Irbis beat Stalnye Lisy 4:2 in the MHL on Saturday evening, a result that kept the hosts in fourth place while the visitors remained seventh on the table. The scoreline tells only half the story — the game had moments where either side could have turned it around, but Irbis ended up with the points they needed.
By then the visitors had already shown they weren't going to make it easy, coming off a 1:2 loss to Chaika the previous day. They had won four of their eight games this season but had three defeats in their last five outings, and you could see that uncertainty on the ice. Stalnye Lisy worked the channels and created chances, but nothing stuck.
We had called for a home win before kick-off, 52 per cent confidence. It felt right at the time — Irbis had won four of their seven games and were playing at home, while Stalnye Lisy had lost three of their last four. The result confirmed that reading, though not in any comfortable fashion. The away end never stopped pushing, and the home side had to respond.
Irbis had been inconsistent themselves. They beat Molot Perm 4:1 and Spurnik Almetyevsk 7:1 in mid-September, but then dropped points against Reaktor in a 3:4 defeat. Coming into this match they had lost 1:2 to Tolpar on Wednesday, so this win ended a barren spell and showed improvement. To be fair, the away side made it harder than it needed to be.
The standings don't move much after one game, but the gap matters. Irbis sit on four wins from seven matches, while Stalnye Lisy have played one more game and are level on victories. The hosts had one foot in a better position, and this result kept them ahead of the visitors by one place.
