Press Conference «Admiral – Neftekhimik» 3/7/2026
07.03.2026
Neftekhimik Head Coach Igor Grishin speaks with the media after a following 3–4 win over Admiral.
– We had a tough first period. It is quite an early game for us. We don't even practice that early. Overall, we had a tough time getting into the game. Our opponents had the advantage, of course, fortunately we scored good goals and overall, played pretty well defensively. Starting in the second period, we got going, skated well, kept possesion of the puck, created scoring chances, basically playing more in the offensive zone. After that, the way we played was right, right up until the major penalty… We have to play responsibly. We conceded a goal and the tension in the game increased a bit. In the five-minute power play, we played not irresponsibly, I think, we were too relaxed. We thought that we already have a good advantage for us. We created a really tense ending for ourselves. Nonetheless, we did a good job, congratulations on this victory.– Neftekhimik's Far East series is over. What can you summarize?
– You know, this was my first experience. Yes, I had experience with the youth team before, but that was a long time ago. It was quite difficult. We were on Moscow time: it's like daytime on the clock, but it's already night time here. Everyone's already asleep. I felt a bit lost. It was really tough. Well, it's good that we ended it with a win. It's a really good message for us, so hopefully we had a good flight today. We'll get back home and rest a bit. We'll play the rest of the championship.
– Nineteen-year-old Sevastyan Sokolov scored two goals. How would you rate the way he played?
– Sevastyan deserves a spot in the lineup with his play. He's making a name for himself. It's not just because he's a young player on the ice, but because of what he does on the ice. Sevastyan plays smart, mature, and aggressive. We decided to put him on the power play unit today. I think that we hit the nail on the head here – he scored two goals on the power play.
– The team took too much penalties. The team has entered the top five in the League for penalty time. Is there a solution?
– Still, these penalties... There are things that shouldn't be done. We paid attention to this. Unfortunately, the coaching staff's requests don't always reach everyone. That's why, perhaps, when we return, we'll pay attention to this and maybe implement some kind of fine. We don't have fines for such penalties on the team, but perhaps the time will come when it need to be introduced.
