I apologize for the delay in getting this out. The days started to burn by a bit after finishing my academic obligations for the semester and I have had some other matters to attend to. This one will be somewhat succinct as it is somewhat “aged” content now, but it will contain some detail about current events.

SKA Saint Petersburg:

Game 33: Thursday, December 5th

SKA 2-4 Dynamo Moscow

Game 34: Sunday, December 8th

SKA 1-0 Barys Astana

The club started off fairly strong against their rivals from the capital city. However, it ended up getting away from them ultimately, and former Flyer Jordan Weal had plenty to do with it for the home team as he registered a goal and an assist in the game. The match also ended in somewhat uncharacteristic KHL fashion as it concluded with some fisticuffs. If this had any galvanizing effect for SKA, it was reflected in the next game. While it was a low-scoring affair, they kept their foot on the gas and successfully protected their 1-0 lead against their Kazakh counterparts by controlling the possession and tempo. It was a good note to leave off on before SKA Arena (which is returning to use after a long hiatus due to fire damage) played host to the Channel One Cup.

Channel One Cup:

To that point, SKA’s talents have featured pretty extensively at one of the biggest events of the year in Russian ice hockey. Russia defeated the KHL World Team 4-1 yesterday and SKA players factored in a fair bit, with Marat Khairullin opening the scoring with a strong shot from the slot, while Alexander Nikishin and Evgeny Kuznetsov both assisted on Mikhail Grigorenko’s power play goal to grow the lead to 2-0 on some terrific cycling. Khairullin and Nikishin would both register secondary assists on the third and fourth goals. Just some strong work from the usual suspects.

HC Sochi:

Game 32: Wednesday, December 4th

Sochi 0-6 Avangard Omsk

Game 33: Friday, December 6th

Sochi 3-5 Kunlun Red Star

The first half of the closeout before the league break (which concludes on Tuesday, December 17th) somewhat exemplified what a backbreaker a late goal can be. Sochi played this somewhat middling Avangard team closely and competitively throughout most of the first period but conceded as it approached its end. This opened the floodgates for Omsk, with ten players registering at least a point. These efforts were led by Damir Sharipzyanov’s three assists and Ryan Spooner’s 1g-2a. Sochi would want to turn the page from this one.

Against Kunlun, they had an impressive offensive explosion in the second period. Dmitri Utkin’s goal particularly stands out as a highlight. However, for all their proficiency in generating offense, they simply weren’t able to prevent chances going the other way. Red Star were lethal at creating and converting scoring opportunities and ultimately came away the victors. I still have faith in head coach Sergei Zubov (who reached 250 KHL games coached in the game against Omsk) and his ability to instill working systems in the group, but they definitely needed this break to re-gather themselves. Hopefully, it does something for them.