Oleg Tymchenko’s team finished the regular season with a victory over Panter, preventing their opponent from finishing in fifth place.
Panter (Estonia) – Kyiv Capitals (Ukraine) – 4:5 (2:1; 0:1; 2:3)
Goals: 1:0 – Sildre (Puzakov, Linde, – power play), 07:10; 2:0 – Kiik (shorthanded), 15:57; 2:1 – Kovalchuk (Klinecky, Colli), 17:53; 2:2 – Jansons (Tsarkovskyi, Andreykiv), 25:03; 3:2 – Frolkov (Vorang, Luht), 46:11; 3:3 – Hu (Novikovs), 50:12; 3:4 – Cipruss (Colli, Hu), 50:42; 3:5 – Novikovs (Bajaruns, Begovs, – power play), 55:34; 4:5 – Marder-Velja (Fedorovits, – double power play), 59:27.
Panter: Eetu Nieminen; Vadim Vasjonkin – Niklas Sildre, Nikita Puzakov – Rasmus Kiik (c) – Andre Linde; Riko Marder-Velja – Roland Luht, Lenni Suutari – Maksim Lovkov – Kevin Parras; Dominic Luht – Jegor Proskurin, Akim Frolkov – Nikita Fedorovits – Mihkel Vorang; Artjom Timofejev – Jens Hubert Parras – Artjom Masljonov.
Head coach: Mikko Maenpaa
Kyiv Capitals: Maksym Duve; Vitalii Andreykiv – Eduards Hugo Jansons, Aleksandrs Novikovs – Lauris Bajaruns (c) – Rustams Begovs; Daniel Klinecky – Alberto Colli, Mykhailo Kovalchuk – Yang Hu – Daniil Fursa; Ivan Shamardin – Andrejs Kostjuks, Andrii Kryvonozhkin – Danylo Tsarkovskyi – Renars Cipruss; Oleksii Melnykov – Valentyn Sirchenko.
Head coach: Oleg Tymchenko.
For the final game of the regular season, Kyiv approached the match with only three forward lines. For various reasons, Tymchenko could not rely on Martins Karsums, Denys Honcharenko, Kristians Zelts, and defenseman Edmunds Augstkalns, who was also absent. However, there was good news as Rustams Begovs and Oleksii Melnykov returned to the ice. There was also a change in goal, with Maksym Duve replacing Nazar Boyko.
The Tallinn side opened the scoring by converting their first power play. Sildre fired a shot from the blue line that beat the Kyiv goaltender without any deflection.
Late in the first period, the teams exchanged goals. Kiik broke away on a quick attack and doubled the hosts’ lead while playing shorthanded.
Fortunately for the visitors, they quickly reduced the deficit. Kovalchuk successfully converted a rebound, beating the defenders to the puck.
In the second period, the Capitals equalized. Jansons, like Sildre earlier, scored with an accurate shot from the blue line. For the Kyiv defenseman, it was already his 13th goal and 36th point of the season.
The score remained tied for a long time, but the Estonians regained the lead midway through the third period thanks to individual skill. Frolkov beat both the defenders and Duve by himself, scoring Panter’s third goal.
Kyiv responded with two goals within 30 seconds. Hu capitalized in front of the net after a pass from behind the goal by Novikovs, and Cipruss redirected a shot from Colli.
Things became even more difficult for Maenpaa’s team after penalties to Kevin Parras and Kiik allowed the visitors to play 5×3 for 1:39, although Kyiv did not score during that advantage.
However, during a 5×4 power play, the visitors extended their lead. The hosts gave Novikovs too much space, and he fired from a good shooting position to beat Nieminen for the fifth time.
With 2:33 remaining, Andreykiv was penalized, and the hosts switched to a 6×4 setup after pulling Nieminen. Soon, Shamardin also received a two-minute penalty, and Tallinn quickly scored in a 6×3 situation through Marder-Velja.
The hosts still had 33 seconds to try to equalize in a 6×4 situation, but the visitors held on, earning their fourth win over the Estonian side this season.
As a result, Kyiv Capitals finished fourth and will face Prizma in the first round of the playoffs, while Panter will take on Liepaja. Meanwhile, Mogo/RSU and Zemgale/LBTU will join the winners of those matchups in the semifinals.
