MINSK, 5 March (BelTA) – HC Dinamo Minsk battled hard, but HC SKA got its second win, 6-4, in the KHL's first playoff series on 4 March, BelTA has learned.
SKA jumped to a 3-0 lead, but Dinamo rallied with a pair of quick goals late in the frame to keep the game alive. Joonas Kemppainen opened the scoring in the third minute. Evgeny Ketov doubled the lead and Ivan Morozov beat Dominik Furch later.
The visitor had an answer. Within a minute, Shane Prince put Minsk on the scoreboard. A power play that followed enabled Brandon Kozun to make it a one-goal game.
Evgeny Ketov potted his second of the evening to make it 4-2 at the first break.
The Belarusians launched a counter-attack and Ilya Usov pulled it back to 3-4.
Brennan Menell made it 4-4 with eight minutes to play.
SKA got a power play of its own and almost immediately Anton Burdasov turned it into a goal. In the closing moments, Vasily Podkolzin added an empty net goal to seal the victory and secure a 2-0 lead in the series.
The next two match-ups will take place at Minsk Arena on 6 and 8 March.
