A common scene throughout the first period of the game. Photo by Jared Grellet.

RIGA — Though they came close to equalizing, Dinamo Riga was unable to come back from a 5-1 deficit going down 5-4 to Omsk side Avangard at home last night.

The visitors struck first with the first goal coming somewhat against the run of play when Igors Volkov evaded the Dinamo Riga defence with ease to put Avangard one up after 3 minutes.

The lead was extended to two in the eighth minute when the Siberian side’s former NHL star Jaromírs Jágrs scored on the first power play of the night. Dinamo Riga were quick to reply in the ninth minute when Ģirts Ankipāns was on hand when Avangard goalie Karri Ramoo failed to protect the puck.

The remainder of the period belonged to Avangard with the Latvians giving up two more power plays, both of which Avangard pounced on through second goals to both Jágrs in the 13th minute and Volkov in the 14th.

Dinamo fans sensed a comeback. Photo by Jared Grellet.

The amount of time that Dinamo Riga players spent in the penalty box for questionable offences remained a talking point throughout the game with Dinamo coach Juliuss Supler talking to the officials on more than one occasion.

Fans had barely returned to their seats  for the beginning of the second period when Dinamo Riga found itself in even further trouble when Dmitrijs Pestunovs scored his team’s 5th goal just 39 seconds into the period. This somewhat stirred the home team to life as the flow of the game began to go in their favor.

Following sustained pressure in the Avangard half Dinamo Riga were finally able to make the most of  a power play in the 13th minute when Lee Sweatt scored his team’s second, but not before much debate amongst the officials who seemed to be looking for a reason not to award the goal. This was followed by a third goal five minutes later courtesy of Mikelis Redlihs, setting up what would prove to be an intriguing final period

It was a period that was completely dominated by Dinamo Riga who were doing all they could to pull back two goals. The sustained pressure finally told on Avangard with Redlihs scoring Dinamo Riga’s fourth in the 12th minute of the period to set up a thrilling finish. However, Avangard held strong to deny Dinamo Riga the much needed goal.

Dinamo Riga need to bounce back quickly with their next game at home against Kazakhstani Baris on Wednesday. Baris have won one from two games so far, with their win coming in over-time against Avangard.