January 7, 19:00, Jelgava, Jelgava Ice Palace.
After the holiday break, the battles in the Optibet Hockey League resume. The players of our team were given time off for the holidays, but also managed to complete a full training cycle in preparation for the first game of 2026.
A truly demanding matchup awaits Oleg Tymchenko’s side, as the team will play its third consecutive road game against a direct competitor in the standings. This time, the opponent will be Zemgale/LBTU.
At the moment, Artis Abols’ team trails the Capitals by just three points, with one game in hand. The teams have already met three times this season. Kyiv won away (3:2 in overtime) and at home (3:1), while Jelgava claimed their victory on the road as well (3:2).
It was precisely after their loss to our team that Zemgale/LBTU began their current winning streak, which now stands at six games. On December 23, the Jelgava side wrapped up 2025 with a home victory over Panter (5:3).
It is worth noting that our upcoming opponent is the league’s most prolific team offensively (125 goals scored) and also the best defensively (43 goals conceded). The leaders in points (goals + assists) for Zemgale/LBTU are Rihards Marenis (11+18) and Gatis Gricinskis (7+22), both with 29 points. We should also highlight the team’s top goal scorer, Ricards Bernhards, who has recorded 13 goals and 14 assists.
We recently published the statistical overview of Kyiv Capitals on our website. The team’s leading scorer remains Martins Karsums with 34 points.
So, after all the talk about numbers, tomorrow we return to hockey itself and will see who is better prepared for the start of the 2026 season.
