Torpedo vs SKA. Will the army team be able to put a winning point in the series?
On Wednesday, March 23, Nizhny Novgorod will host the fourth match of the Gagarin Cup quarterfinal series between the local Torpedo and St. Petersburg SKA. The score in the series is 3-0 in favor of SKA.
The Avtozavodskis continue to surprise with their play, even in the play-offs, not retreating from their attacking style. There were some fears that an attacking style of play in elimination games would not work, since the playoffs are more often won with stout defensive play. However, the Nizhny Novgorod club finished the first round of the playoffs in their usual fashion, scoring 17 goals against the Dynamo Moscow. The fact that the Avtomobilets won their last three games against Dynamo in overtime is noteworthy, which again speaks volumes about the playoffs for Igor Larionov's team.
They started the quarterfinal series against SKA St. Petersburg on the road. That had a certain impact on the game. Nizhny Novgorod didn't play their style of play, which paid the price. They lost 1-2, with the deciding goal coming in overtime. The second game was much more fun, with Torpedo managing to score four goals, but conceding five in their own goal. It would seem that moving the series to Nizhny Novgorod should have given the Avtozavodsk team an extra boost, but the first home game for Torpedo hockey players proved to be a failure. The Pitmen's 38 shots on goal proved goalless, a 0-4 defeat and the Nizhny Novgorod side's position was complicated to the max.
SKA
For the first time in the past few seasons, the St. Petersburg club is approaching the start of the playoffs as the main favorite for the Gagarin Cup. There are all preconditions for this. St. Petersburg finished first in the regular season, and they did it so confidently that the fate of gold was already decided almost in January. The army team is the best staffed in the League, so even possible injuries will not become critical for the St. Petersburg team, the team's roster has enough players for two squads. Two defeats in the first round confrontation against Dynamo Minsk should not embarrass army fans, SKA was noticeably stronger than their Belarusian opponent and went through to the second round quite easily.
The rivalry with Torpedo also began with the dominance of the army club. On home ice, the wards of Roman Rotenberg, albeit in a bitter struggle, won twice, creating an excellent reserve for themselves before a visit to Nizhny Novgorod. Contrary to expectations, the first away game turned out to be the easiest in the series for the army team. The defense led by goalkeeper Nikolaev worked to zero, and the attack scored its four goals. The score in the series became 3-0, so now SKA hockey players only need to win one victory to reach the semi-finals.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Torpedo vs SKA
TorpedoThe Avtozavodskis continue to surprise with their play, even in the play-offs, not retreating from their attacking style. There were some fears that an attacking style of play in elimination games would not work, since the playoffs are more often won with stout defensive play. However, the Nizhny Novgorod club finished the first round of the playoffs in their usual fashion, scoring 17 goals against the Dynamo Moscow. The fact that the Avtomobilets won their last three games against Dynamo in overtime is noteworthy, which again speaks volumes about the playoffs for Igor Larionov's team.
They started the quarterfinal series against SKA St. Petersburg on the road. That had a certain impact on the game. Nizhny Novgorod didn't play their style of play, which paid the price. They lost 1-2, with the deciding goal coming in overtime. The second game was much more fun, with Torpedo managing to score four goals, but conceding five in their own goal. It would seem that moving the series to Nizhny Novgorod should have given the Avtozavodsk team an extra boost, but the first home game for Torpedo hockey players proved to be a failure. The Pitmen's 38 shots on goal proved goalless, a 0-4 defeat and the Nizhny Novgorod side's position was complicated to the max.
SKA
For the first time in the past few seasons, the St. Petersburg club is approaching the start of the playoffs as the main favorite for the Gagarin Cup. There are all preconditions for this. St. Petersburg finished first in the regular season, and they did it so confidently that the fate of gold was already decided almost in January. The army team is the best staffed in the League, so even possible injuries will not become critical for the St. Petersburg team, the team's roster has enough players for two squads. Two defeats in the first round confrontation against Dynamo Minsk should not embarrass army fans, SKA was noticeably stronger than their Belarusian opponent and went through to the second round quite easily.
The rivalry with Torpedo also began with the dominance of the army club. On home ice, the wards of Roman Rotenberg, albeit in a bitter struggle, won twice, creating an excellent reserve for themselves before a visit to Nizhny Novgorod. Contrary to expectations, the first away game turned out to be the easiest in the series for the army team. The defense led by goalkeeper Nikolaev worked to zero, and the attack scored its four goals. The score in the series became 3-0, so now SKA hockey players only need to win one victory to reach the semi-finals.
Comments 0