January 6th, 18:00, Kyiv, Sports Palace. Broadcast: MEGOGO, YouTube FHU
In the upcoming new year, Vadym Shakhraichuk’s team will kick off their game program with a thrilling Kyiv derby against Sokil.
These two teams have faced each other three times already in the championship, producing some interesting statistics. While Sokil emerged victorious twice, it was only after intense shootouts, largely thanks to the reliable performance of Bohdan Diachenko.
However, in their last encounter on November 25th, Vadym Shakhraichuk’s team managed to secure a win during regular time. Despite initially trailing 0:2, Capitals swiftly responded by scoring three goals in a row. As a result, Vadym Shakhraichuk’s team currently holds the advantage in terms of points accumulated in their head-to-head clashes, with a total of five points compared to Sokil’s four.
It is worth noting that both teams entered the current match in the second and third positions of the tournament table. Sokil has played 19 matches and earned 39 points. On the other hand, Kyiv Capitals have 38 points based on the results of 17 meetings.
Ahead of the match, there has been some transfer news worth mentioning. Vadym Shakhraichuk`s team has signed 23-years-old defender Danylo Babchuk. Babchuk started the season as part of Kremenchuk, and in tomorrow’s match, he will have the opportunity to make his debut as part of Kyiv Capitals.
Both teams did not end previous year on a high note. Capitals experienced a loss to Kremenchuk in an away match, which interrupted their seven consecutive victories. On the other hand, Sokil won in regular time almost a month ago, defeating Berserks. However, following that, the team faced a shootout victory against Kremenchuk, as well as defeats against Tryzub and Dnipro (the team from Kyiv also lost in the shootout series in Odesa).
Therefore, both opponents will have a strong desire to win, given the intensity of the competition in the tournament table. This holds true for the Kyiv derby as well. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that the opening match of the 20th round occurred last year, where Kremenchuk emerged victorious against Berserks. Furthermore, on January 5-6, there will be two matches between Tryzub and Dnipro. Tomorrow, the teams will conclude the match that began in Odesa, but only one period was played due to technical reasons.
