The match started very fiercely, and after the first period, the scoreboard showed zeros. In the second period, the home team scored first, but at the end of the period, the Vilnius team put on a real goal show. “Hockey Punks-Mototoja” took advantage of the opponent’s 5-minute penalty and scored three power-play goals in 71 seconds – Herkus Marcinkevičius, Laisvydas Kudrevičius, and Mateuszas Siekerka scored.
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In the third period, the Riga team reduced the difference, but Vilnius’ new goalkeeper Mario Lamperis showed phenomenal play (he saved 53 out of 55 opponent shots) and did not allow the opponents to equalize the score. Ilja Četvertakas sealed the match with 20 seconds left, sending the puck into the empty net.
“The match was not easy. The first period was difficult because we arrived at the game almost straight from the bus. It’s good that we managed to hold on and not concede a goal,” said Vilnius’ head coach Dovydas Kulevičius after the match. “The second period was quite even, but we were better at taking advantage of our created chances. In the third period, after conceding a quick goal, tension returned to our goal, but the team managed to hold on and preserve the victory.
We especially want to highlight our goalkeeper. It was his first game in this league, but he handled the task excellently and was one of the key architects of our victory today.”
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28-year-old Slovak M. Lamperis came to Lithuania with solid experience from various countries. The goalkeeper developed in the famous Salzburg “Red Bull” academy in his youth, later played in the United States, and spent most of his professional career in the second Slovak league. He was recognized as the best player of the match in Riga.
“It was a tough match. ‘Prizma/RTU’ is a really good team and at times made our game very difficult. Fortunately, during the five-minute power play, we managed to score three very important goals. In the third period, we simply fought for the victory, and I am very happy that in the end, everything worked out,” said M. Lamperis after the match.
The last time Vilnius “Hockey Punks-Mototoja” won against Riga “Prizma” was almost a year ago – on October 9, 2025 (they celebrated an 8:3 victory in Vilnius).
The next match for Vilnius will be on September 24 at the Vilnius “Entertainment Arena,” where they will face Jelgava “Zemgale/LBTU.” On September 26, they will face the Latvian champions Riga “MOGO/RSU.”
Meanwhile, Elektrėnai “Energija” will enter the fight on September 26, when at 5 p.m. in Kaunas, they will host “Prizma/RTU.”
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