Goalie “Motorist” Evgeny Alikin after defeating SKA shared his emotions after reaching the third round of the Gagarin Cup.
On Monday, Avtomobilist defeated SKA with a score of 5:4 in the fifth match of the series in St. Petersburg. The score in the series up to four victories was 4-1 in favor of the Yekaterinburg team.
— In one year, you changed clubs, reached the third round of the Gagarin Cup and made the difference in the series with Ak Bars and SKA. An incredible adventure!
— I wouldn’t say that I personally make a difference. However, it is the merit of the entire team. This is undoubtedly a great achievement for Avtomobilist. I am even more happy for the guys who have been in the club for a long time – Tolya Golyshev, Nikita Tryamkin, Lekha Makeev… They tried for a long time to pass this first round, and finally we did it. And those who came this season helped them.
– In these playoffs, goalkeepers play a big role – Isaev, Nabokov, Fucale, you… And in this series you had a duel with Nikita Serebryakov – do you agree?
— Nikita and I have known each other for a long time, he is a very good goalkeeper. I noticed this in Admiral as well. Everybody knows it. The role of goaltenders is certainly important in the playoffs. The one who makes the fewest mistakes will win.
— When you were substituted with the score 2:4 and Vladimir Galkin came on, what did you say to the substitute?
– You still have to remember… Yes, I just wished him good luck. Because I trust my partner. We support each other throughout the season. We have a very good relationship. I didn’t doubt for a second that he would help us today.
— So, replacing Alikin is not a white flag, but a knight’s move?
– Well, maybe. You need to ask Nikolai Zavarukhin about this.
— Do these playoffs give you the idea that anything is possible? Look how many sensations there are.
— Very cool playoffs, and it was influenced by the fact that it became a crossover. It became more interesting. It’s new for teams to play with those you’ve never met before on the show.
– You will have to wait more than a week for your opponent in the third round – Spartak or Metallurg. Won’t you rust?
— We took a pretty long break after Ak Bars. And this affected the first match with SKA. The guys noticed that it was quite difficult. The SKA guys quickly fled. Even though their break was pretty much the same. But I think we can handle this,” Alikin told .
In 10 matches in these playoffs, Alikin had seven victories with 94.5% reflected shots.
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.
