EV Zug got their first win of the new CHL season and Neman Grodno suffered their first defeat in a tight game in northwestern Belarus.
Spurred on by another enthusiastic home crowd, Neman carried the edge in play in the first period; however, they were unable to beat Tobias Stephan until the final 16 seconds, when Pavel Boyarchuk put in a rebound on their always-dangerous power play.
Zug answered in the first minute of the second period when Viktor Stalberg buried a loose puck at the side of the net. From that, they played a much better period, generated more offence and scored two more goals, courtesy David McIntyre and Lino Martschini, the latter stepping out of the penalty box to receive a breakaway pass, then scoring the eventual game-winner with a low wrister.
Neman got one back in the first minute of the third period with a 4-on-3 advantage when Sergei Dorofeyev fired a one-time slapper through a crowd. That’s as close as they got, however.
“This was a game we could have won, but we just didn't get the breaks at the right time. We didn't pressure them enough in the third period. We will work on the mistakes.”Sergei Dorofeyev, defenceman, Neman Grodno