JHC Bars Kazan held on for a 5-4 win over Olympia Kirovo-Chepets, and the margin was built entirely in the opening 20 minutes. Kazan scored three times in the first period and never trailed in regulation.
The hosts struck at 4, 8 and 17 minutes for a 3-0 lead after one, then traded goals in the middle frame — Olympia on the board at 23, Kazan restoring the buffer at 32 for 4-1. The third period was the turning point in tone if not in result: the visitors scored at 41, twice at 53 and once more late to get within one, but Kazan's goal at 46 proved the difference.
The numbers tell it plainly: 3-0 in the first, 1-3 in the third. Kazan's four goals through two periods gave them enough cushion to absorb a four-goal third from Olympia and still close it out in regulation.