Playoff Quarterfinal, March 14, 14:15, Pinki, Inbox Ice Arena.
Of the nine teams that started the championship, six remain in the race for the trophy. In the quarterfinal stage of the playoffs, Liepaja has already taken the lead in their series against Panter. Now it`s time for the second pair to begin their battle.
The two opponents enter their head-to-head series with players who won individual awards at the end of the regular season. Janis Voris, whose absence Kyiv is strongly feeling, was named Best Goaltender, while Roberts Jekimovs fromPrizma became Best Forward with 66 points (28 goals + 38 assists).
The fate of this playoff matchup was determined in the previous game played by Kyiv Capitals. Thanks to their 5:4 victory over Panter, the Estonian side failed to overtake Prizmaand remained in sixth place.
Meanwhile, the Riga team had a week-long break. On March 7, they played their final regular-season match, losing to Zemgale/LBTU (2:4).
In the season series, Oleg Tymchenko’s team currently leads 4:1. After starting with a home loss (2:3), they defeated their opponent four times. The final meeting deserves special mention: it ended 16:3, becoming the highest-scoring and most lopsided game in the league.
However, the playoff stage begins with a clean slate, and tomorrow we will see what cards the teams have kept up their sleeves for the decisive part of the season.
