Lokomotiv hockey player Shalunov about the moment with Fucale: “It is impossible to intentionally knock down the goalkeeper like that, I am not that kind of person”

Ahead of Yaroslavl “Locomotive » Maxim Chalunov said he had no chance to avoid a collision with Chelyabinsk Traktor goalkeeper Zach Fucale in the first match of the Gagarin Cup semi-final series.

Traktor’s main goalkeeper Fucale was injured in the first match after a collision with Shalunov. At a press conference after the second match, Traktor coach Alexei Zavarukhin said Shalunov “should be scared when he arrives in Chelyabinsk.”

“It seems to me that all reasonable people understood that it was impossible to deliberately knock down the goalkeeper like that, I’m not that kind of person. The timing is random, there’s no other way to call it. There was a fight for the puck, and that’s how it all happened.

—Was there any chance of dodging?

– I had no such luck.

—Were you worried about Fucale?

— Honestly, I was focused on our game, I wasn’t particularly worried. If he was worried, he would show some kind of weakness. It was purely a game moment. On the nickel, I said to Fucala, “Sorry. » Some defenders who were standing next to me heard him perfectly.

— Did Coach Traktor’s words surprise you in any way?

“I completely understand what Alexei Borisovich wanted to do, to exert psychological influence somewhere, but it didn’t work. The result of this series speaks for itself. Well, what would I be afraid of? Every day I go to training, I take part in the fight against Elesin, Rafikov, Cherepanov, Bereglazov, Sergeev. After them there is nothing scary, believe me.

— You and Alexei Borisovich are compatriots. Did you know each other before?

– Relatively. When I started my trip, he finished his at Traktor,” reports the correspondent of , reporting Chalunov’s words.

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