PRESS CONFERENCE «NEFTEKHIMIK-VITYAZ» 9/18/2021
18.09.2021
- It was a good game. We are glad that we have won it. We can say that it was kind of congratulation to Rafael Bikmullin on the birth of his daughter. The key point of the game was Klok's five-minute penalty. Before that, we had a slight advantage. We let them to score only one goal during these 5 minutes. Also, we outshoot the opponent 44-13. This tactic helped us to achieve a win today. I would like to congratulate on a victory!
- Why didn't Hudacek and Sexton play today?
- It happened because in terms of playing quality they are not in the lineup yet. We hoped that they will be our leaders, but in six games, they scored only one goals – an empty-netter. It is not enough. We hope that everything will be fine.
- What is the difference between the games that we lost and today's game?
- We are trying to play our style of hockey - a quick transition of the puck from D-zone to offensive zone. There are games with top teams where the average level of players is higher. In games with such opponents, any detail influences the outcome of the game.
- The first period was not a successful one for us ...
- We had chances to score and outshoot the opponents 10-4. It is clear that they practiced that goal on the practices. We did not give up and fought to the very end.
- Today 4 players made their debut in today’s game ...
- The fourth made his debut only on a warm-up. What about our prospects… They will have their chance to play for sure. We have at least two of them who will play in the next games.
Yury Babenko, the head coach of HC Vityaz:
- There is not much to say. This is our worst game in this season.
- In the third period, your team conceded three goals. What happened?
- After the second period, the game was tied 2-2 and we could win it. In addition, we got unnecessary penalties and did not score on the power play.
- Your team has a series of defeats. How is it possible to change it?
- We have only one way – work hard.
- Neftekhimik often conceded quick goals in the first period. Did your team try to take advantage of it?
- No. We just told them that Neftekhimik goaltender had not played for a long time. We tried to make as much shots as possible.
