Oleg Tymchenko’s team squandered a two-goal advantage and failed to start the new year with a win.
Zemgale/LBTU (Latvia) – Kyiv Capitals (Ukraine) – 4:3, OT (0:1; 1:1; 2:1; 1:0)
Goals: 0:1 – Begovs, 10:06; 1:1 – Ansio (power play), 29:21; 1:2 – Hu (Jansons, power play), 33:37; 1:3 – Begovs (Bajaruns), 44:18; 2:3 – Seilis (Zabusovs), 50:28; 3:3 – Brants (Gricinskis), 53:20; 4:3 – Zabusovs, 60:44.
Zemgale/LBTU: Aksels Ozols; Daniels Gorsanovs – Haralds Jirgens, Rihards Marenis (c) – Gatis Gricinskis – Patriks Zabusovs; Harijs Brants – Patriks Seilis, Ricards Bernhards – Rauls Ozollapa – Kristaps Rokis; Atte Rajala – Rauls Ladusans, Joonas Parviainen – Tomi Petteri Ansio – Arturs Karasa; Klavs Kovalevskis – Roberts Berzins, Karlis Gustavs Medzins – Markus Streikiss – Toms Mots.
Head coach: Artis Abols
Kyiv Capitals: Janis Voris; Vitalii Andreykiv – Eduards Hugo Jansons, Martins Karsums (c) – Lauris Bajaruns – Rustams Begovs; Maksims Sirokovs – Edmunds Augstkalns, Yang Hu – Andrii Kryvonozhkin – Alexandrs Novikovs; Andrejs Kostjuks – Ivan Shamardin, Denys Honcharenko – Danylo Tsarkovskyi – Renars Cipruss; Oleksii Melnykov – Valentyn Sirchenko, Marat Saroka – Daniil Fursa – Kristians Zelts.
Head coach: Oleg Tymchenko
Kyiv approached the matchup with an essentially unchanged lineup. The only difference compared to the previous game was the return of Shamardin after serving his suspension.
The first half of the opening period was a tightly contested affair. In that situation, the visitors seized their chance and took the lead. Begovs beat Ozols with a powerful shot from a sharp angle, giving his team a narrow advantage.
Early in the second period, it seemed the Capitals had doubled their lead thanks to a rebound finished by Hu. Still, after a lengthy video review, the referees disallowed the goal due to contact between the Canadian forward’s stick and the opposing goaltender.
Instead, the hosts equalized on the power play. Ansio outsmarted the Capitals’ defense and opted to shoot from a sharp angle rather than pass, leaving Voris with no chance.
Midway through the period, the visitors received four consecutive minutes of power-play time. Toward the end of it, Kyiv regained the lead through a mid-range shot by Hu.
At the start of the third period, the Capitals took a two-goal lead for the first time. Bajaruns accelerated a quick attack, which Begovs finished to complete his brace.
Zemgale/LBTU refused to give in and, midway through the period, reduced the deficit. Seilis connected with a pass from behind the net by Zabusovs and fired a powerful shot past Voris.
Soon after, the scoreboard showed a tie once again. Gricinskis won a faceoff and passed to Brants, who unleashed a long-range shot to beat Voris for the third time.
The game went to overtime, where fortune smiled on the hosts. Ozols fed the puck to Zabusovs, who first slipped past Jansons and then beat Voris to secure the win for Zemgale/LBTU.
After this result, Kyiv Capitals remain in second place, one point behind Mogo/RSU, with a game in hand. On January 10, Oleh Tymchenko’s side will continue the season with a home game against Hockey Punks.
