Before “Motorist” Anatoly Golychev told how his team was able to quickly adapt to the new Palace of St. Petersburg in the first match of the playoff series of the second round of the Fonbet KHL Championship.
On Sunday, Avtomobilist defeated SKA with a score of 3:2 in the away match of the Gagarin Cup. Since February, the St. Petersburg club has played matches in the new SKA Arena.
— Why did the Avtomobilist defeat the SKA?
— Thanks to the conversion of chances and our goalkeeper Evgeniy Alikin. And it’s the work of the whole team.
—How important is it that you finally have a top goalkeeper?
– Yes, we don’t pay attention to it. Of course, this remains on everyone’s mind. Especially for me. Because for so many years, Avtomobilist wanted to aim for the playoffs. Nerves, nervousness present. You forget about it when you step on the ice. We made it through the first round by beating Ak Bars in five matches. We are now preparing the second. So we don’t look at what’s next while preparing for each match.
— Did you skate at the SKA Arena the day before the first game?
– No, we just went out for a ride this morning.
—How were you able to adapt to a completely new palace?
– Yes, it’s unusual, but we don’t think about it. We played according to the situation, according to the instructions.
—What is the most unusual thing? Light, ice?
– The atmosphere itself. There probably isn’t such an atmosphere anywhere in the league. When we came out to warm up, everyone said, “Wow!” Cool!” Of course, it’s difficult to compare, but the SKA Arena is a bit like the Toronto Palace where we played the final of the World Junior Championship there. It’s very close to the NHL, “Golyshev told .
Watch live broadcasts of the Fonbet KHL Championship playoff matches on the Match Group channels, matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru sites.
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.
