Press Conference «Avtomobilist – Neftekhimik» 11/18/2025
18.11.2025
Neftekhimik Head Coach Igor Grishin speaks with the media after a following 3–6 loss against Avtomobilist.
– In an offensive focused game with numerous scoring chances, both ways, the team that was more skilled at scoring won.
– In your opinion, what caused the psychological collapse in the second period?
– I do not think it was a psychological collapse. We did not give up when the score was 5–0; the guys kept playing, tried to create goal–scoring chances and tried to score goals. We need to show more composure in the final stages of the attack and capitalize on the chances we create.
– After the second goal, did it seem like the play in defensive zone broke down?
– Nothing like that happened. Before they scored the second goal, we created a good scoring chance when Ivan Nikolishin hit the crossbar. We immediately conceded the second goal. We also had a chance before the third goal. We did not score again, after that, we conceded another goal. The opposing team capitalized on the chances they created.
– Even after the timeout, we kept conciding...
– The streak of goals conceded is one goal after the timeout. We conceded another goal later, but we also scored at the end of the second period. Maybe that helped a little. We needed to calm the guys down a bit and, basically, stop the opponent's lucky momentum. It is clear that they were on their way to score more goals, because the guys felt like the game was actually going well. Both teams were having a good game. Overall, it was a good game, with practically no defensive in the neutral zone, back–and–forth hockey.
– In your opinion, what caused the psychological collapse in the second period?
– I do not think it was a psychological collapse. We did not give up when the score was 5–0; the guys kept playing, tried to create goal–scoring chances and tried to score goals. We need to show more composure in the final stages of the attack and capitalize on the chances we create.
– After the second goal, did it seem like the play in defensive zone broke down?
– Nothing like that happened. Before they scored the second goal, we created a good scoring chance when Ivan Nikolishin hit the crossbar. We immediately conceded the second goal. We also had a chance before the third goal. We did not score again, after that, we conceded another goal. The opposing team capitalized on the chances they created.
– Even after the timeout, we kept conciding...
– The streak of goals conceded is one goal after the timeout. We conceded another goal later, but we also scored at the end of the second period. Maybe that helped a little. We needed to calm the guys down a bit and, basically, stop the opponent's lucky momentum. It is clear that they were on their way to score more goals, because the guys felt like the game was actually going well. Both teams were having a good game. Overall, it was a good game, with practically no defensive in the neutral zone, back–and–forth hockey.
