SKA-VMF St. Petersburg vs Khimik

The opening period was a cagey, goalless affair. Neither side created clear-cut chances, and even power-play opportunities for both teams failed to produce a breakthrough.

The deadlock was broken emphatically in the second period. Matvey Petrov opened the scoring on the power-play at 24:00, and the floodgates followed. Ilya Kotlyarov made it 2-0 just three minutes later, and Nikita Sokolov added a third a mere 31 seconds after that - three goals in a 3:31 span that left the hosts stunned.

SKA-VMF called a timeout and steadied themselves. Savely Gorokhov picked out Yegor Gurzanov with a superb pass, and Gurzanov finished on the breakaway to cut the deficit to 3-1 before the second intermission.

The third period began with SKA-VMF throwing everything at the Khimik net, looking to complete a comeback. But discipline let them down. A penalty gave Khimik another power-play, and Maxim Filimonov made them pay. Just 16 seconds after Filimonov's goal, Fyodor Avramov added a fifth to make it 5-1, effectively ending the contest.

To their credit, SKA-VMF never stopped pushing. Danila Popov found himself in the right place at the right time, finishing into an empty net to cap a well-worked move and pull one back, but the damage was done.

Dmitry Presnov was named MVP of the match, anchoring Khimik's midfield and contributing to their clinical attacking transitions.

Matvey Petrov set the tone with the opening power-play goal, while Savely Gorokhov stood out for SKA-VMF with a brilliant assist on Gurzanov's strike - his vision was the home side's brightest attacking moment.

Danila Popov provided a late consolation for SKA-VMF with a composed finish into the empty net, continuing his positive tournament form after scoring in the earlier win over Zvezda.

Khimik Voskresensk finish top of the Drozdecki Memorial, a strong pre-season statement ahead of the VHL season. SKA-VMF, part of the SKA system, finish as runners-up in their home tournament. The VHL 2026/27 regular season is scheduled to begin shortly after the pre-season window, with both sides finalising their rosters.

Khimik's three-goal explosion in the second period was the difference - once they found the net on the power-play, they were ruthless in transition. SKA-VMF showed fight after the timeout and again in the third, but defensive lapses and penalty trouble proved costly against a sharper Khimik side that made the most of every opportunity.

All match details sourced from the official SKA-VMF club match report (vmf.ska.ru) and the VHL YouTube channel.