Optibet League. October 28, 19:00. Jelgava, Jelgava Ice Arena.
Oleg Tymchenko’s squad enters the final game week before the international break. Following their second defeat of the season, our team will face last year’s Optibet League silver medalists, Zemgale/LBTU.
Seventeen days ago, the Kyiv Capitals players already faced the Jelgava side at the Inbox Ice Arena. The match proved successful for the Kyiv team, which secured a 4:0 victory thanks to a brace from Kovalchuk, goals from Korenchuk and Andreykiv, and a shutout by Huunonen.
Zemgale/LBTU approaches the upcoming clash sitting in fourth place, trailing the Ukrainian representatives by eight points. However, our future opponents have four games in hand.
Following the aforementioned defeat, Artis Abols’ squad played two winning matches. First, they decisively crushed Hockey Punks at home (6:0), and then edged past Liepaja in overtime (5:4) on the road.
Zemgale/LBTU will play their fourth league game at the Jelgava Ice Arena, and so far, every one of them has ended successfully. In addition to the aforementioned Hockey Punks, they also defeated Liepaja (3:2) and HS Riga/Dinaburga (7:0) on home ice.
Among interesting statistical facts, it is worth noting that four players currently share the points lead for the Jelgava team. Patriks Zabusovs (7+2), Kristaps Rokis (4+5), Deniss Fjodorovs, and Lauris Bajaruns (both 2+7) have all recorded 9 points.
Meanwhile, with 31 points (13+18) to his name, Kyiv Capitals forward Deivids Sarkanis continues to top the league’s scoring charts.
For both teams, this game is crucial not only in terms of collecting points but also for building psychological confidence as they progress through the Optibet League. Therefore, we will put in maximum effort to get back on the winning track.
