he dishes a couple of passes but neither result in a shot on goal, and then SKA ices to all but kill the first penalty.
	52:36	SKA clearing attempt goes into their bench just as they get back to full strength.
	52:55	Goal for SKA! It's starting to become a route now, as just after killing off a 5-on-3, SKA has made it 3-0. ROMAN CERVENKA's shot hits the stick of a Lev defenceman and beats Engren, who was perfectly screened by Kovalchuk and could see nothing at all. Assists: Vadim Shipachyov, Ilya Kovalchuk.
	54:25	Another penalty to Lev as Marc-Andre Gragnani goes off for tripping. The dangerous SKA power play goes back to work.
	56:23	Slapper from Jakub Klepis hits Alexander Salak, who holds on with just a few seconds left in the penalty.
	56:40	Icing SKA.
	56:49	SKA called for icing again. It seems they're content to kill off the clock.
	56:50	Another Lev penalty on the play, as Patrik Zackrisson is in the box now for slashing.
	58:05	Kalinin tries the backdoor play again with the slapper just wide but nobody there to tip it in behind Engren.
	58:30	Goal for SKA! Another SKA power play goal as Kovalchuk centres for VADIM SHIPACHYOV, whose one-timer beats Engren under the arm. Assist: Ilya Kovalchuk.
	59:08	Goal for SKA! When it rains, it pours. The roof has caved in for Lev, as IGOR MAKAROV scores SKA's 5th goal of this 3rd period, batting a rebound out of the air with a baseball bat swing and in. They're checking to see if it was a high stick, but I'm sure it's a goal. Assist: Andrei Sigaryov.
	59:36	Alexei Ponikarovsky has picked up a penalty for high sticking, not that it matters at this point.
	60:00	Game over.
		It's not likely that anyone who watched the first period would have expected a third period like that, although when speaking about SKA it's never totally unexpected. We had a 0-0 tie through 40 minutes with Lev holding a 26-21 edge in shots. You could see SKA coming on a bit late in the second, though, and they absolutely exploded for 5 goals in the third period. (18:49:20)

Commentary by

Derek OBrien

@@Djob76

Jon Rowson

@jonrowson

Goals & lineups Match log

Goals and assists: 45. Tikhonov (Kalinin, Kovalchuk), 49. Sigaryov (Skachkov), 53. Cervenka (Shipachyov, Kovalchuk), 59. Shipachyov (Kovalchuk), 60. Makarov (Sigaryov)

SKA St. Petersburg: Salák – Ryasensky, Alexandrov, Kalinin, Kuteykin, Semyonov, Chudinov, Yudin – Martensson, Tikhonov, Thoresen – Kovalchuk, Červenka, Shipachyov – Ponikarovsky, Kucheryavenko, Panarin – Makarov, Sigarev, Skachkov.

Lev Praha: Engren – Ševc, Nakládal, Jaakola, O'Byrne, Gragnani, Neměc, Maenpaa, Humphries – Novotný, Klepiš, Ridderwall – Birner, Vrána, Řepík – Azevedo, Sekáč, Thornberg – Kubalík, Zackrisson, Cingel.

Referees: Anisimov, Buturlin – Golovlyov, Shikhanov

1st period
	09:40
	19:48
1st intermission
2nd period
	35:41
2nd intermission
3rd period
	41:15
	43:02
	44:03
	48:31
	50:19
	50:36
	52:55
	54:25
	56:50
	58:30
	59:08
	59:36
Final