Igor Grishin: «The guys fought to the very end»
09.09.2025
Neftekhimik head coach Igor Grishin speaks with the media after a following 3–4 loss against Traktor.
– It is a disappointing defeat in regulation time, we at least deserved overtime, because the guys did not give up, the guys fought to the very end, tied the score. We had a bad start to the third period: it felt like they lost confidence that they could beat Traktor. We played evenly for two periods, and then there was such a lapse at the beginning of the third period, but I say again, they coped with the excitement, tied the score. But, unfortunately, a couple of mistakes led to the fact that we didn't even make it to overtime.– When we took a timeout, the main message from you was: let's believe in ourselves. Was that the whole secret?
– That's right. Throughout the time we've been here, we've been constantly telling the guys that they should believe in themselves. They know how to play hockey, play interesting hockey, control the puck, shoot at the goal. Today, in principle, there were such moments, especially after we missed the third goal - suddenly, for no reason at all, we seemed to loosen up. I don't know why, because there was nothing left to lose, we believed in ourselves, and the game started to work out. And again, probably, having tied the score, we suddenly got a little scared, we lacked self-confidence. Here you need to grab onto the game and the result. Although we had moments when the score was 3:3, we could have turned the game in our favor, but, unfortunately, this is hockey, we can only regret it.
– After such emotional swings in the third period, what is the emotional and psychological state of the team?
– The guys are tired, but motivated. They showed character, self-confidence and team cohesion. Such games teach you to control your emotions and develop psychological stability, which will be very important in the next season.
