Vadym Shakhraichuk’s team secured another away victory in the final series.
Kremenchuk – Kyiv Capitals – 1:3 (0:2; 1:0; 0:1)
Pucks: 0:1 – Chernenko (Panchenko, Hu), 08:22; 0:2 – Hu (Маzkо, Panchenkо), 17:47; 1:2 – Hevorkian (Lialka, Poperezhai, – power play), 29:17; 1:3 – Berdniks (Hu, Chernenko, – power play), 44:45.
Kremenchuk: Eduard Zakharchenko; Denys Matusevych – Tymofii Materykin, Dmytro Poperezhai – Hlib Kryvoshapkin – Artem Tselohorodtsev; Bohdan Pankov – Dmytro Ihnatenko, Vitalii Lialka (c) – Bohdan Serednytskyi – Mykhailo Hevorkian; Bohdan Piddubnyi – Daniil Kryvenko, Yevhenii Abadzhian – Vladyslav Braha – Yehor Bezuhlyi; Volodymyr Ponomarenko, Viacheslav Andrushchenko – Daniil Duka – Yurii Myronenko
Head coach: Andrii Sriubko
Kyiv Capitals: Nazar Boiko; Mykhailo Vasyliiev – Deniss Berdniks, Yang Hu – Serhii Chernenko (c) – Yaroslav Panchenko; Valentyn Sirchenko – Vladyslav Luhovyi, Andrii Kryvonozhkin – Sevastian Karpenko – Mykyta Oliynyk; Matvii Mazko – Oleksii Melnykov, Nikita Liesnikov – Tymur Lapko – Danylo Tyshchenko; Eetu Moksunen – Oleksandr Valkun – Ihor Shevchenko
Head coach: Vadym Shakhraichuk
Series score – 1:3
Up to the present match, our team entered with a modified line-up. Firstly, Karpenko came back to the second trio of forwards, while Hu and Vasyliiev returned in the first five. At the same time, Haas and Sekirko fell ill, so Boiko took Radek`s place in the goal, and Lapko moved into Yevhen’s position.
Instead, in Kremenchuk, Zakharchenko appeared in the goal again, and changes involved rearrangements within the fives and the absence of the disqualified Abdullaiev.
Just two minutes into the game, Andrii Sriubko’s players got the first power play, but the guests managed to defend. However, the hosts failed to withstand the attack of the first trio of forwards from Capitals. After Hu’s shot, Chernenko was the first to follow up, sending the puck into Zakharchenko’s possession.
The period continued in a similar pattern. The team from Poltava region failed to capitalize on their power play, while Capitals scored another goal. Hu crossed the rink, ending the attack with a spectacular shot from an awkward hand. Another unpleasant piece of news for Kremenchuk was Kryvoshapkin’s injury, who didn`t return to the ice.
At the start of the second period, Kremenchuk had a perfect opportunity to score a goal. A penalty shot was awarded for Mazko’s foul against Tselohorodtsev. However, Lialka couldn’t get past Boiko.
On their fourth attempt, the power play of Kremenchuk players were finally able to score. Poperezhai made a great pass to Hevorkian, who only had to score into the empty net. Mykhailo successfully completed this task.
In the time remaining before the second break, the guests had some good moments to catch up with Capitals in the score, but Boiko’s excellent performance helped our team maintain the lead.
The turning point in this meeting was the five-minute penalty for Tselohorodtsev at the beginning of the third period. In 45 seconds before the end of the power play, Vadim Shakhraichuk’s players were able to take advantage of their numerical superiority. Berdniks, who had been on the ice throughout the game in uneven squads, scored in his typical style, giving the Kyiv team a two-goal advantage.
Everything was progressing rather slowly towards the third victory for the Capitals, but till 2:23 before the match end, an air alarm sounded in Kremenchuk, interrupting the meeting.
After a 40-minute break, the opponents returned to the ice. Almost immediately, Zakharchenko left his goal. The pressure on the guests’ goal was quite serious, but Boiko’s excellent saves kept the score unchanged.
Therefore, Kyiv Capitals led the series with a score of 3:1. On Saturday, the teams will meet at the Chalette Arena.
