Panter tops the league after the first month – Optibet Hokeja Liga September In Review

The first month of the new season has been played, bringing a massive surprise! The lone Estonian side sits on top of the league standings after having played 8 games, but Zemgale and Mogo are actively trying to chase them down. On the other end, Rigas HS and Vilnius remain the only two teams without a win so far, with the worst offense and worst defense in the league respectively.

HC Panter shockingly stands atop the Baltic League so far

Panter has been a positive surprise at the start of the 2024/25 season, having picked up 6 victories in their 8 played games. The Tallinn-based team has showcased a high level of professionality both on and off the ice, and managed to recover well from a 1-7 loss against Zemgale at home to start the season. Panter’s biggest strength has been their tenacity, with most of their wins being close and scrappy games – defeating Rigas HS 3-2 and 2-1OT, Energija 5-4OT, while the only relatively easy victories were against Prizma and Vilnius (6-2 & 8-3).

The team’s management, as well as Finnish head coach Mikko Maenpaa have done a great job bringing in additions to supplement the team’s roster in September, notably Finnish forward Niko Kivela (117 games in Liiga & 149 games in Mestis) and goalie Arvo Konttila. Both Niko Kivela and Tomi-Petteri Ansio, who was signed before the season started, have already started to make their mark on the team. Kivela has picked up 2 goals and 4 assists in 4 games played, while Tomi-Petteri Ansio has 6 goals and 2 assists in 8 games. While they have been solid additions to the team, the highest-scoring players have been Estonians themselves – Nikita Puzakov finds himself on top of the Baltic league with 12 points, while Daniil Fursa shares the second place with Zemgale’s Kevins Stradnieks with 11 points.

Panter has to look out for Zemgale and Mogo, who are both hot on their tail. Both Mogo and Zemgale have played 2 games less than the Estonian side, with these Latvian teams being just one and two points behind respectively. Having lost to Zemgale and Mogo with scores of 1-7 and 2-10, Panter has clearly struggled against the projected top-2 teams in the league. Their biggest issue has been the relatively young defensive line, which has been unable to keep up with the more experienced, high-level forwards available to Zemgale and Mogo. Knowing that Panter will have to play these teams 12 times overall throughout the regular season, they will have to address the glaring defensive issues if they want to stay in the fight for first place for longer.

Mogo awaits the Continental Cup, coasts in the league

Last season’s champions Mogo have had a great start to the season, having only lost once in their 6 games played. Forwards Karlis Ozolins and Gints Meija have both picked up 10 points, while Gatis Sprukts is the team’s top scorer, with 5 goals scored. The team once more expects nothing less than gold, and their clear control of every game played so far showcases the difference in quality between teams in the Baltic league, and they are just one point behind Panter.

Mogo has a tough schedule ahead of them in October, with 6 games in the Optibet Hokeja Liga (3x vs Rigas HS, 2x vs Energija and once against Zemgale), as well as 3 more games in the 2nd round of the Continental Cup in Romania, where they will be facing off against Ferencvarosi, Corona Brasov and once more against Energija. They will be looking to repeat Zemgale’s accomplishment from last year, when the team got promoted to the 3rd round of the Continental Cup after winning in every game in round 2.

Stradnieks steps up for Zemgale, which joins the chase for first place

Third-placed Zemgale continues the chase for first place with some strong performances, having only lost to Mogo in their six games played. Zemgale has picked up a blowout victory in every other game, leading to the team currently having the highest amount of goals scored in the league with 40, and the lowest goals allowed with just 8. A major part of this has been 20-year-old Kevins Stradnieks, with 6G+5A so far. Gatis Gricinskis, with 9 points, as well as Rustams Begovs, Daniels Andersons, Kristaps Rokis and Gustavs Millers with 7 points each, have been able to add valuable secondary scoring to the team, combining for an efficient offensive unit. Also of note was the debut of 16-year-old goalie Patriks Plumins, who stopped 15 of the 16 shots he faced against HS Riga in a 9-1 victory. Plumins continues to be an exciting prospect in Latvian hockey.

Zemgale is looking forward to 6 games in October – twice against Prizma, twice against Panter, and once versus Vilnius and Mogo.

Prizma continues to struggle with consistency

Prizma’s start to the season has not gone according to plan. After a shock 3-2 overtime victory against current champions Mogo in their first game, their only other win came against Rigas HS, 4-2. Prizma has struggled to effectively compete this year, with a 1-5 loss against Mogo, as well as 2-6 and 2-4 losses against Panter. Their two wins in 5 played games leaves the team stranded in 4th place in the league, with close to no light at the end of the tunnel. The team’s veterans have been incredibly underwhelming, with the only noteworthy ones so far being 34-year-old forward Roberts Jekimovs (4GP, 2+0) and 40-year-old center Armands Berzins (5GP, 0+2). The younger players have not been able to carry the team on their backs either, the top performer being 20-year-old forward Rodrigo Strautins (5GP, 2+1), who is simultaneously the top scorer on the team. Prizma is the only team in the league without a single point-per-game player.

Prizma is currently stranded on an island in the middle of the standings, with no real identity of the team to speak of. October will be highly important for Prizma, as it can either make or break their season. Prizma awaits two difficult games against Zemgale, afterwards two more games against HS Riga, before finishing October with a game against the Vilnius Hockey Punks.

Rigas HS, Vilnius and Energija all continue to struggle

With only 4 play-off spots this season, and none of the bottom-3 teams looking like they’re able to compete effectively, it appears as if these teams should just be looking to build a foundation for the following seasons. The core of Rigas HS is still slightly too young to compete for good results in the league, while the Lithuanian teams have not been able to fix the defensive and offensive issues they faced last season. Energija, which defeated Vilnius, is currently in 5th place, while HS Riga and Vilnius take 6th and 7th place as the only teams left without a single win this season.

Blowouts remain a massive issue

A clear gap between the projected leaders and the rest of the league has continued to show this season, as just over half of all games have finished with a goal differential of over 4 goals. Energija and Vilnius, two of the worst offenders so far, finished last season with a goal differential of -121 and -153 respectively, and neither team appears to have improved much. Vilnius has started the season off with a goal differential of -26 in just five games played, with Energija showing slight improvement in comparison – a goal differential of just -5. Even Panter has been on the receiving end of a blowout twice – once against Zemgale, and once against current Baltic champions Mogo. The difference has been stark, and the story of the season so far showcases how shocking Prizma’s victory against Mogo to start their season was.

September’s Three Stars

First Star – Daniil Fursa (HC Panter) – 5 Goals and 6 Assists
Second Star – Kevins Stradnieks (HK Zemgale/LBTU) – 6 Goals and 5 Assists
Third Star – Gints Meija (HK Mogo/RSU) – 2 Goals and 8 Assists

Tweets by @eurohockey