Saint Petersburg head coach S.K.A. Romain Rotenberg after the match between Fonbet of the KHL championship and Cherepovets Severstal said the army team must add to the implementation of scoring chances.
The main time of the match in Cherepovets ended with the score 1:1. The guests responded to Daniil Vovchenko’s puck (20th minute) with a precise shot from Marat Khairullin (38th). In the shootout series, SKA won Dmitry Yashkin.
– Good fighting game. Great atmosphere in the stands. Cherepovets is a hockey town. We knew it would be a tough game. The opponent is aiming for the playoffs. We changed the composition. Well done guys, played selflessly, showed character. Team victory. We have to score, even if we create a lot of chances to score. We need to add this component. We will train and practice. Somewhere to play smarter, to close the goalkeeper. It is worth noting the excellent game of Dmitry Shugaev today. He played very well. Severstal played well overall. A very important victory. Special thanks to the fans who came to Cherepovets to support us. We saw it, we felt it. You gave us extra strength to snatch this victory.
– You put Vlad Podyapolsky in the goal – is it by chance or is it somehow connected with Cherepovets?
— Our goalkeeping coach works a lot with Vlad. We know the strengths of Podyapolsky. I have been for a long time. Today was his scheduled match. It has nothing to do with the fact that they played against Severstal. We saw his progress today. Today’s victory is his great merit. We have two solid goalkeepers. A healthy competition for outfield players and goalkeepers for a place in the team.
— The team is already working to enter the playoffs in better shape. If the problem comes from the motivation of the players?
– Not. We see throughout the season that motivation is our asset. We are always working to improve players’ mood, game discipline, defensive play. We are very far apart. This component should be removed. We are number one in the league in penalty minutes. It is unacceptable. We play a lot in the minority. Yes, we have a very good minority. Today we conceded an optional goal in the minority – a rebound, but it’s also a goal. It cannot be deleted and we can improve this component. We have 14 games left before the start of the playoffs. It is necessary to minimize the errors, to play in the system. Play offensively with improvisation. We have to win with a clear advantage in order not to take risks, – the press service of Severstal quotes Rotenberg.
SKA sits first in the Western Conference standings and has already secured a playoff spot.
In the next game, on January 21, SKA will visit Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, Severstal will host Dynamo Minsk a day later.
Source : MatchTV
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