Press Conference «Neftekhimik – Salavat Yulaev» 10/25/2025
25.10.2025
Neftekhimik Head Coach Igor Grishin speaks with the media after a following 1–2 loss against Salavat Yulaev.
– It was a pretty fast–paced game. We and the opponent had good chances to score. I cannot help but mention our opponents, who played great defensively. They blocked a lot of shots, especially in the first two periods. I did not think we had many shots that found their net. We made some adjustments in the third period, which led to more chances in the offensive zone. It is unusual for us to took penalties for too man on the ice, but today we took of it. Instead of attacking, we had to defend in those minutes. It is worth noting that we had two high–scoring games before. So there are games where it is hard to score after such a scoring frenzy.– Your team wins against top teams but lose to your direct rivals for the playofss. How come?
– There used to be a newspaper called "Football-Hockey" with a column called "The guys who bring a nightmare for the bigger guys". We are probably the leaders in that department now. Unfortunately, that happens. But it is hard to say what we lack to overcome our opponents' rather tight defense. The big teams are more focus on playing offensively, which is what we take advantage of. Meanwhile, smaller teams focus more on defense, making them difficult to beat. Overcoming this requires a certain amount of skill.
– Why did you decide to trust Ozolin to be the last line of defense?
– The last game was emotional. Filipp played well and helped the team. Ultimately, Yaroslav needs to feel like he is playing. Because you cannot give just one goaltender to play all games. That is why after the last game, we decided to give Ozolin a chance to play. I would say he played a good game.
Salavat Yulaev Head Coach Viktor Kozlov:
– We won an important game. It was important for us to finish the road trip on a winning note. We are in a situation where every point is worth its weight in gold. The guys did a great job; they prepared well for the game. They executed our instructions, and their dedication was unquestionable. We tried to play tighter defensively because we know how our opponent creates dangerous counterattacks. We also tried to keep the puck in the opponent's zone as much as possible. All of this helped us win.
–Your team set a very high tempo from the very first seconds. Were you afraid the team would run out of steam in the third period?
–We generally always play at this pace. Against Neftekhimik, it is impossible to play any other way. You either outrun them, or they outrun you.
