On Saturday, Severstal beat CSKA in extra time (3:2 OT) of the Gagarin Cup and tied the score in the first round after two games in Moscow. The next will be in Cherepovets, and the Moscow Army team, even in the ranks of the current KHL champions, no longer looks like favorites. After all, this season CSKA have met Severstal four times in the regular season – and won only once in Moscow. At three more meetings, including two in Cherepovets, the army team lost. And that means the playoffs smelled like a different sensation.
The current Gagarin Cup has already set a kind of record, which has greatly aroused the interest of all pairs – in none of them the favorites could achieve two home victories. In eight pairs, today’s score is 1-1. So, not only Severstal, but also Admiral, Dynamo Minsk, Neftekhimik, Vityaz have a good chance to fight in home matches…
But the phenomenon of the Cherepovites is that they won the victory not freshly, but in the second game and at the same time pulled it out, losing in the third period in the meeting. And as the icing on the cake, this is CSKA’s only defeat in the first round of the playoffs in the past nine years so far.
In general, everything is just beginning!
“Samonov pulled us by the ears”
“We had to break that streak not to go home 0-2,” Vovchenko said. – And now Cherepovets fans will help us, everything should be fine.
– CSKA is the current owner of the Gagarin Cup, it includes many Olympic champions. But Severstal have beaten the army team in four out of six games this season. Why?
“Now you can play with everyone on an equal footing. Look at the rest of the playoff pairs – in all series so far, a draw. We’re not looking at army names, we’re playing our own hockey. And it’s paying off, we won today, we’re moving on.
— This season you broke Vadim Shipachev’s club record for points in the KHL for Severstal. Do you feel like a living legend of Cherepovets?
– It’s good, of course, that I broke the record, but there is nothing like it. It’s a team feat. Personal result in the background, everything is in working order.
– In extra time, CSKA players went one-on-one with your goalkeeper several times. How to avoid this in the future?
– Yes, today Samonov, one might say, pulled us by the ears. Not just him, everyone was braided, they understood that they had to get this game out, that’s why they held on and scored a goal. With the last puck, of course, we got a little lucky. But without luck, there are no victories in hockey.
– It will be difficult to win if you continue to spend most of the game on the defensive.
– So let’s add houses to the attack. How exactly – coaches will tell you.
“A full house in the arena and CSKA, and we are whipped”
Why did Severstal take a timeout in extra time? After that, your game changed.
– The break did us good, we were very tired then. The coach did everything right – he gave us some rest. Brought us to our senses, you might say. And we continued to fight for victory.
– You became the last team to win the current playoffs. Did you want to be left behind?
Nobody thought about it at all, we just wanted to win.
– Can you explain why in these playoffs in all series, there is an equal fight?
– Hockey is such a thing that anyone can win, especially in the playoffs. The game is in error. Whoever does the least wins. And the fact that the score of the series is even is great. For the fans, it’s generally cool, there will be more matches. Yes, and for us it is a very good emotional supplement.
– How do you feel more comfortable playing – with full stands, even if they are cheering you on, or with half-empty stands, like in the first game?
– We also noticed in the team that there are a lot more people today. When exhausted, the feeling is completely different. The arena seems to support the opponent, but it also stimulates you.
“Let’s go home in a good mood”
– We can say that Severstal is no longer under pressure. After all, no one will scold you for your defeat. And there is a chance to go down in history.
– No one goes on the ice thinking the streak can be lost. And so nothing puts pressure on us. We do not read the press in the playoffs, we prepare each match.
– Do victories over CSKA energize you?
– Any victory gives emotions. As for CSKA, you yourself recalled that we had already beaten them. For us, it’s a regular team. We see no such thing in the victory over the army team. Won – good, we come home in a good mood.
– SKA, after winning the puck in the locker room, nailed it to the log, Ak Bars inserted them into the canister. And what does your team do after the wins?
– We also have such a wooden stand with the inscription “Severstal”. There are cells for 16 pucks. Now here is the first.
***
The third game of the first-round playoff series between Severstal and CSKA will take place on March 6 in Cherepovets.
Watch live broadcasts of KHL matches on the federal channel and thematic channels of the holding, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
