Attack “Motorist” Alexey Makeev after defeating SKA spoke about the good results of the Zavarukhin brothers in the current Gagarin Cup.
On Monday, Avtomobilist defeated SKA with a score of 5:4 in St. Petersburg in the fifth match of the series. The score in the series up to four victories was 4-1 in favor of the Yekaterinburg team.
— This match started with your double. Describe your goals.
— The first goal was a good goal, due to pressure. The second goal was on the power play. To be honest, I wanted to pass the ball with the back of the hook. In the end, everything went well. We did not expect such twists and turns in the match. But it’s good that it all ended this way.
— What happened to you when SKA scored three goals in 140 seconds?
— The first objective was a minority. It looks like we fixed this and knew SKA would do this. Then two quick goals and I would say we just lost our concentration.
— It’s surprising that replacing Alikin with Galkin only made you stronger.
— I do not agree with those who think that replacing Alikin is a way for the Avtomobilist to drop the match. They just give the goalkeeper some rest, and that’s how the team shakes itself up. And then how does it happen? The series is long, it’s the playoffs.
— What were you thinking when the score was 2:4?
– Yes, everything was calm at our house. On the bench, we believed in each other. That we will score and equalize. At the end of the period we were 3:4. We came to the locker room and talked to the guys. And everything was in our hands. We came back from the break and equalized the score in the first half.
— What is the reason for the transformation of Avtomobilist into the playoffs?
“I think we are rewarded for last season.” There, in the seventh game, we were leading 3:1, but our own mistakes made us lose this series. And somewhere, the magic of the Zavarukhin brothers is working. “Traktor” and we finished the match with the same score 5:4, did you notice? The brothers apparently did something and went somewhere. I don’t know what their secret is.
— Nikolai Zavarukhin (head coach of Avtomobilist), maybe he just freed the team?
— Somewhere the tactics changed, we began to play more strictly in the defensive zone than under Peters. And the most important thing is the team. When guys fight for each other, clean up the mess, that decides everything. We got together before the playoffs and talked. And they realized that they were capable of a lot.
— What is happening in Yekaterinburg now?
— We are having a real hockey boom! I am from the region myself and I see what is happening in my town of 80,000 inhabitants. Everyone is on the edge of their seats. And the fact that in Yekaterinburg – I could not imagine this in my life, even in a fairy-tale dream, that hockey would thus invade the entire city. Glad to see! – Makeev told .
For the first time in history, Avtomobilist reached the semi-final of the KHL playoffs: in the next round, the Yekaterinburg team will face the winner of the Metallurg-Spartak pair (2-1).
Earlier, Traktor, under the leadership of Alexei Zavarukhin, reached the third round of the Gagarin Cup, where they will play with the winner of the pair Lokomotiv – Avangard (3-1).
Watch live broadcasts of Fonbet KHL Championship matches on Match Group channels, matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru websites.
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.
