Vadym Shakhraichuk’s team suffered their first defeat at the ATEK Arena.
Sokil (Kyiv) – Kyiv Capitals – 3:1 (1:0; 1:1; 1:0)
Pucks: 1:0 – Borodai (Yanishevskyi), 08:58; 1:1 – Berdniks (Panchenko, Tyshchenko, – power play), 23:52; 2:1 – Romashchenko (Mazur, Cherdak, – power play), 38:45; 3:1 – Cherdak, 59:57
Sokil: Bohdan Diachenko; Vsevolod Tolstushko – Oleksii Yanishevskyi, Vasyl-Yurii Kachan – Viktor Zakharov – Denys Borodai; Pavlo Dvoretskyi – Pavlo Taran, Volodymyr Cherdak – Vadym Mazur (c) – Ruslan Romashchenko; Mykyta Polonytskyi – Oleksandr Horlushko, Maksym Zherebko – Denys Zherebko – Volodymyr Kostromitin; Dmytro Savchuk – Artem Kalsin, Matvii Burdakov – Danyl Rymar – Maksym Vysotenko
Head coach: Oleg Shafarenko
Kyiv Capitals: Nazar Boiko; Nikita Liesnikov – Deniss Berdniks, Danylo Tyshchenko – Serhii Chernenko (c) – Yaroslav Panchenko; Vladyslav Luhovyi – Eetu Moksunen, Andrii Kryvonozhkin – Sevastian Karpenko – Mykyta Oliynyk; Tymur Lapko – Oleksii Melnykov, Mykola Dvornyk – Yevhen Sekirko – Oleksandr Koida; Mykhailo Vasyliiev – Denys Plesovskykh – Oleksandr Valkun – Valentyn Sirchenko
Head coach: Vadym Shakhraichuk
In this match, both teams fielded their recent newcomers – Vysotenko and Moksunen. However, the home team’s head coach, Oleg Shafarenko, was absent from the coaching bench, with Vyacheslav Timchenko taking charge instead.
The game started off intense for both sides, with Sokil managing to convert their period of dominance into a goal. Despite Boiko saving Yanishevskyi’s shot, he couldn’t stop Borodai’s finish.
Following the goal, Capitals picked up the pace, but failed to get past Diachenko. The end of the period saw Vadym Shakhraichuk’s team defending diligently after Koida’s penalty. But Sokil didn`t capitalize power play opportunity.
Shortly after the break, the visitors made the most of their 5×4 advantage, with Berdniks scoring a powerful long-range goal. In the middle of the second period, Capitals had another powerplay opportunity, but were stifled by Diachenko’s solid play.
In the latter stages, the hosts took control and were handed a significant advantage with a four-minute powerplay due to a double penalty for Chernenko. Boiko and the team managed to fend off most of it, but Shafarenko’s team eventually found the back of the net. Romashchenko capped off the attack involving Cherdak with Mazur and scored a goal, making a successful return from injury.
The third period was full of suspense. Both teams had scoring opportunities, whether on power plays or at even strength. Boiko and Diachenko deserve special praise for their strong defense against the opposing team’s attacks.
With just 1:40 left on the clock, Vadym Shakhraichuk pulled Boiko to add an extra attacker, but Capitals couldn’t force overtime. In a dramatic turn of events, Cherdak sealed the victory for Sokil by scoring into the empty net just three seconds before the final buzzer, ending the intense derby match.
Sokil now leads the standings with 28 points, while our team remains in second place with 26 points. On December 20, Oleg Shafarenko’s team will face Dnipro, followed by Vadym Shakhraichuk’s squad taking on Storm-Odesa the next day.
