Oleg Tymchenko’s team defeated the reigning league runners-up on the road.
Zemgale/LBTU (Latvia) – Kyiv Capitals (Ukraine) – 2:3 OT (1:1; 0:1; 1:0; 0:1)
Goals: 0:1 – Karsums (Zelts, Bajaruns – power play), 15:37; 1:1 – Marenis (short-handed), 19:36; 1:2 – Honcharenko (Fursa), 30:08; 2:2 – Brauns (Karasa, Parviainen), 49:41; 2:3 – Fursa (Tsarkovskyi), 60:18.
Zemgale/LBTU: Aksels Ozols; Harijs Brants – Patriks Seilis, Gatis Gricinskis – Rihards Marenis (c) – Tommi Petteri Ansio; Daniels Gorsanovs – Martins Vitols, Toms Mots – Kristaps Rokis – Richards Bernhards; Atte Rajala – Rauls Ladusans, Joonas Parviainen – Kristers Brauns – Arturs Karasa; Toms Lindbergs – Roberts Berzins, Karlis Gustavs Medzins – Rauls Ozollapa – Markus Streikiss
Head coach: Artis Abols
Kyiv Capitals: Janis Voris; Vitalii Andreykiv – Eduards Hugo Jansons, Martins Karsums (c) – Lauris Bajaruns – Rustams Begovs; Edmunds Augstkalns – Andrejs Kostjuks, Denys Honcharenko – Danylo Tsarkovskyi – Daniil Fursa; Oleksii Melnykov – Ivan Shamardin, Marat Saroka – Renars Cipruss – Kristians Zelts; Valentyn Sirchenko, Oleksandr Valkun – Denys Plesovskykh – Aleksandrs Novikovs
Head coach: Oleh Tymchenko
Going into their Optibet League debut, our team was missing several players but still managed to assemble nearly four complete lines.
The main advantages of the opponents were their home crowd and a winning start to the season, which included two away victories.
After trading penalties between Rajala and Honcharenko, Kyiv converted their second power play. The experienced Karsums beat Ozols with a close-range shot to score the first-ever goal for Kyiv Capitals in the Optibet League.
Artis Abols’ side also had to endure another penalty kill early on, but eventually they broke out on a counterattack and tied the game while playing short-handed. This time, it was their captain, Marenis, who outplayed Voris in a tight space and sent the puck into the open net.
The game remained tight and tense, keeping both goaltenders busy. In the second period, however, Ozols was forced to pull the puck out of his net again. After an assist from Fursa, Honcharenko’s powerful shot into the corner put the Ukrainian side ahead for the second time.
The 2:1 lead held for quite some time, but midway through the third period Zemgale/LBTU equalized again. Our defense lost track of Brauns in front of the net, and he took advantage of the chance, beating Voris for the second time.
The match went into overtime, but it turned out to be surprisingly short. After just 18 seconds, Fursa capitalized on a defensive lapse and delivered Kyiv Capitals their debut two points in the Optibet League.
Kyiv’s best player of the game was named Janis Voris, whose spectacular saves were a key factor in the team’s success. Tymchenko’s team will play their next match on September 17 against Estonia’s Panter.
