HC "Shakhter" and HC "Vitebsk" have reached the decisive match of the national Cup. In the group stage, which took place from August 2 to 13, the "miners" took first place in Pool A, and in the semi-final match yesterday, they defeated the capital's "Yunost" (3:2). Vitebsk secured their participation in the trophy match thanks to their success in Group B and a subsequent victory over "Brest" in the semi-final (4:1).
The home team opened the scoring in the 18th minute of the final, with Bogdan Denysevich scoring for Soligorsk. In the second period, spectators also saw one goal, but this time by the visitors – Artur Gilmanov equalised the score. The fate of the Cup was decided in the final 20 minutes: exactly at the halfway point of the third period, Artyom Smirnov put "Bears" ahead, and the northerners maintained their advantage for the remainder of the game. Thus, 2:1 and the second Saley Cup in the club's history for "Vitebsk" – a year ago, Roman Yupatov's team also became the trophy holders, defeating "Gomel" in the final.
HC "Brest" took third place in the current tournament draw, having previously defeated "Yunost" 2:1 in the bronze medal match today. The new season of the Belarusian Extraleague starts on August 30, with the first day of the regular championship featuring matches "Gomel" vs "Vitebsk", "Lida" vs "Mogilev", and "Metallurg" vs "Neman".