PET 4:5 OMS | SKA St. Petersburg - Avangard Omsk (KHL)

KHL

Traktor – Dynamo	3:5 (end)	\|	Metallurg M – Vityaz	0:2 (end)	\|	Salavat Yulaev – Torpedo	2:1 (after OT)
Ak Bars – Neftekhimik	7:3 (end)	\|	Lokomotiv – Avtomobilist	5:3 (end)	\|	Cherepovets – HC Yugra	4:1 (end)
Mytishchi – Barys	5:1 (end)	\|	SKA St. Petersburg – Avangard	4:5 (after OT)	\|	CSKA – Spartak	2:1 (end)
Riga – Medvescak	5:1 (end)	\|	HC Slovan – Dinamo Minsk	4:3 (1:0 after SO)	\|	Lev – Donbass	4:1 (end)

final/OT

SKA St. Petersburg

4:5 (0:2, 1:1, 3:1 - 0:1)

Avangard Omsk

Wednesday 26.02.2014, 16:30 • KHL

		Welcome. Game starts at 10:30 ET / 16:30 CET / 19:30 MSK which is also the local time in St. Petersburg.
		SKA St. Petersburg and Avangard Omsk always belonged to the top teams in the KHL since its creation in 2008. This year though the gap between the two sides is bigger than ever. While SKA are 2nd in Western Conference with 98 points in 50 games – 7 points behind league leaders Dynamo Moscow – Avangard are only 10th in Eastern Conference with 64 points in 50 games and a 7 point deficit towards the last playoff spot held by Traktor Chelyabinsk which they are likely to miss wiht just four games of regular season left. SKA had a bit of trouble in January which they ended with a 6-5 win record. Avangard had a 4-5 record and never could close the gap towards the playoff spots. SKA's topscorers are Ilya Kovalchuk (40 pts) along with Artemy Panarin and Roman Cervenka (both 36 pts). For Avangard these are Alexander Perezhogin (33 pts), Alexander Popov (32 pts) and Sergei Kostitsyn (31 pts). Everything but a win for SKA today would be already a huge surprise! But who knows?
		Starting lineups: SKA St. Petersburg: Salak (Ezhov) – Alexandrov, Dallman, Kalinin, Chudinov, Khafizullin, Semenov – Martensson, Thoresen, Cervenka, Tikhonov, Ketov, Shipachyov, Kucheryavenko, Makarov, Burdasov, Ponikarovsky, Kablukov, Sigaryov Avangard Omsk: Mezin (Karlsson) – Kulyash, Pivtsakin, Nurislamov, Blatak, Lyamin, Goncharov, Poleshchuk – Popov, Syomin, Kostitsyn, Kuryanov, Shirokov, Perezhogin, Ruzicka, Kalinin, Kazionov, Rasskazov, Makhanovsky, Berdnikov, Ivanov Referees: Zakharov, Kadyrov – Gordenko, Tomilov
	00:01	Game started.
	00:19	Goal for Avangard! What a crazy begin in St. Petersburg! Just 19 seconds are played and SERGEI KOSTITSYN beats SKA goalie Alexander Salak from short distance after a rush with a one-timer from the right circle! Assisted by Dmitry Syomin and Alexander Popov.
	02:15	SKA try to find back into the game but so far create no danger.
	02:38	Powerful one-timer by SKA defender Dmitry Kalinin from the left wing at height of the blue line but the puck goes wide.
	03:24	Tony Martensson receives a pass at the left circle and tries it with a shot towards the right corner which he misses just by inches!
	04:32	An Avangard forward has far too much space and can shoot from the left circle without pressure but misses the net.
	05:02	Back hander by one of the hosts from short distance, pad save to the side by guest goalie Mezin.
	06:14	Denis Kazionov receives the puck close to the SKA net, dekes out Salak but is forced too far to the left and is not able to get the shot in from a sharp angle!
	06:48	Mezin blocks a blue line shot to the side which he saw very late with the crowd in front of him.
	07:58	Long solo by SKA's Anton Burdasov on the right wing but he doesn't get a shot on goal due to the high resistance by a defender.
	08:28	Huge 2-on-1 counter attack by the guests from Omsk and Alexander Salak just deflects a shot from the left circle over the crossbar!
	09:28	Nice idea by the guests but Stefan Ruzicka isn't able to stop a long pass through the middle lane at the SKA blue line.
	10:03	Again Stefan Ruzicka! He has the puck behind the net, skates in front of it but out of the crowd his wrap-around attempt is no danger for Salak.
	12:05	Avangard stay very active and they also have the better oppportunities! Anton Kuryanov misses the left top corner from close to the right circle!
	12:43	After a fast combination with a team mate Roman Cervenka receives a pass from the left wing but is stopped by Stefan Ruzicka just after deking him out and having a free lane in front of him!
	12:43	Stefan Ruzicka (Avangard) gets two minutes. It's the first power play of the game and it goes to SKA.
	14:43	The home side was never able to force the Avangard penalty killing back into their own zone or to create any scoring opportunities despite having a man more on the ice. Avangard are back at full strength.
	15:23	SKA's Anton Burdasov receives a pass left to the Avangard net but under pressure of a defender he loses the puck...
	16:06	Fast attack by Avangard but they don't get a shot on goal.
	16:45	Salak deflects a blue line shot to the side.
	17:19	Goal for Avangard! SERGEY KALININ revceives a brilliant cross-pass just in front of the net after Sergei Kostitsyn waited long at the right circle and through two defenders he finds the hole to make it 2-0 for Avangard!!! Assisted by Sergei Kostitsyn and Miroslav Blatak.
	18:02	Huge break away opportunity for SKA but in the 1-on-1 Mezin stays the winner!
	19:20	Sergei Kalinin (Avangard) gets two minutes for hooking. It's the second power play of the game and again it goes to SKA.
	20:00	1st period finished.
		Avangard Omsk scored early and late in the first period to gain a surprising but not undeserved 2-0 lead in St. Petersburg after 20 minutes. They had more and the better opportunities! Shots on goal: SKA 9 – Avangard 11
	20:01	Start of 2nd period.
	20:13	Goal for SKA! The middle period starts just as the first one did but with the goal on the other side this time! ROMAN CERVENKA receives a brilliant pass form behind the net and beats guest goalie Andrei Mezin from short distance to cut the defeicit to the half in power play – SKA had started with a man more on the ice due to the penalty against Kalinin late in the previous period! Assisted by Tony Martensson and Patrick Thoresen.
	21:50	SKA are trying to take over the initiative.
	22:41	Goal for Avangard! The guests didn't look shockd at all and already answer with the 3-1! A one-timer by Kirill Lyamin from the blue line is deflected into the net by the skates of SKA defender Kevin Dallman past the chanceless Alexander Salak after ROMAN BERDNIKOV gave the shot another direction with his stick! Assisted by Kirill Lyamin and Andrei Ivanov.
	24:04	Tony Martensson receives a long pass at the Avangard blue line but his cross-pass from just right to the net is intercepted in the very last moment!
	24:33	Alexei Semenov (SKA) gets two minutes for cross-checking.
	25:30	The guests fail to get their power play formation into position yet.
	25:48	Igor Makarov (SKA) gets two minutes for slashing and there will be a short 5 on 3 for Avangard!
	26:33	One player returned from the penalty box and Avangard still finds no hole in the SKA defense.
	27:33	Sergei Shirokov tries it from the left wing but his shot is blocked by a defender.
	27:48	SKA are back at full strength afte two very harmless Avangard power plays.
	28:34	Icing against Avangard.
	28:53	Another icing against the guests.
	29:12	There are a lot of breaks in the game currently.
	30:13	Igor Makarov's blue line shot is stopped but with the following clearance the Avangard defense causes an icing call.
	30:41	Ilya Kablukov with a shot from the right wing, easily blocked to the side by Avangard goalie Mezin.
	30:59	Patrick Thoresen misses the Avangard net to the right with a shot from within the slot. SKA are more active right now but they clearly lack presicion.
	32:30	A harmless shot by Stefan Ruzicka after an Avangard rush goes wide past the right post.
	33:12	Alexander Kucheryavenko tries it with a wrap around from behind the right post but Mezin blocks the shot with his pads. The rebound comes back to Kucheryavenko but with the second try he also fails to beat the goalie!
	33:45	Sergey Kostitsyn (Avangard) gets two minutes for tripping and Alexander Kucheryavenko (SKA) gets two minutes for diving. We'll see a long 4 on 4!
	34:21	After a 2 on 1 situation the guests almost decide the match but they only hit the back of Salak from short distance and the puck then is deflected wide!
	35:36	Two minute penalty against SKA for having too many players on the ice. The match continues with a 4 on 3 power play for Avangard.
	35:45	Kostitsyn and Kucheryavenko left the penalty box but it remains a 5 on 4 power play for Avangard.
	37:22	Avangard's Alexander Perezhogin makes it past three opponents before behing checked and crashing into the boards!
	37:36	SKA are back at full strength. Both teams failed to use the open space on the ice in the previous minutes.
	38:58	Icing against Avangard.
	39:47	Anton Kuryanov misses the SKA net to the right with a shot from within the slot.
	40:00	2nd period finished.
		SKA had a perfect start with a goal by Cervenka just 13 seconds into the middle period but shortly afterwards Berdnikov already restored the two goal lead for the guests from Omsk. Afterwards Avangard dominated the match against harmless hosts! Shots on goal: SKA 4 (13) – Avangard 7 (18)
	40:01	Start of 3rd period.
	41:48	Goal for SKA! Again a goal comes very early! VIKTOR TIKHONOV receives a perfectly timed long pass at the Avangard blue line, has a break away and dekes out Alexander Salak in the 1-on-1 situation to the right to score into the wide open net – SKA make it 2-3! Assisted by Igor Makarov and Alexei Semenov.
	42:58	The guests react with heavy attacks but fail to get a shot on goal after having a lot of puck possession inside the SKA third.
	44:23	Evgeny Ketov forces his way through the guest defense but fails to get a shot on goal from a sharp angle right to the net.
	45:19	Turnover inside the home team's third but Stefan Ruzicka fails to beat Salak with a shot from within the slot.
	46:09	Goal for SKA! Ilya Kablukov with a nice deke to the right against guest goalie Andrei Mezin but from a very sharp angle he doesn't get the following shot on target but the puck stays inside the goalie crease from where ALEXEI PONIKAROVSKY scores into the wide open net after being faster than the last defender! 3-3!!! Assisted by Ilya Kablukov and Andrei Sigaryov.
	47:45	SKA try to use the momentum which is clearly on their side in this third period but from close to the right circle Tony Martensson is not able to hit the puck with his stick.
	47:45	Sergei Kalinin (Avangard) gets two minutes for hooking.
	49:45	The guests are back at full strength and they can be lucky that this is the case. SKA had several decent shots on goal!
	51:57	Evgeny Ketov receives a cross-pass just in front of the net but fails to get a shot on goal from an excellent scoring position.
	54:00	SKA are having everything under their controll in this period but it's still "only" a 3-3 on the video screen!
	54:52	A blue line shot by Avangard's Stefan Ruzicka lacks power behind and Salak has little trouble to make a pad save to the side.
	55:55	Goal for Avangard! ALEXANDER PEREZHOGIN gives Avangard back the lead in this match! He first hit the chest of Salak with a shot from the blue line and then fired into the net his own rebound from short distance! 4-3 for the guests with less than five minutes to play! Assisted by Miroslav Blatak.
	57:19	Alexander Kucheryavenko conquers the puck behind the Avangard net, gives it to Viktor Tikhonov and he finds Dmitry Kalinin close to the left circle but from short distance he then only hits the chest of Andrei Mezin in the net!!!!! Almost the equalizer for SKA!
	58:32	Avangard's Kulyash with heavy gestures towards the referees, wants a penalty for SKA and for a moment pays no attention to his opponent Ketov who escapes from the guard but in the end he is able to check him into the boards behind the Avangard net.
	59:16	Timeout taken by Avangard!
	59:16	SKA goalie Alexander Salak stays on the bench for an additional skater. SKA goes all or nothing!
	59:45	Goal for SKA! The SKA forwards cause a lot of trouble in front of the Avangard net and PATRICK THORESEN is able to deflect a perfectly timed pass from the right into the net from short distance after escaping from his guard – 4-4!!!!! Assisted by Roman Cervenka and Tony Martensson.
	60:00	3rd period finished.
		SKA played with a lot of heart and tied the match early in the third period for a 3-3. Still Avangard managed to get the lead back with 4 minutes left to play in one of their few attacks before Thoresen sent the game into overtime with 15 seconds left on the clock and the goalie already pulled out for an additional attacker! Shots on goal: SKA 12 (25) – Avangard 5 (23)
	60:01	Overtime began.
	61:11	A one-timer from the blue line by the guests goes wide signifitcantly.
	61:28	Ketov with a back hander from just right to the Avangard net but Mezin stops the puck easily.
	62:00	The guests wait behind their own net, try to calm the game down a bit.
	62:10	Goal for Avangard! The guests score the 5-4 and win the match in overtime! Stefan Ruzicka found team mate SERGEI SHIROKOV with a pass from behind the net who finnished the job from short distance! Assisted by Miroslav Blatak and Stefan Ruzicka.
		Game over.
		Avangard wins the extra point after they let escape the win in regulation with just 15 seconds left to go. If we look at the full 62 minutes of play it's a lucky but far from undeserved win! In the end these two points might be not enough though in their playoff fight as the team from Omsk still lays 5 points behind 8th in the East Traktor Chelyabinsk. Shots on goal: SKA 2 (27) – Avangard 2 (25)
		Thanks for following the game with us! Don't miss the three 19.00 CET games when all the six foreign teams of Western Conference return from the Olympics break. (18:52:42)

Commentary by

Dennis Mende

Goals & lineups Match log

Goals and assists: 21. Cervenka (Martensson, Thoresen), 42. Tikhonov (Makarov, Semenov), 47. Ponikarovsky (Kablukov, Sigaryov), 60. Thoresen (Cervenka, Martensson) – 1. Kostitsyn (Syomin, Popov), 18. Kalinin (Kostitsyn, Blatak), 23. Berdnikov (Lyamin, Ivanov), 56. Perezhogin (Blatak), 63. Shirokov (Blatak, Ruzicka)

SKA St. Petersburg: Salak (Ezhov) – Alexandrov, Dallman, Kalinin, Chudinov, Khafizullin, Semenov – Martensson, Thoresen, Cervenka, Tikhonov, Ketov, Shipachyov, Kucheryavenko, Makarov, Burdasov, Ponikarovsky, Kablukov, Sigaryov

Avangard Omsk: Mezin (Karlsson) – Kulyash, Pivtsakin, Nurislamov, Blatak, Lyamin, Goncharov, Poleshchuk – Popov, Syomin, Kostitsyn, Kuryanov, Shirokov, Perezhogin, Ruzicka, Kalinin, Kazionov, Rasskazov, Makhanovsky, Berdnikov, Ivanov

Referees: Zakharov, Kadyrov – Gordenko, Tomilov

1st period
	00:19
	12:43
	17:19
	19:20
1st intermission
2nd period
	20:13
	22:41
	24:33
	25:48
	33:45
	35:36
2nd intermission
3rd period
	41:48
	46:09
	47:45
	55:55
	59:45
After 3rd period
Overtime
	62:10
Final/OT