PRESS CONFERENCE «NEFTEKHIMIK – TRAKTOR» 03/07/2022

Press conference «Neftekhimik – Traktor»

Oleg Leontyev, the head coach of HC Neftekhimik:

– First of all, I would like to thank our fans for their support throughout the season, especially in the playoffs. Your support inspired our team. It was a real hockey atmosphere and many thanks to all the fans for it and to those, who did not believe in us at the beginning of the season, thanks too. Their comments motivated us a lot!

We gave everything we had and no one knows how the series would have ended if we had won at least one game in Chelyabinsk. We were very close to our first win. Therefore, I think that we had a great playoff run, despite the fact that we did not win a single game. There are no claims to anybody. In terms of dedication, I have only words of respect for all the guys, fighters who did their best on the ice. They fought for Neftekhimik, for Nizhnekamsk. I take my hat off to them.

Now we have set a certain bar - we made playoffs and played hard against one of the leaders. This inspires kind of optimism for the next season. I am sure that we have become stronger and that it is not enough for us to reach just a first round. We want to achieve more. We will move only forward.

I would like to thank everyone for the great season. It's a pity that the season is over for us. Sure, we would like to play more playoff games. We will make it step by step.

– What did the team lack in this series?

– The first thing that comes to my mind is that we got too much penalties. We did not have this kind of a problem in the regular season. Moreover, we did not have enough roster depth. I would like to have stronger 4th line. I do not want to say that they are weaker, but I would like to have more depth in the roster. For instance, Dan Sexton did a lot on the power play and brought some kind of creativity to the team. If someone is out of the roster, we cannot replace him. We really missed Dan, but these are all excuses. Nevertheless, we played well. It is what it is.

– What do you think about Traktor?

– Traktor was aggressive and played in a fast-paced way. Not the same like in the regular season. There was a lot of pressure on us. We coped with it and fought to the very end.

– Can we say that Alexander Sudnitsin let the team down? He conceded two unnecessary goals.

– I never complain about the goaltenders. You know, you should score more than two goals to get a win. Alexander fit perfectly into the team during the season. He did his best. Perhaps, we would have made playoffs without Alexander. It is great that he is part of our team.

Anvar Gatiyatulin, the head coach of HC Traktor:

– All the games against Neftekhimik during the season were tough like in the playoffs. You can see work of their coaching staff. Neftekhimik players played according their game task. We had to find a way to score and we are glad that we finished this series. We completed our game task with character and dedication. Our guys did their best and won. I would like to thank our fans for their support!