After storming back from a 3-0 series deficit to defeat their oldest rivals, CSKA Moscow, in seven games in the KHL Semifinals, SKA Saint Petersburg needed only five games to defeat Ak Bars Kazan to win the 2015 Gagarin Cup.
Shockingly just their first title in their illustrious 69-year history, SKA opened up the game in dominant fashion, needing just 15 minutes to take a 4-0 lead, driving starting goalie Anders Nilsson from the net and never looking back from there. Team captain Ilya Kovalchuk led the way with two goals, while Jimmie Ericsson, Yevgeniย Dadonov, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Romanย ฤervenka also added helpers. Mikko Koskinen stopped 24 of 25 shots in the win, also netting Soviet hockey legends Alexei Kasatonov his first title as GM, and the second Cup for head coach Vyacheslav Bykov.
With players from six nations onย the main roster, SKA boasts one of the most diverse international rosters in the KHL, with players from five of the six nations holding the International Hockey Lineal Championship, who all played a key role in this historic victory. Especially with the future of the KHL next season and beyond in jeopardy, this victory will surely go down in history as one of the all-time greats in Russian hockey history.
Our congratulations go out to the players, management and fans of SKA Saint Petersburg, with those on the roster that have also held the IHLC highlighted in bold:
| ๐ท๐บ Yuri Alexandrov, defence ๐ท๐บ Alexander Barabanov, forward ๐ท๐บ Anton Belov, defence ๐ท๐บ Nikolai Belov, defence ๐ท๐บ Anton Burdasov, forward ๐ท๐บ Vyacheslav Bykov, coach ๐จ๐ฟ Roman ฤervenka, forward ๐ท๐บ Maxim Chudinov, defence ๐ท๐บ Yevgeni Dadonov, forward ๐ธ๐ช Jimmie Ericsson, forward ๐ท๐บ Alexei Grishin, defence ๐ท๐บ Ilya Kablukov, forward ๐ท๐บ Alexander Kadeikin, forward ๐ท๐บ Dmitri Kalinin, defence ๐ท๐บ Alexei Kasatonov, general manager ๐ท๐บ Yevgeni Ketov, forward ๐ท๐บ Dinar Khafizullin, defence ๐ท๐บ Petr Khokhryakov, forward ๐ซ๐ฎ Mikko Koskinen, goaltender |
๐ท๐บ Ilya Kovalchuk, forward ๐ท๐บ Alexander Kucheryavenko, forward ๐ท๐บ Andrei Kuteikin, defence ๐ท๐บ Igor Makarov, forward ๐ธ๐ช Tony Mรฅrtensson, forward ๐ท๐บ Artemi Panarin, forward ๐บ๐ฆ Alexei Ponikarovsky, forward ๐ท๐บ Roman Rukavishnikov, defence ๐ท๐บ Yevgeni Ryasenski, defence ๐จ๐ฟ Alexander Salรกk, goaltender ๐ท๐บ Alexei Semyonov, defence ๐ท๐บ Igor Shestyorkin, goaltender ๐ท๐บ Vadim Shipachyov, forward ๐ณ๐ด Patrick Thoresen, forward ๐ท๐บ Viktor Tikhonov, forward ๐ท๐บ Filipp Toluzakov, forward ๐ท๐บ Andrei Yermakov, defence ๐ท๐บ Ilya Yezhov, forward ๐ท๐บ Dmitri Yudin, defence |
Photo Credit: KHL Twitterย โ IIHF โ HHOF โ IOC
International Hockey Lineal Championship 