SAINT PETERSBURG (Interstat) — Severstal Cherepovets scored twice in the first period and never trailed Tuesday, defeating SKA Saint Petersburg 5-2 in a Kontinental Hockey League game at Ice Palace Saint Petersburg. Severstal improved to 6-6 this season. SKA dropped to 8-3. Attendance was 15,488. Severstal won for the second time in three games.

Denis Yan was Severstal’s top star, sparking the visitors with a goal and an assist. The 6-foot-1, 187-pound forward opened the scoring at 1:30 of the first period, converting with assists from Vladimir Grudinin and Nikita A. Popugayev. Yan later helped set up Ruslan Abrosimov in the second period. Yan finished with eight shots on goal and one hit, leading a Severstal attack that produced five goals against a SKA defense that had allowed three or more goals in several recent games. Yan entered the game with goals in two of his previous four appearances, including a two-goal, one-assist effort against Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg and a goal against HC Sochi.

Severstal doubled its lead at 8:49 of the first when Ioannis Kaldis scored his first goal of the season, with Yegor Graf drawing the assist. SKA answered quickly. Danil Aimurzin scored at 9:21, with Rocco Grimaldi and Nikolai Chebykin assisting, cutting the Severstal lead to 2-1. The goal gave SKA momentum, but the home side could not pull even before the first intermission. Severstal’s penalty kill handled early chances for SKA.

The second period brought more Severstal pressure. Abrosimov scored at 21:33, with Popugayev and Yan assisting, to make it 3-1. SKA again responded through Aimurzin, who scored his second goal of the game at 26:03. Chebykin and Andrei Pedan assisted as SKA trimmed the deficit to 3-2. Severstal regained a two-goal cushion at 36:23 when Timofei Davydov scored, with Graf picking up his second assist. Davydov’s goal gave Severstal a 4-2 lead after two periods and forced SKA to chase the game in the third.

Penalties disrupted the flow in the middle frame. SKA’s Sergei Plotnikov was called for tripping at 20:34. Romanov Vladislav Y. received a roughing penalty at 24:46, and Severstal’s Alexander Skorenov was also sent off for roughing on the same sequence. Andrei Pedan went to the box for boarding at 32:28. Severstal’s penalty kill held firm when needed, and Samoilov was steady in net.

Severstal sealed the win late in the third. Nikita Artamonov, who had been assessed a tripping penalty at 54:47, scored at 56:56 to make it 5-2. The goal capped a strong road performance for Severstal, which improved its road form after a mixed start to the season.

Alexander Samoilov earned the win in goal for Severstal, stopping 15 of 17 shots. SKA’s Aimurzin finished with two goals, two shots on goal and two hits. Chebykin added two assists, two shots and one hit for SKA. Severstal received two assists apiece from Graf and Popugayev. Kaldis finished with a goal and four shots, while Abrosimov had a goal, one shot and two penalty minutes. Artamonov had a goal, one shot and two penalty minutes. Davydov added a goal and three shots.

Severstal’s victory moved the club to 6-6, while SKA fell to 8-3. The game featured 10 penalties, including a 10-minute misconduct to Romanov Vladislav Y. in the first period. Severstal scored two goals in the first period, one in the second and two in the third. SKA scored one in the first and one in the second.

Severstal next travels to face Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. SKA is scheduled to visit Dynamo Moscow. The teams are scheduled to meet again in Cherepovets.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of SKA 4, Severstal 2. Interstat’s ELO system had projected SKA with a 57.1 percent probability to win.