- Sergei Surov 2+1
- Vitali Trus saves 91.3% of shots faced
- Artur Savinov with two assists
Belarussian champions Neman Grodno had a dream start to this season's CHL, beating Czech champions Kometa Brno in their opening game.
It was a good start to the game for the home team, who took the lead on ten minutes exactly - Sergei Smurov finding the puck in the slot and then the back of the net. Anton Yeliseyenko then doubled that lead early in period two with a fine individual goal, going from his own blueline and then finishing five-hole. Two goals in just over as many minutes then had Kometa level, but they couldn't stay level for long. A juicy rebound from Brno netminder Vejmelka gave Smurov the perfect opportunity to put his side back in front.
A well-finished breakaway goal from Alexander Malyavko made it 4-2 early in the final period, and Neman held that score to record a hugely important win.
"In the first period we showed a good hockey, but we got tired in the second period because of the high temperature in the arena. We tried to take the lead again, and managed to score later on."Anton Yeliseyenko (Neman Grodno)
"I think it was a good experience and a good game- the atmosphere was really nice! They were a little bit better in skating than we and more effective in scoring goals."Jan Hruška (Kometa Brno)