Vadym Shakhraichuk’s team suffered their second loss in the championship against Dmytro Sumets’ team in Kremenchuk.
«Кremenchuk» – «Кyiv Capitals» – 5:3 (2:0; 1:1; 2:2)
Pucks: 1:0 – Lialka (Braga, Matviienko), 10:07; 2:0 – Abadzhyan (Serednytskyi, Ihnatenko), 14:14; 3:0 – Tselohorodtsev (Matviienko, double majority), 29:27; 3:1 – Kutsevych (Panchenko, Berdniks), 37:06; 4:1 – Hevorkian (Kryvenko, Braga), 50:36; 5:1 – Kryvoshapkin (minority), 53:37; 5:2 – Panchenko (Chernenko, Kutsevych), 58:18; 5:3 – Panchenko (Chernenko, Kutsevych, majority), 58:36
Kremenchuk: Kyrylo Kucher; Denys Matusevych – Philip Matviienko, Vitaly Lialka (c) – Artem Tselohorodtsev – Bohdan Serednytskyi; Bohdan Pankov – Dmytro Ihnatenko, Sviatoslav Tymchenko – Hlib Kryvoshapkin – Yevhen Abadzhyan; Tymofii Savytskyi, Maksym Maksymenko – Borys Andriushchenko – Mykhailo Hevorkian – Daniil Kryvenko; Nikita Krugliakov, Tymofii Materykin – Illia Fedorov – Vladyslav Braga – Dmytro Poperezhai
Head coach: Dmytro Sumets
Kyiv Capitals: Boris Babik; Kostiantyn Riabenko – Deniss Berdniks, Vladyslav Kutsevych – Serhii Chernenko (c) – Yaroslav Panchenko; Eetu Moksunen – Pavlo Taran, Andrii Kryvonozhkin – Mykola Dvornyk – Mykyta Oliynyk; Timur Lapko – Valentin Sirchenko, Yevhen Sekirko – Danylo Tyshchenko – Vladyslav Luhovyi; Denys Plesovskykh, Anton Sychynskyi – Yehor Bezuhlyi – Oleksandr Koida – Oleksandr Valkun
Head coach: Vadym Shakhraichuk
At the start of the meeting, Dmytro Sumets’ team, quickly took the initiative and gained a numerical advantage in the fifth minute. In a particular incident, Riabenko disrupted Serednytskyi’s one-on-one encounter by striking him with a stick. As a result, the hosts were awarded a penalty, but Kryvoshapkin’s attempt was successfully dealt with by Babik, the goalkeeper of Capitals.
Nevertheless, the team from Poltava region managed to break the deadlock in the middle of the period. Lyalka was the first to react to the rebound after Matvienko’s shot and successfully placed the puck past Babik. This goal marked the 23rd for the season for Kremenchuk`s captain.
Just before the first break, Kremenchuk increased their lead. Ihnatenko made an unexpected pass to Abadzhyan, and Yevhen took advantage of his position from a sharp angle, leaving the Capitals keeper in a vulnerable position.
In the first 20 minutes of the game, the visiting team managed to secure two eliminations, which the home team failed to capitalize on. In the second period, Kremenchuk had a 5×3 power play opportunity, and they took full advantage of it. Tselohorodtsev scored a goal during this double advantage for Dmytro Sumets` team. Lialka attempted a long-range shot, and although Babik almost saved it, Artem took a shot at the loose puck and scored easily.
Despite this setback, the team coached by Vadym Shakhraichuk regrouped and managed to reduce the score difference. Kutsevych took a shot from a distance, and Kucher, the goaltender, failed to block it as the puck went between his pads and into the net.
In the final period, Capitals, exerted pressure on their opponents, especially during power plays. However, host team took advantage of the lackluster performance by visitors. After successfully defending themselves while on the penalty kill, the team from Kremenchuk started to increase their lead with Hevorkyan’s efforts. Mykhailo took a shot towards the goal, but it deflected off Lapko and returned to Hevorkyan, who scored the fourth goal of the game, beating Babik once again.
The opposing team quickly scored fifth goal, despite being in the minority. Taran made a mistake after Sekirko’s pass, allowing Kryvoshapkin to seize the opportunity and score a well-executed one-on-one goal.
In the 58th minute, Capitals managed to narrow the gap with a goal from Panchenko. Yaroslav responded to Chernenko’s pass and skillfully converted it into a goal, bringing his total to 23 goals for the season and catching up with Lialka as the top scorers. Just 18 seconds later, Yaroslav repeated his impressive performance, scoring his second goal of the game and claiming the top spot in the scorer’s list. However, time ran out before Capitals could catch up their opponents.
As a result, Kremenchuk once again demonstrated their superiority over the Capitals at the Iceberg A rena and will head into the New Year’s break as the leaders of the tournament table, with a total of 41 points from 20 matches. Kyiv team currently occupies the third place with 38 points from 17 games.
The next match for the Kyiv Capitals is scheduled for January 6th, where they will face Sokil. Kremenchuk will be competing against Berserks in an away match on the 7th of January.
