KHL
SKA St. Petersburg – Ak Bars 1:2 (end)
final
SKA St. Petersburg
1:2 (1:0, 0:0, 0:2)
Ak Bars Kazan
Wednesday 15.04.2015, 18:30 • The Saint Petersburg Ice Palace • KHL
     
    There is the final buzzer, and HC Ak Bars Kazan have taken the third game 2:1 against SKA Saint Petersburg away! That takes the series score back to 2:1 in SKA's favour, and it makes for a nervy next few games. Evgeniy Medvedev and Alexander Svitov netted for the victors, with Tony Martensson replying for SKA. Thanks for following the game with us, and see you again soon for more thrilling KHL action! (20:51:17)
     
    60:00
    Game over.
     
    59:41
    And as they come back to full strength a timeout has been called by SKA, and at the same time they have pulled Mikko Koskinen for the extra skater!
     
    59:19
    Kovalchuk! Ilya Kovalchuk charges into the high slot, wrists as powerfully as he can when between the circles, and is denied by a superb Anders Nilsson reaction save up!
     
    57:39
    SKA have now burst their own bubble though, as forward Jimme Ericsson has let his team down for holding in the attacking zone
     
    56:05
    However immediately after that goal SKA have been given a massively important powerplay! Away forward Kirill Petrov has been punished for tripping, and the wind has been taken out of their sails!
     
    55:55
    Goal for AK Bars!
    Wow, I didn't see this coming! ALEXANDER SVITOV lets go a tame looking wristed shot from the left flank, and it drifts over Mikko Koskinen's glove and in! It's 1:2! Assists- Konstantin Koltsov and Stepan Zakharchuk
     
    55:01
    Oscar Moller's harmless backhanded is pushed away by Mikko Koskinen to the right post, and the alone Mikhail Varnakov fails to hit the empty corner of the net! Had he made contact he would surely have scored!
     
    52:23
    Panarin! Artemiy Panarin winds down the right flank, wrists near post trying to catch Anders Nilsson, however the goaltender is alert and prevents it from slipping through him! The next goal is surely going to prove to be crucial!
     
    48:11
    Moller! The bouncing puck falls to Oscar Moller on the tip of the slot, and his goalbound wrister is beaten away by Mikko Koskinen's body! He will have a big part to play now for SKA!
     
    48:07
    That goal will be a huge one for the visitors, as now they have something to take off from! SKA have to get back on their game again!
     
    46:44
    Goal for Ak Bars!
    Finally Ak Bars are on the board! EVGENIY MEDVEDEV wrists gently from the blue line, and after a number of deflections it finds its way past Mikko Koskinen! It's 1:1! Assists- Oscar Moller and Justin Azevedo
     
    43:20
    Shipachyov! Artemiy Panarin strips his marker of the puck inside the attacking zone, Vadim Shipachyov takes the shot on from the left faceoff circle, and doesn't miss the far corner by much!
     
    41:05
    Having defended excellently two men down Ak Bars come back to full strength. In this third, and crucial, period the visitors have to up their game, with SKA still one up!
     
    40:01
    Start of 3rd period.
     
    Statistics after the first two periods:

    Shots: 26-37
    Shots on target: 14-17
    Faceoffs: 15-17
    Hits: 13-10
    Penalty minutes: 6-8
     
    40:00
    2nd period finished.
     
    39:51
    With SKA knocking around the puck the period is coming to its end, as Ak Bars are still yet to get on the board today in such a crucial encounter!
     
    39:05
    Chudinov! Maxim Chudinov winds up for a huge slapper, and Anders Nilsson fields it with confidence! And yet another silly penalty has been taken by the Ak Bars, with Vladimir Denisov make it a SKA five on three as a result of roughing!
     
    38:25
    The visitors have taken a very unneeded penalty here just as they were finding some more openings, as Artyom Lukoyanov has been called for cross checking
    Commentary by

    Shaun Nicolaides

    Goals & lineups Match log
    Goals and assists: 15. Martensson (Chudinov) – 47. Medvedev (Moller, Azevedo), 56. Svitov (Koltsov, Zakharchuk)

    SKA St. Petersburg: Koskinen (Ezhov)- Chudinov, A Belov, Thoresen, Martensson, Kovalchuk- Y Alexandrov, Kuteikin, Panarin, Shipachyov, Dadonov- Khafizullin, Rukavishnikov, Tikhonov, Ericsson, Cervenka- Yudin, Barabanov, Burdasov, Kablukov, Ponikarovskiy
    Ak Bars Kazan: Nilsson (Garipov)- Korneev, Nikulin, Moller, Azevedo, Mirnov- Zakharchuk, Rylov, Lukoyanov, Svitov, Koltsov- Medvedev, Denisov, Glukhov, Vrana, Varnakov- Musin, Paigin, Obukhov, Burmistrov, Petrov
    Referees: Alexey Anisimov, Antonin Jerabek, Konstantin Gordenko, Roman Shikhanov
    Attendance: 12171