There was a lot at stake in the race for a Playoff place in Group D’s clash between Lahti Pelicans and Yunost Minsk. Both teams knew that a win would continue to pile the pressure on current leaders Lausanne HC and Oceláři Třinec. It was the home side that got off to a fast start as after just 89 seconds, Janós Hari showed his speed, bursting through the neutral zone to set up a 2-on-1. The pass from Antti Tyrväinen was perfect, and Hari fired past Igor Brikun to make it 1-0. However, just four minutes later, Yunost had tied the game up. A broken play in the offensive zone eventually fell to Denis Tsyganov, Yunost’s stand-out player in the CHL, to fire home.

Yunost Minsk were chasing their first every away win in their third season of CHL action, and their quest got that little bit easier at the start of the second, as they took an early lead. The Belarussian side pounced on a neutral zone giveaway, and Sergei Drozd broke in down the left wing, fired a pinpoint pass to Mikhail Stefanovich at the back post, who tipped the puck past a sprawling Tomi Karhunen. With seven minutes to go in the second frame, Yunost doubled their advantage. Maxim Parfeyevets’ wrist shot on the rush was stopped by Karhunen, but the rebound fell right on the stick of Stanislav Lopachuk, who slotted the puck into the gaping net.

In the third period, Yunost gave Lahti every chance to get back in the game, as they headed to the box twice in the first six minutes. However, an anaemic looking Lahti offence failed to generate any grade A scoring opportunities on Igor Brikun’s net. On the other hand, on their first powerplay chance of the final period, Mikhail Stefanovich scored his second goal of the game, giving Yunost a 4-1 lead. Lahti would draw one back, as Jesse Ylönen converted a second chance opportunity on the powerplay, however that was as close as they would get. Yunost claim their first ever CHL road win, and are still in the hunt in Group D!