Oleh Tymchenko’s side proved stronger than Energija in their first away matchup against this opponent.
Energija (Lithuania) – Kyiv Capitals (Ukraine) – 1:4 (1:2; 0:1; 0:1)
Goals: 1:0 – Grabliauskas (Silinas, Gould), 01:54; 1:1 – Bajaruns (Jansons, Begovs), 08:46; 1:2 – Begovs (Karsums, Jansons, – double power play), 15:30; 1:3 – Bajaruns (Jansons, Kryvonozhkin, – power play), 30:05; 1:4 – Karsums (Zelts, Begovs, – power play), 46:06.
Energija: Laurinas Lubys; Paulius Rumsevicius – Otas Urvelis, Dovydas Laimutis – Egidijus Binkulis – Aivaras Bendяius (c); Serhii Lohach – Matas Cyvas, Nazar Ruzhnikov – Dominykas Skadauskas – Paulius Gribauskas; Matthew Gould – Jared Brock, Karolis Krasilnikovas – Kipras Grabliauskas – Avgustinas Silinas; Augustas Salecis – Adomas Laimutis – Laurynas Miliunas.
Head coach: Arunas Aleinikovas
Kyiv Capitals: Maksym Duve; Vitalii Andreykiv – Eduards Hugo Jansons, Martins Karsums (c) – Lauris Bajaruns – Rustams Begovs; Valentyn Sirchenko – Edmunds Augstkalns, Yang Hu – Andrii Kryvonozhkin – Denys Honcharenko; Andrejs Kostjuks – Ivan Shamardin, Greg Betzold – Danylo Tsarkovskyi – Renars Cipruss; Oleksii Melnykov, Marat Saroka – Aleksandrs Novikovs – Kristians Zelts.
Head coach: Oleg Tymchenko
Kyiv Capitals arrived in Lithuania aiming to extend their winning streak to nine games. Meanwhile, the hosts continue their fight for a playoff spot and are eager to add points in a home matchup.
For this game, the Capitals were without Sirokovs and Fursa. Duve was entrusted with the starting goalie role, while Betzold was set to make his official debut.
Arunas Aleinikovas’ players showed maximum focus from the opening faceoff. Grabliauskas escaped Betzold’s coverage and clinically finished his team’s combination, scoring against former Energija goaltender Duve.
The visitors regrouped quickly and leveled the situation by the middle of the period. Sustained pressure in the crease allowed Bajaruns to become the team’s leading scorer, netting his 12th goal of the season.
Within 28 seconds, Silinas and Gould were penalized, leaving Energija with just three skaters on the ice. In the final moments of the double power play, the Capitals’ first line converted thanks to a precise shot by Begovs.
Midway through the second period, Bajaruns completed his brace as the visitors once again capitalized on the man advantage. This time, Lauris redirected a shot from Jansons, who contributed assists on three of the team’s goals.
Defensively, Oleg Tymchenko’s side operated in a well-organized manner, accumulating only four penalty minutes (compared to 14 for the hosts). At the same time, the visitors more than doubled Energija in shots on goal (50 to 22).
In the third period, Capitals captain Karsums joined the scoring. Zelts helped execute another power play, delivering a cross-crease pass to Martins, who recorded his 33rd point of the championship with that goal.
As a result, Kyiv Capitals moved up to 40 points – one more than Mogo/RSU, who have played two additional games. Tymchenko’s team will face the Riga side away upcoming Saturday.
