Prizma aims to return to winning ways against Lithuanian champions Energija
Tonight's opening match of the new Optibet Hockey League round pits Riga's Prizma/RTU against Lithuanian champions Elektrėnai Energija. It will be the home side's fourth game of the season, while the visitors play their season opener.
The new round of the Optibet Hockey League (OHL) begins tonight at 19:00 with a clash between Prizma/RTU and Elektrėnai Energija in Riga. The match will be streamed live on Sportacentrs.com, with a broadcast on TV4 starting at 22:30.
For Prizma, this will already be the fourth game of the season, while Lithuanian champions Energija are only just starting their campaign. The Riga side opened the season with a 3:1 win over Tallinn's Panter, but then suffered two defeats to the Liepāja club — 2:4 at home and 2:4 away.
Team leaders
Prizma captain Roberts Jekimovs, who last season was the Baltic championship's top scorer and top goal-getter, has started the new season with two goals and three points in three games. Two teammates have outscored him so far — Emīls Ezītis with 3+1 and newcomer Roberts Vītols with 0+4 — while Matīss Bīriņš has matched the captain's tally of three points. Vītols played last season in France's third division, recording 46 points in 18 games, and before that represented Zemgale.
Elektrėnai Energija became Lithuanian champions last season, but in the OHL overall standings among nine teams they finished ahead of only one rival — fellow Lithuanian side Vilnius Hockey Punks. All five of the team's top scorers from last season remain on the roster — Aivars Bendžus, Egidijs Binkulis, American Matt Gould, Karolis Krasiļņikovs and Ukrainian Nazar Ružņikov.
Other matches on this week's schedule include Liepāja against Mogo/RSU, Panter against Rīgas HS/Dinaburga, and Capitals against Hockey Punks.
