NIZ 1:5 PET | HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk - SKA St. Petersburg (KHL)

KHL

Neftekhimik – SKA St. Petersburg

1:5 (end)

final

HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk

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

SKA St. Petersburg

Friday 19.09.2014, 17:00 • Nizhnekamsk Arena • KHL

		The final buzzer has now sounded, and SKA Saint Petersburg have claimed their seventh win out of seven games with a thumping 5:1 win over HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk away from home! The hosts started brightly, but SKA gradually wore them down. Neftekhimik's Alexander Ryazantsev smashed in the opening goal, but markers from Alexey Ponikarovsky, Evgeniy Dadonov, Vadim Shipachyov, Ilya Kovalchuk and Roman Cervenka sealed the deal for SKA. Thanks for following the game with us, and see you again soon for more enthralling KHL action! (19:19:39)
	60:00	Game over.
	59:33	SKA are now back at full strength and with just a few seconds remaining they are heading for a very confident 5:1 triumph away from home!
	59:01	Evgeniy Ivannikov has to make a few fantastic saves squeezed up close against his right hand post! It's all a bit rushed from Neftekhimik and they can't get set up in the attacking zone!
	57:33	Viktor Tikhonov of SKA has now also been penalised for tripping, and it's a promising five on three for Neftekhimik to build on!
	56:24	Young SKA defenceman Dmitriy Yudin has received a late two minute minor here, as for unsportsmanlike behaviour he has been punished
	55:48	Neftekhimik are back at full strength but they are still being pinned deep inside their own zone!
	55:33	Cervenka! Roman Cervenka is picked out directly on the left faceoff circle, the near corner of the net seems to be empty, he lets rip hard but Ville Koppinen with an amazing diving save to deny him! That's simply a stunning save, wow!
	53:48	SKA have their opponents exactly where they want them now, it's become all rather easy! And the deflated hosts are already mentally in the dressing room as Joshua Hennessy has been called into the penalty box for roughing!
	53:13	Goal for SKA! Neftekhimik have well and truly given up here! From behind the net on the right the puck is pushed across the face of goal, and ROMAN CERVENKA with his body bundles it over the line! It's 1:5! Assists- Dmitriy Kalinin and Ilya Kovalchuk
	50:24	Goal for SKA! SKA are flying now, and it's that man again! Patient build up play sees the puck flashed across to the right faceoff circle where ILYA KOVALCHUK thumps it hard into the net! Powerplay goal and it's 1:4! Assists- Artemiy Panarin and Vadim Shipachyov
	50:00	And the home team isn't helping itself here, as forward Tim Stapleton has now been sent to the penalty box for slashing
	49:49	Dan Sexton tries to reply immediately for Neftekhimik, but he can wrist only into Evgeniy Ivannikov's body. It will be very hard for the hosts to try and get back into it now, SKA are gaining in confidence even more!
	48:51	Goal for SKA! That could be a crucial goal for SKA! The Neftekhimik defence goes missing as Patrick Thoresen is all alone down the left flank, and he dishes it to the far post where VADIM SHIPACHYOV lashes it in! It's 1:3! Assists- Patrick Thoresen
	46:37	The puck is dumped into Evgeniy Ivannikov's crease from the right faceoff circle, and after a couple of tricky deflections the netminder holds on! The tempo is very high again!
	45:48	Anton Burdasov cuts in off the left hand boards, skates with real power in to the danger zone but home defenders barge him out of the way!
	44:39	Eronen! In space at the point Teemu Eronen slaps in first time, but Evgeniy Ivannikov is right behind that and holds on! He hasn't made a mistake at all so far today!
	43:41	Evgeniy Dadonov almost sneaked in through one on one, but a sliding Neftekhimik defenceman at the last minute pokes the puck away from him!
	42:23	Dmitriy Yudin wrists it seriously high from the blue line, and the netminder at the second attempt pushes it away from his crease! That looked dangerous!
	41:44	Martensson! The visitors have the first decent chance of the period as on a three on one Tony Martensson peels to the left, looks to catch out the goalkeeper near post but Ville Koppinen stands his ground!
	40:11	The third and deciding period is go! SKA at only 2:1 up will know that there is still a lot of work to do!
	40:01	Start of 3rd period.
		Statistics after the opening 40 minutes of play: Shots: 29-32 Faceoffs: 15-22 Hits: 22-9 Penalty minutes: 4-4
	40:00	2nd period finished.
	39:36	We're now into the final seconds of a pacy if goalless second set of 20 minutes!
	39:07	Igor Makarov squeezes his way past his opponent on the right flank, wrists in fiercely but the goaltender beats it away with his blocker!
	38:09	The hosts are back at full strength and will be looking to get some attacks going at the other end!
	37:25	Dadonov! He is having some chances today! Brilliant patient build up play by the left hand post tees up Evgeniy Dadonov on the doorstep, but he can only smack Ville Koppinen's left pad!
	36:09	Neftekhimik are ever more playing on the counterattack and they've picked up an unwanted penalty here, Maxim Berezin has been penalised for hitting with his stick
	33:24	Tony Martensson swinging out to the right whips the puck across the slot, but it's too fast for anyone to catch up with
	31:53	Evgeniy Ivannikov solidly fields the puck as it's flashed across the face of goal from a tight angle on the left and takes no risks
	31:18	The visitors are taking control of the game more and more, they certainly seem more settled than earlier on
	29:10	Evgeniy Ivannikov glove a rising wrister from the left faceoff circle and right away hands it to a teammate. He has been excellent so far for SKA!
	27:29	Neftekhimik have survived that particular scare and they're back at full strength
	26:13	Ville Koppinen makes a fantastic glove save on a lightning quick SKA breakaway! But just seconds before that the hosts had a shorthanded two on one chance down the right flank, but it was wasted horribly! It's end to end stuff here!
	25:29	Neftekhimik are going on the penalty kill for the first time here, as for slashing Alexander Bryntsev has been handed a two minute minor
	24:36	We're having a quiet few minutes here, SKA are knocking the puck about confidently taking the pace out of their opponents' game
	22:49	Dan Sexton finds room on the left wing, with defenders closing him down fires in early but the goalkeeper reads that all the way
	22:13	Dadonov! What a perfect chance to doubles SKA's money! Fed almost on the goal line by the right hand post Evgeniy Dadonov is denied spectacularly by Ville Koppinen's glove! What a save that is!
	21:45	Tikhonov! Viktor Tikhonov is fed with space in between the circles, he twists sharply but his attempt is directly down the netminder's throat!
	21:16	Alexander Stepanov plays around with the puck just off the right faceoff circle, wrists in but Evgeniy Ivannikov holds on. And SKA are back at full strength again
	20:23	The second stanza gets going with Neftekhimik on the powerplay for a further 01:15! They will feel disappointed to be trailing after starting so well!
	20:01	Start of 2nd period.
		Statistics after the first period: Shots: 19-11 Shots on target: 12-7 Faceoffs: 6-10 Hits: 12-4 Penalty minutes: 0-4
	20:00	1st period finished.
	19:45	It's now the final seconds of the opening period, and hopefully in the second the pictures from Nizhnekamsk will be a lot more reliable!
	19:15	The hosts have lost their way somewhat but they've got a powerplay opportunity to get something going here, SKA's Andrey Kuteikin has been penalised for slashing
	12:48	Goal for SKA! They've been on the back foot nearly the whole period so far but all of a sudden they're ahead! Artemiy Panarin picking up the puck at the left of the slot slides it across to the far post, and EVGENIY DADONOV is there to tap home! It's 1:2! Assists- Vadim Shipachyov and Artemiy Panarin
	11:23	Sexton! What a fantastic chance to put Neftekhimik ahead again almost immediately! Dan Sexton breaks through the entire SKA defence, but one on one with the backhand he's brilliantly denied by Evgeniy Ivannikov!
	09:47	Goal for SKA! Out of nothing the visitors are back on terms! ALEXEY PONIKAROVSKY skates with serious pace down the left flank, he has his first wrister saved but on his own rebound he stuffs it into the net! It's 1:1! Assists- Dinar Khafizullin and Ilya Kovalchuk
	09:20	The hosts move offside. They have been simply all over SKA so far! The visitors can't grab hold of the puck at all, as Evgeniy Ivannikov in their net is a very busy man!
	07:41	We have had a brief break up in pictures from Nizhnekamsk, but finally they have now come back!
	02:48	Evgeniy Ivannikov had a couple of saves to make from the high slot, but he hung on to them well. And SKA are now back at full strength again
	00:48	And SKA now pick up a penalty, what a terrible start it's been from the hosts! Defenceman Andrey Kuteikin has been handed a two minute minor for interference!
	00:38	Goal for Neftekhimik! With the first shot of the game Neftekhimik take a very early lead! ALEXANDER RYAZANTSEV opts to absolutely blast the puck in through traffic, and it flies past the goalkeeper and in! It's 1:0! Assists- Dan Sexton and Egor Milovzorov
	00:11	Here we go! The home crowd are pumped up for this one!
	00:01	Game started.
		The teams are now coming out on to the ice, and after the Russian and Tatar national anthems we'll be getting underway!
		Starting lineups: HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk: Kolppanen (Sudnitsin)- Eronen, Ryazantsev, Sexton, Stapleton, Milovzorov- Berezin, Kosmachyov, Stepanov, Hennessy, Khokhryakov- Evseenkov, Bilalov, Zhukov, Rybin, Klimenko- Bryntsev, Trunyov, Polygalov, Tverdohlebov SKA St. Petersburg: Ivannikov (Bogdanov)- Kalinin, Khafizullin, Kovalchuk, Tikhonov, Ponikarovskiy- Y Alexandrov, Kuteikin, Panarin, Shipachyov, Dadonov- Chudinov, Belov, Thoresen, Martensson, Cervenka- Ermakov, Yudin, Burdasov, Kucheryavenko, Makarov Referees: Roman Gofman, Konstantin Olenin, Dmitriy Sivov, Ivan Sazonov.
		Neftekhimik failed to make the KHL playoffs last term, but SKA on the other hand made it to the Western Conference semi finals and will be looking to go even better this season.
		These two sides have been in very contrasting form this season, with Neftekhimik having only won twice, but SKA are still undefeated after six games. Their captain Ilya Kovalchuk has already found the net ten times, and it will be hard for Neftekhimik to stop him.
		Good afternoon and welcome to this KHL regular season match between HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk and SKA Saint Petersburg. This may look like a bit of a mismatch, but the hosts will give it everything they've got.
		Welcome. Game starts at 17:00.

Commentary by

Shaun Nicolaides

Goals & lineups Match log

Goals and assists: 1. Ryazantsev (Sexton, Milovzorov) – 10. Ponikarovsky (Khafizullin, Kovalchuk), 13. Dadonov (Shipachyov, Panarin), 49. Shipachyov (Thoresen), 51. Kovalchuk (Panarin, Shipachyov), 54. Cervenka (Kalinin, Kovalchuk)

HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk: Kolppanen (Sudnitsin)- Eronen, Ryazantsev, Sexton, Stapleton, Milovzorov- Berezin, Kosmachyov, Stepanov, Hennessy, Khokhryakov- Evseenkov, Bilalov, Zhukov, Rybin, Klimenko- Bryntsev, Trunyov, Polygalov, Tverdohlebov

SKA St. Petersburg: Ivannikov (Bogdanov)- Kalinin, Khafizullin, Kovalchuk, Tikhonov, Ponikarovskiy- Y Alexandrov, Kuteikin, Panarin, Shipachyov, Dadonov- Chudinov, Belov, Thoresen, Martensson, Cervenka- Ermakov, Yudin, Burdasov, Kucheryavenko, Makarov

Referees: Roman Gofman, Konstantin Olenin, Dmitriy Sivov, Ivan Sazonov

Attendance: 5500

1st period
	00:38
	00:48
	09:47
	12:48
	19:15
1st intermission
2nd period
	25:29
	36:09
2nd intermission
3rd period
	48:51
	50:00
	50:24
	53:13
	53:48
	56:24
	57:33
Final