Andrei Nikolishin: we should not give up

Andrei Nikolishin, Traktor head coach:
It’s always great to play before a sellout crowd. As far as the game is concerned, there is not much to be said about it when you lose three games in a row without scoring a single goal. The players were as motivated as ever, and maybe this was the reason why we did not score again; I mean, lack of confidence in finishing stages of attacks.

Peteris Skudra, Torpedo head coach:
We knew Traktor would super motivated for this one, so we had to pull through in the first period, even though we played a little bit shy. After the break, we regroup and started playing our game, finally taking advantage of our chances on goal. We had a good home series and played better defensively compared to the previous games. I would like to thank my team for the desire and motivation in the home series. We dedicate tonight’s victory to the injured Yevgeni Mozer.

Question to Nikolishin: What do you think the team should do to snap the cold streak?
Nikolishin: We need to score. Hockey is a game that involves luck; we need to score, and this curse will go away. We should not give up now.

Question to Skudra: Torpedo scored a lot on the road, but not too many during the home series. Is it due to changes the coaching staff made
Skudra: No. We play our own brand of game. The team has skill and confidence and scoring chances, but we need to score more.

Question to Skudra: Any specific reason why you keep changing young players on the lineup?
Skudra: We just analyze who looks better at the moment of each game.

Question to Skudra: Please comment on the performance of Sergei Kostitsyn?
Skudra: It’s great that he scored when he did. Even though he had an unnecessary penalty, he did well today.