Oleg Tymchenko’s team was defeated in their first game after returning from the international break.
Kyiv Capitals (Ukraine) – Zemgale/LBTU (Latvia) – 1:2 (0:0; 0:2; 1:0)
Goals: 0:1 – Zabusovs (Marenis, Parviainen), 22:19; 0:2 – Marenis (Zabusovs, Brants), 29:03; 1:2 – Shamardin (Melnykov, Hu), 54:44.
Kyiv Capitals: Maksym Duve; Vitalii Andreykiv – Eduards Hugo Jansons, Martins Karsums (c) – Lauris Bajaruns – Rustams Begovs; Daniel Klinecky – Alberto Colli, Mykhailo Kovalchuk – Yang Hu – Aleksandrs Novikovs; Andrejs Kostjuks – Ivan Shamardin, Denys Honcharenko – Danylo Tsarkovskyi – Daniil Fursa; Oleksii Melnykov, Andrii Kryvonozhkin – Valentyn Sirchenko – Renars Cipruss.
Head coach: Oleg Tymchenko
Zemgale/LBTU: Aksels Ozols; Martins Vitols – Daniels Gorsanovs, Ricards Bernhards – Gatis Gricinskis – Gustavs Millers; Harijs Brants – Patriks Seilis, Rihards Marenis (c) – Rauls Ozollapa – Patriks Zabusovs; Atte Rajala – Rauls Ladusans, Joonas Parviainen – Tomi Petteri Ansio – Arturs Karasa; Roberts Berzins – Karlis Gustavs Medzins, Markuss Streikiss – Toms Mots – Toms Lindbergs.
Head coach: Artis Abols
For this matchup, Tymchenko’s side entered with several absences. As previously announced, Janis Voris was unable to help the team and was replaced in goal by Duve. Maksims Sirokovs moved into a coaching role, while Augstkalns, Zelts, and Ķenins were also unavailable for various reasons.
The first 20 minutes passed without goals. The visitors created slightly more work for Duve, outshooting their opponents, while the hosts had one additional minute on the power play. However, neither side managed to score.
After successfully killing another minute of penalty time early in the second period, the Jelgava side struck first. Zabusovs capitalized on a precise pass from Marenis and fired the puck into the top corner past Duve.
Midway through the period, Artis Abols’ team doubled its advantage. Capitals defenders lost sight of Marenis in front of the net, and the visitors’ top scorer skillfully beat Duve, sending the puck into an empty net.
Although the hosts held the shot advantage over the next two periods, they did not beat Ozols until 5:16 remained in regulation. Shamardin scored with a powerful mid-range shot into the corner.
However, with 1:27 left, Kyiv went shorthanded following a penalty to Kryvonozhkin, which ultimately proved decisive.
The narrow victory allowed the Jelgava team to collect 54 points and strengthen their hold on second place. Meanwhile, Kyiv Capitals remain on 50 points and have dropped to fourth in the standings.
On February 18, the season will continue for the Kyiv side with a home game against HK Prizma.
