HC Nomad Astana beat Rudny Gornyak 4-2 in regulation, taking control after an open first period and never looking back. The home side broke the tie in the second and added an insurance goal in the third to seal the result.
The teams traded goals in the first period and went to the break even at 2-2. Nomad then scored the go-ahead goal in the second to move ahead 3-2 and extended the lead to 4-2 in the third, closing out the game in regulation.
The defining stretch was the final 40 minutes: after the back-and-forth first period, Nomad outscored Rudny 2-0 and kept the visitors off the board the rest of the way. That defensive turnaround made the difference in a 4-2 win.