Coach of the Automobiliste Zavarukhin: “Alikin’s absence is a planned rotation”

The head coach “Motorist » Nikolai Zavarukhin after the victory overMetallurgist “In the sixth match of the Gagarin Cup semifinals, he said that the absence of the team’s main goalkeeper Evgeniy Alikin in the match was a planned rotation.

On Saturday, Avtomobilist defeated Metallurg at home in the sixth match of the Gagarin Cup semi-finals (5:3). The goal of Zavarukhin’s team was defended by Vladimir Galkin, who ultimately stopped 43 shots.

The score in the best-of-four series is 3-3. On April 15, the teams will play their seventh match in Magnitogorsk.

— I liked the first period, there was good momentum and good control of the puck. In the second half there was confusion for a few teams, but good goals were scored on counter-attacks. In the third we played in a row. It’s great to have led the match to victory. We are preparing to go to Magnitogorsk for the seventh game. The fan support has been phenomenal. They help us a lot. It is for them that the game is played. We hope for a good result in Magnitogorsk.

— The first period was the best of the match. How did you get off to such a good start?

— It’s great that we won all the battles and the fight. That’s the main thing, the opponent was without the puck, we played with it more. In the third period, we defended more, it’s good to have held on.

— What instructions were given to Denezhkin? He played very well.

— We had a planned rotation. It worked. The guys played very well. The main thing was that there was movement, excitement. What they lacked in skills, they made up for in work.

— Tryamkin played a lot on offense and scored a goal.

— He had chances in every match, he just scored earlier. I went to congratulate him on his first playoff goal, he said he had already scored in the playoffs.

— How would you rate the fourth link? It was effective.

— I don’t want to isolate anyone. Our whole team played. Someone brought more benefits today. Before that, other players. The whole team succeeded.

— Is there anything surprising left in this series?

– Let’s think about how to surprise. Maybe we’ll put someone else in the house – we’ll let a young person out, for example.

— Will Alikin be included in the Game 7 lineup?

— This is a planned rotation.

— The team achieved the best feat in history – bronze medals. Is this fact liberating?

– We don’t think about medals. There is only one goal: the Gagarin Cup, we must try to reach the final and win. Nobody talks about medals on the team. All efforts are directed towards the series with Metallurg.

— How are you preparing for game seven?

— We haven’t started preparing yet. Let us rejoice in victory, and then we will begin to prepare. Let’s see who’s alive and get ready.

— Where will you focus the team’s attention?

— We will analyze the opponent, as usual. In the third period, Metallurg played differently. We need to fix this. In the seventh game, there must be a bright head and a warm heart.

— What objectives were set before the start of the season?

— “Avtomobilist” always has maximum goals. We are trying to reach them. The goal is to win the Gagarin Cup.

—Why can’t you get stability from Brooks Macek?

— There is still one match left. God willing, he will score a hat-trick in the seventh match, ”reports the correspondent of , reporting Zavarukhin’s words.

Watch live broadcasts of Gagarin Cup matches on the channel, as well as on the matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru sites.