The team coached by Oleg Tymchenko had a successful trip to Elektrenai.
Energija (Lithuania) – Kyiv Capitals (Ukraine) – 3:7 (0:2; 3:3; 0:2)
Goals: 0:1 – Bajaruns (Jansons, Andreykiv), 09:35; 0:2 – Karsums (Fursa, Begovs, – power play), 12:24; 1:2 – Laimutis (Silinas), 22:37; 1:3 – Hu (Tsarkovskyi, Novikovs), 25:00; 2:3 – Krasilnikovas (Laimutis, Binkulis), 26:59; 3:3 – Silinas (Laimutis, Gould), 30:24; 3:4 – Begovs (Jansons, Andreykiv), 34:30; 3:5 – Karsums (Begovs, Fursa, – power play), 35:38; 3:6 – Novikovs (Klinecky, Hu), 43:19; 3:7 – Begovs (Karsums), 44:29.
Energija: Arkadijus Grigaravicius-Reyzin (Rokas Salecis, 46:03); Paulius Rumsevicius – Aurimas Gaidauskas, Dovydas Laimutis – Egidijus Binkulis – Aivaras Bendzius (c); Serhii Lohach – Otas Urvelis, Tadas Kumeliauskas – Karolis Krasilnikovas – Paulius Grybauskas; Matas Cyvas – Jared Brock, Matthew Gould – Kipras Grabliauskas – Avgustinas Silinas; Arturas Katulis, Nazar Ruzhnykov – Laurynas Miliunas – Dominykas Skadauskas.
Head coach: Arunas Aleinikovas
Kyiv Capitals: Maksym Duve; Vitalii Andreykiv – Eduards Hugo Jansons, Martins Karsums (c) – Lauris Bajaruns – Rustams Begovs; Daniel Klinecky – Edmunds Augstkalns, Yang Hu – Andrii Kryvonozhkin – Kristians Zelts; Andrejs Kostjuks – Ivan Shamardin, Denys Honcharenko – Danylo Tsarkovskyi – Renars Cipruss; Oleksii Melnykov – Maksims Sirokovs, Valentyn Sirchenko – Daniil Fursa – Aleksandrs Novikovs.
Head coach: Oleg Tymchenko
Over the past week, the team’s season roster underwent changes. The Capitals parted ways with forward Marat Saroka and signed Czech defenseman Daniel Klinecky. He formed the second defensive pairing together with Edmunds Augstkalns. Meanwhile, Maksims Sirokovs moved to the fourth line, and Valentyn Sirchenko was shifted to forward.
There was also another rotation in goal, with Maksym Duve guarding the net against Energija.
Midway through the first period, the Kyiv side took control of the game and built a solid lead. First, Bajaruns redirected a shot from the blue line by Jansons, and then the visitors converted their first power play of the game. Karsums finished the combination with a precise shot from the crease after setup play by Begovs and Fursa.
The opening of the second period proved to be rich in goals. Laimutis capped off a solo rush to score Energija’s first goal against Duve. Kyiv Capitals responded with another effective power play setup, though Hu had already scored at even strength. Tsarkovskyi drew the attention of Grigaravicius-Reyzin and left the Canadian with an empty net, restoring the two-goal cushion.
The hosts answered back with strong play of their own. Augstkalns and Kryvonozhkin failed to strip the puck from Laimutis, who created a 2×0 breakaway with Krasilnikovas. Karolis finished into an open net to make it 2:3.
Lithuanian fans celebrated even more when parity was restored by Silinas’ goal.
Such a turn of events didn`t suit the Capitals, who demonstrated their class in the second half of the middle period. Another point shot by Jansons was tipped in by Begovs, and Karsums once again scored on the power play. The assists remained the same – Begovs and Fursa.
The third period allowed Tymchenko’s team to secure its advantage and claim its 22nd victory of the championship. Klinecky recorded his first point in the Optibet League by starting the attack that Novikovs finished with a goal, while the first forward line put the final touch on the road win. This time, Karsums provided the assist, and Begovs calmly beat Grigaravicius-Reyzin.
Thus, the Capitals defeated the Elektrenai team for the fourth time and moved up to 48 points. All TOP-4 teams celebrated victories in this round, so the intense battle continues. The Kyiv Capitals’ season will go on January 28 with a match against Panter.
