In the inaugural "Match of Courage," the Moscow Army team triumphed over Dynamo in the KHL.

The capital's "Dynamo" has gained significant momentum as the championship enters its third month. The team led by Alexey Kudashov recently defeated the season leader "Lokomotiv" at home (3:0), extending their winning streak to 6 games. At this moment, it is quite reasonable to consider them the best team in the KHL. Their opponent, CSKA, has been somewhat less impressive in November, but still performing well. The army team also recently triumphed over Yaroslavl (2:0), significantly improving their standings. Moreover, they have won the first two encounters against Ilya Vorobyov’s squad – 3:1 and 4:3 in a shootout.

It remains unclear who initiated it—whether it was the league, the Dynamo club, or perhaps the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation—but this time, the capital hockey derby between these two teams, traditionally regarded as "brotherly" among fans, took on a new meaning and was themed as the "Match of Courage," dedicated to the defenders of our Motherland. On this occasion, the white and blue team released special jerseys adorned with stars and shoulder patches. The army team had no preparations to make, as this five-pointed star is already part of their uniform by default.

For those who may have forgotten, it is worth noting that the CSKA organization has represented our armed forces since its inception, being part of the Ministry of Defense during Soviet times. The special status of the match was emphasized by its ceremonial beginning, when the head of the Ministry of Sports of Russia, Mikhail Degtyarev, and the president of the KHL, Alexey Morozov, first launched the national project "Be in Sports" and then conducted a symbolic face-off.

The start of the game was somewhat delayed, noticeably cooling down the participants; they truly engaged in the match only after the first commercial break, and even then, not entirely. The theme and serious undertone of this match seemed to weigh down and restrain the players’ actions. Yes, they played valiantly in defense of their own net, but in attack, they did not showcase the level of play that the fans, who filled the 11,000-seat arena in Petrovsky Park, had hoped for.

The main characters of the match were two players from the army club: goalkeeper Ivan Prosvetov, who saved 38 opponent shots and kept his net untouched for the fourth time this season, and forward Konstantin Okulov, who scored the only goal. The 29-year-old forward for the red and blue team reached his 400th point in the KHL, becoming the 22nd player to achieve this milestone. Overall, it is worth highlighting all the field players of CSKA, who acted strictly and reliably in defense throughout the game, not allowing the home team to score.

1:0 - CSKA claims victory in the first "Match of Courage" and their third win over their city rivals this season, ending the white and blue's winning streak at 6 games. Dynamo's captain Igor Ozhiganov explained this defeat in an exclusive express interview with "MK-Sport", stating that the team left too much energy and emotion in their previous victorious match against Yaroslavl: "We lacked goals—that's clear. And if we dig deeper, the last match against the league leader 'Lokomotiv' was tough—it drained all our emotions and energy. Perhaps, that’s what we missed against CSKA."

The coaches of both teams were as brief as the number of goals scored by their players in the match. Ilya Vorobyov mentioned that "it was a playoff-style game, with a lot of fighting and tension, as expected. Ivan Prosvetov played excellently. The penalty kill worked well, and we scored a good goal. In the second period, we had a couple more chances to extend our lead, but the opponent's goalkeeper was alert too."

Dynamo's coach Alexey Kudashov did not appear too disheartened by the defeat, taking it stoically and philosophically, much like the ancient Diogenes Laërtius: "There’s not much to say about the game because some matches are just tough. They scored one goal and won. We had our moments but didn't score. It happens. Sometimes you score, sometimes you don’t. Today, it just didn’t go in for us, and that’s how it was meant to be."

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