Almetyevsk — Izhevsk: 2:0, VHL

Almetyevsk beat Izhevsk 2:0 in the Higher Hockey League on Thursday evening. The hosts kept their unbeaten record intact while extending their winning run to six matches. By then, the pattern was clear enough — Almetyevsk had won every game this season.

Izhevsk sit twenty-third after six outings, one victory and five defeats. They lost again, and the gap between them and the top half has widened. To be fair, they managed a win earlier against Moscow's Zvezda, but form has been inconsistent at best.

Almetyevsk's recent results read like a checklist of victories: 6:2 against Olympia, 6:1 over Saratov's Kristall, 3:1 against Dizel, 4:3 versus Tambov, and 2:1 against Voronezh's Buran. Six wins from six games. And here's the thing — they haven't dropped a single point.

We had called for home success before kickoff, giving it 63 per cent confidence. The result followed the prediction straight enough. Not that predictions matter much when one side pulls away like this.

The hosts remain top of the table with a perfect record. Izhevsk's six-game losing streak looks likely to continue unless something shifts. The table tells the story without needing extra words.