Before Saturday’s duel between “Mogo” and “Capitals”, the Kyiv team had only left the field without points in one game – 2:3 with “Zemgali”, and instead of the coveted two points, they once got a point each from Liepāja – 4:5 and “Prism” – 2:3. Enviable stability in the cutoff of 22 games. A point more than “Mogo” in the table and two more games in reserve. Against the former Liepāja in 3rd place – four points and two spare games; against “Zemgali” – six points and a game.
If “Mogo” did not win, but Mārtiņš Karsums and his partners scored two points, then “Capitals” would strengthen their position at the top of the table even more. Strategically, it was important for the entire following three of the Capitals that Kyiv lose. One can already hope that the end of the tail can also remove something, but in matches with them “Capitals” go without losses. There are not many games left in which the Capitals stumble, the third round out of five will be over immediately. And “Mogo” must first win themselves to get to the top. By the way, this 3:1 win for Girtas Ankipānas’ team was only the second match between them out of five.
There have been many meaningful games in this Latvian/Baltic championship, but I think that Saturday’s match in Šmerli was the most meaningful domestic hockey this fall. When I asked Ankipānas what and how before the game, Girts suppressed my anxiety: “Are we not going to play off?” No, everything is fine with the play off, but… When I entered the “Mogo” hall, I was a little surprised: it’s Saturday lunch time, Christmas presents have been bought, but the hockey fans, who we consider to be the best in the world, are very few. On to the last super game of the year! As soon as the match started, a very large group of Ukrainians arrived, but did 400 run together, as written in the protocol? I strongly doubt it.
What happened on the pitch? First, Edmunds Augstkalns and Sam Hoo put Aleksandras Novikov in a perfect counterattack – 1:0 for the visitors. Then, for holding the opponent, “Mogo” had the opportunity to execute a penalty kick, in which Jānis Zemītis failed to beat Jānis Vori. And then two minutes for blocking Karsum, as a penalty for Rustam Begov’s two for unsportsmanlike behavior. “Mogo” coached the majority for almost two minutes, while Nik Fenenko equalized the result. From the sidelines, it seemed that Voris didn’t see Zemīša’s 2:1 either, but the thrower already threw very furiously. With smaller or bigger opponents, the match took its course, Kyiv not being able to dictate its own rules. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but one of the leaders of the Capitals, Denis Honcharenko, was very dressed. During his fourth (!) rejection, Fenenko once again realized the majority. Good hockey!
As befits the waiting period for Christmas, a beautiful game was also played in Imanta, where after “Mogo” won 1:0 against “Prism”, the hockey field was covered with soft bears. 450 (!) different soft toys have already been delivered to the Children’s Hospital, and 2105 euros have been donated to charity. Beautiful view of the ice.
The team of the Riga Hockey School also pleased its supporters with two extra time victories against Elektrēni – 2:1 and 3:2, and now one could think about changing places at the bottom of the table.
1. “Mogo” – 41 points (in 25 games), 2. “Capitals” – 40 (23), 3. “Zemgale” – 36 (22), 4. Liepaja – 36 (24), 5. “Prism” – 26 (24), 6. “Energija” – 17 (24), 7. “Panter” – 16 (25), 8. “Punk” – 10 (24), 9. Riga HS – 9 (21).
Today and tomorrow are the last two games of the year: first, the “Capitals” will visit Liepāja, which will also be a “Lāči lido” game, and the year will end with a match between “Zemgales” and “Panter” in Jelgava.
Jānis MATULIS
