Oleg Tymchenko’s side was stronger than Prizma.
Kyiv Capitals (Ukraine) – Prizma (Latvia) – 6:3 (3:1; 1:1; 2:1)
Goals: 1:0 – Tsarkovskyi (Zelts), 01:47; 2:0 – Novikovs (Saroka, Zelts), 07:21; 3:0 – Augstkalns (Hu, Sirokovs), 11:17; 3:1 – Jekimovs, 14:40; 4:1 – Tsarkovskyi (Honcharenko, Kostjuks), 30:21; 4:2 – Barens (A. Apfelbaums, Brahmanis), 37:35; 5:2 – Bajaruns (Begovs, Andreykiv), 44:13; 5:3 – Locmelis (Vorona, Grekovs), 48:06; 6:3 – Kryvonozhkin (Hu), 58:22.
Kyiv Capitals: Janis Voris; Vitalii Andreikiv – Eduards Hugo Jansons, Daniil Fursa – Lauris Bajaruns – Rustams Begovs; Maksims Sirokovs – Edmunds Augstkalns (c), Yang Hu – Andrii Kryvonozhkin – Kristians Zelts; Andrejs Kostjuks – Ivan Shamardin, Denys Honcharenko – Danylo Tsarkovskyi – Renars Cipruss; Oleksii Melnykov – Valentyn Sirchenko, Marat Saroka – Aleksandrs Novikovs.
Head coach: Oleg Tymchenko
Prizma: Arginto Milbergs; Matiss Birins – Aleksandr Erofeev, Emils Locmelis – Kristaps Riekstiņs – Roberts Jekimovs; Krists Apsitis – Valters Apfelbaums, Emils Ezitis – Italo Milbergs – Edijs Brahmanis (c); Iļja Grekovs – Arturs Apfelbaums, Toms Barens – Roberts Vorona – Ricards Stamurs; Deniss Kornilovs – Rihards Kovalevskis, Ricardo Valerio Fino David – Rcards Jelenskis – Patriks Egle.
Head coach: Eriks Miluns
Ahead of the game against Prizma, Oleg Tymchenko’s players took the ice with the same line combinations as in the previous match. The only change was in goal, where Voris replaced Duve. Unfortunately, Karsums missed the game due to injury, so Augstkalns once again took on captaincy duties.
The hosts showed their winning intentions as early as the second minute, when Tsarkovskyi was first to the rebound after a shot by Zelts.
The Capitals were not about to slow down. After a low pass from Zelts, the puck ended up in the crease, where both Saroka and Novikovs were present. Thanks to their combined effort, Aleksandrs doubled the home side’s lead.
Another Kyiv goal followed later in the opening period. Hu delivered a clever pass to Augstkalns, who found some space and beat Arginto Milbergs with a shot from mid-range to make it 3:0.
Both teams had two minutes of power play time during the period, but failed to capitalize. However, one more goal was scored before the break, as Jekimovs was first to the loose puck, deftly faked out Jansons, and fired past Voris.
Midway through the second period, Tsarkovskyi restored the three-goal cushion for Kyiv, completing his brace. Danylo finished off a well-worked combination involving the entire third line as well as Kostjuks.
Prizma didn`t give up and once again cut the deficit. The Capitals failed to clear the puck far enough from their zone, which Barens punished with an accurate and powerful shot past Voris.
In the third period, the scoreboard once again showed a +3 advantage for Tymchenko’s men. Andreykiv battled for the puck in the offensive zone, waited for Begovs, who beat Italo Milbergs, and sent a sharp pass from a tight angle to Bajaruns. Lauris redirected it perfectly, scoring his 15th goal of the season.
Eriks Miluns’ team kept pushing and earned 50 seconds of 5×3 power play time, but failed to convert any of their numerical advantages. Soon after, the visitors scored at even strength. Vorona broke up a potential fast break by the hosts, intercepted the puck, and found Locmelis, who finished from close range to make it 5:3.
Still, the final word belonged to Kyiv Capitals. After a won faceoff, sustained pressure in the offensive zone ended with a goal by Kryvonozhkin.
As a result, the Capitals moved to 46 points and overtook Mogo/RSU at the top of the table. On January 17, Oleg Tymchenko’s side will continue the season with a matchup against HS Riga.
