Traktor vs. Lev 5:2. Press-conference after the match

Jozef Jandac, Lev’s head coach:
First of all I would like to say that we played well for the better part of the match and could score more than two goals, but unfortunately, our own mistakes made us pay the price. I also believe the referee made a mistake when we played five-on-three and allowed the third goal. Of course we tried our best to get back into the game but failed to. However, I would like to thank my players for their desire and will to fight.

Valery Belousov, Traktor’s head coach:
We were somewhat off in the first period; plus our opponents had a very good start. Good thing we were able to tie the game on two occasions. Then we adjusted our play in the second period, and the third one was totally ours.

Question to Jandac: When your team allowed the third goal, you had a long conversation with the referee. Was it about the alleged penalty?
Jandac:Yes, it was. We believed there had been a penalty in this episode, so we wanted to clarify the situation.

Question to Belousov: Was Lev’s first goal scored due to Garnett’s mistake?
Belousov:No. The goaltender is never to blame for the pucks that are allowed into the net; the defense and forwards are. They should always stick to their players and control the situation on the ice.

Question to Belousov: According to the new stipulations introduced by the league, a goaltender with Russian passport should play in no less than one third of the regular season games. When will we see Garnett’s ‘colleagues’ in action?
Belousov:If my memory serves me right, Russian goaltender has to play eight games a season at least. We are still confident with the way Michael Garnett performs, and Fokin has yet to fully recover from his groin injury, so time will tell.