SKA Edge Past Traktor 4:3 on the Road

SKA won 4:3 away at Traktor, taking their sixth win in seven games this season after returning from a ten-day break in the schedule.

Sergei Cherkas, a former SKA coach, said the side from St Petersburg looked a shade off their usual home form but still had enough in hand to see the game out.

"SKA looked a bit worse against Traktor than in their home games, but the win still came with something to spare. When it needed to, the side found a bit extra and scored the goals it needed. Yes, Traktor created chances, but it was fairly chaotic. SKA showed real craft and very good conversion. Petersburg had enough to see the game through to victory, and that says SKA is one of the leading teams in the KHL," said Cherkas.

Head coach Igor Larionov pointed to the layoff as the harder problem. SKA had not played since 15 September.

"We're glad to be back in the KHL orbit, because we missed ten days. That's quite a long spell out. If I'm honest, we were wary of this match. It's not easy when you're building up speed and rhythm and then a long pause comes along. But as I said after the game, all's well that ends well. Two points out of two. We turn the page and head to Kazakhstan," said Larionov.

Asked whether SKA had looked unprepared for Traktor's early pressure, Larionov credited the Chelyabinsk side's rebuild.

"Impressions differ, everyone has their own view of the game. We know Traktor is going through a good rebuild right now. There are a lot of young lads in the side who aren't yet that well known to the wider hockey public. We knew that in their previous match they'd beaten Avangard. Avangard have a big injury list, but we never point to problems or excuses. We always show respect for Chelyabinsk hockey and for the club. When people go up against SKA, they try to give everything they've got. So we expected exactly this kind of game, hockey end to end. Seven goals scored between us isn't bad. Better than 1:0 or 2:1. Traktor fought to the end, never gave in. Even at 1:4 the opposition kept looking for a way through to our goal — and found one. But thanks to a fine game from goalkeeper Sergei Ivanov, we held on and saw the match through to the win," said Larionov.

SKA now travel to Kazakhstan, where the WCH IA tournament is under way. The hosts there sit top of that table without a point from five matches so far.