HC Dinamo Minsk edge Gagarin Cup holders

HC Dinamo Minsk solved HC Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3-2 in a shootout on the home ice.

The top-tier KHL match was also attended by prominent athletes including Darya Domracheva, Yelena Välbe, and others. The Bisons made sure not to disappoint their fans. The organizers also held a celebration for the 20th anniversary of one of the best cheerleading squads - the Ice Girls. It was indeed a great celebration!

After conceding the first goal in the second period, the Minsk team took the lead before the intermission thanks to efforts from Sam Anas and Vadim Moroz. In the final stanza, Loko tied the game, but in the shootout the decisive shot was executed by Vitaly Pinchuk, the KHL's player of the week.

“Playing against the champion and winning is a big plus for us. We played well, except for the start of the third period. We made a decision and chose him [for the shootout]. He scored a good shot. There are no set principles here. We talked it over with Vitaly. It has to be about instinct. Sometimes you make a decision, and the player doesn't score – and you lose. We let [Daniil] Sotishvili take one today, but he didn't score. We have our regular shootout takers: [Darren] Dietz, [Sam] Anas. However, Dietz didn't play.”

In the past regular season, Dinamo and Lokomotiv met four times, with each team securing two home victories. In both of their home games, the Bisons held their opponent to just one goal (4-1, 3-1). Dinamo will be back in action on 1 October hosting HC Severstal.

Press service of the NOC of Belarus
Photos by the NOC of Belarus