Mogi opened their Optibet Hockey League campaign with a convincing 4:1 victory over HS Riga on Wednesday evening, September the 9th. The result handed a debut win to the home side and, by then, settled any early questions about the new season's opening round. To be fair, the visitors had already tested themselves in a single outing, but this outing told a different story.
The home side, sitting at sixth in the standings with no games recorded before kickoff, moved straight into the conversation. Riga, meanwhile, arrived from second place with one win on the board. The scoreline suggested the away side's early confidence would not carry through.
Recent form offered context rather than certainty. Mogi's last outing before this opener was a heavy 4:11 defeat to Zemgale Jelgava, followed by a 3:4 loss to France U20 in mid-August. Riga had responded to their own setbacks with back-to-back wins, including a 4:3 victory over Pankss Vilnius just four days prior.
And here's the thing — when you watch these opening encounters, you notice where teams lean on habit rather than structure. Mogi's defence looked sharper than their previous results implied, while Riga's attack, usually reliable, found space harder to come by. The third period saw the home side put the game to bed early, closing out chances that could have tightened the margin.
The standings now shift slightly, though not dramatically with only one fixture played. Mogi sit level on points with teams above them, while Riga's lead narrows. The table goes out of the window in these games, but momentum matters — and Mogi have started with something to build on.