Wednesday, March 29, 2017

KHL Western Conference Final: 2) SKA St. Petersburg VS. 4) Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

This is one of the conference finals in the KHL season, pitting Western foes SKA St. Petersburg against Lokomotiv Yaroslavl for a trip to the Gagarin Cup.

Game 1: Ice Palace Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russia. In goal: Alexander Sudnitsin of Lokomotiv and Mikko Koskinen of SKA. St. Petersburg opened in the first period with a Jarno Koskiranta goal, via Sergei Shirokov and Anton Belov on the power play. Yaroslavl tied it on a Dmitry Lugin goal, assisted by Rushan Rafikov and Yegor Averin. Lokomotiv took the lead with an Averin goal, coming off of Pavel Koledov and Ilya Lyubushkin. SKA tied it again in the third period with a Patrik Hersley goal, made possible by Vadim Shipachyov and Evgeny Dadonov. Yaroslavl pulled ahead with a Maxime Talbot goal, courtesy of Petri Kontiola. Lokomotiv added on with a Denis Mosalyov goal, fueled by Daniil Apalkov and Emil Galimov. St. Petersburg replied with a power play goal by Nikita Gusev, powered by Hersley and Shipachyov. SKA tied it with ten seconds left in regulation as Koskiranta scored, with the help of Hersley and Belov. During overtime, Igor Shestyorkin replaced Koskinen in goal. St. Petersburg won 5-4 in overtime on a Hersley goal, with helpers from Shipachyov, who got a sock trick, and Gusev. The three stars belonged to Hersley, Koskiranta, and Shipachyov, while Gusev, Belov, and Averin get the honorable mentions. SKA holds a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2: Ice Palace Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russia. In goal: Alexander Sudnitsin of Lokomotiv and Mikko Koskinen of SKA. Yaroslavl started in the first period with a Dmitry Lugin power play goal, powered by Andrei Loktionov and Yegor Averin. St. Petersburg tied it on an Ilya Kovalchuk power play goal, passed from Nikita Gusev and Vadim Shipachyov in the second period. SKA took the lead with a Sergei Plotnikov goal, assisted by Andrei Zubarev and Nikolai Prokhorkin. St. Petersburg added on with a Prokhorkin goal, via Plotnikov and Sergei Shirokov. SKA extended the lead as Plotnikov scored his second of the game, thanks to Shirokov and Prokhorkin. This made it 4-1, the final, with the three stars going to Plotnikov, Prokhorkin, and Shirokov. SKA leads the series 2-0 as they head out on the road.

Game 3: Arena 2000, Yaroslav, Russia. In goal: Mikko Koskinen of SKA and Alexander Sudnitsin of Lokomotiv. Yaroslavl led off in the first period with a Pavel Kraskovsky goal, going in unassisted. Koskinen went out a bit later, replaced by Igor Shestyorkin. St. Petersburg tied it in the third period with a Nikita Gusev power play goal, powered by Anton Belov and Vadim Shipachyov. SKA won 2-1 in overtime with an Alexander Barabanov goal, going in unassisted. The three stars were Barabanov, Gusev, and Shestyorkin (30 for 30 in saves in relief). SKA can advance on Wednesday as they hold a 3-0 series lead. 

Game 4: Arena 2000, Yaroslav, Russia. In goal: Igor Shestyorkin of SKA and Alexander Sudnitsin of Lokomotiv. St. Petersburg got going in the second period with a Dinar Khafizullin power play goal, powered by Evgeny Dadonov and Vadim Shipachyov. SKA added on with an Anton Belov goal, passed from Dadonov and Nikolai Prokhorkin. Yaroslavl got on the board with a shorthanded goal by Alexander Kadeikin, set up by Nikita Cherepanov and Andrei Loktionov. The final held at 2-1, with the three stars being Dadonov, Shestyorkin (33 for 34 in saves), and Belov. SKA swept the series 4-0 to punch their ticket to the Gagarin Cup Finals.

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