Oleg Tymchenko’s men fell to Mogo/RSU in a best-of-seven series.
Kyiv Capitals (Ukraine) – Mogo/RSU (Latvia) – 2:8 (1:0; 1:5; 0:3)
Goals: 1:0 – Novikovs, 10:11; 1:1 – Solostejs (Biskins, Redlihs), 26:21; 1:2 – Sarkanis (Fenenko, – power play), 28:09; 1:3 – Meija (Sarkanis, Sprukts), 31:55; 1:4 – Zemitis, 34:22; 2:4 – Cipruss (Klinecky), 35:39; 2:5 – Ansons (penalty shot), 39:46; 2:6 – Zemitis (Zelubovskis), 42:06; 2:7 – Meija (Ansons, Sarkanis, – power play), 55:58; 2:8 – Krums (Zemitis, Berzins, – power play), 57:03.
Kyiv Capitals: Janis Voris (Nazar Boiko, 34:22); Vitalii Andreykiv – Eduards Hugo Jansons, Martins Karsums (c) – Lauris Bajaruns – Rustams Begovs; Alberto Colli – Daniel Klinecky, Yang Hu – Renars Cipruss – Kristians Zelts; Ivan Shamardin – Edmunds Augstkalns, Mykhailo Kovalchuk – Danylo Tsarkovskyi – Daniil Fursa; Valentyn Sirchenko – Andrejs Kostjuks, Andrii Kryvonozhkin – Aleksandrs Novikovs.
Head coach: Oleg Tymchenko
Mogo/RSU: Henrijs Ancs; Vladimirs Zaicevs – Renarts Berzins, Deivids Sarkanis – Ernests Krums – Janis Zemitis; Ingus Locmelis – Kristaps Sotnieks, Gints Meija (c) – Rolans Vasiljevs – Maris Bicevskis; Krisjanis Redlihs – Niks Fenenko, Gatis Sprukts – Elviss Zelubovskis – Kaspars Ziemins; Anatolijs Tovariss – Reinis Martins Leinieks, Aleksandrs Biskins – Timurs Solostejs – Kristers Ansons.
Head coach: Girts Ankipans
Oleg Tymchenko’s squad began the sixth match of the semifinal series with minimal adjustments. Voris returned to the crease from the opening seconds, while Kostjuks replaced Honcharenko in the fourth line. Meanwhile, the opponents stuck with Ancs, who had kept a clean sheet in the third period of the previous game.
During the opening 20 minutes, the teams treated the fans to just one goal. Biskins missed the puck near his own net, and it was snatched up by Novikovs, who outpaced Berzins and Sotnieks to beat Ancs with a powerful shot. In the 20th minute, the Riga team earned its first power play but failed to convert it across the end of the first and start of the second periods.
Shortly after, the visitors restored parity. Biskins took a shot that involved contact with Voris, and the puck fell to Solostejs, who pushed it into an empty net. The officials saw no goaltender interference and allowed the goal. Soon, Girts Ankipans’ team earned a second power play and turned it into a lead. Sarkanis, opting to shoot from a sharp angle instead of passing, caught Voris off guard.
The second period proved disastrous for the hosts. Meija extended the lead to two goals with a shot into the top corner, prompting a timeout from Oleg Tymchenko. Unfortunately, it did little to help. Zemitis took advantage of a defensive collapse to score the fourth goal, prompting Voris’s replacement by Boiko.
Our team began to address their struggles shortly after. Cipruss worked effectively in front of the net, burying the rebound from a Klinecky shot to make it 2:4. A penalty to Leinieks seemed to offer the hosts a way back, but they couldn’t close the gap before the break. To make matters worse, a foul by Tsarkovskyi on Krums resulted in a penalty shot, which Ansons successfully converted.
This proved to be the turning point. Zemitis secured his brace early in the third, extending the lead to four for the first time. Despite receiving seven minutes of power play time following penalties to Sprukts and Zaicevs, Tymchenko’s men couldn`t bridge the gap.
In the closing stages, Mogo/RSU also had a long power play (including two minutes of 5×3). During this span, Meija netted his second of the night, and Krums opened his scoring account.
The Riga team triumphed 8:2, becoming the first finalists of this year’s Optibet League. Their opponent will be determined by tomorrow’s match between Zemgale/LBTU and Liepaja. Meanwhile, the Kyiv side concludes the season as semifinalists.
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