Severstal vs. Traktor 4:3 (SO). Press-conference after the match

Valery Belousov, Traktor’s head coach:
We once again flunked the beginning of the match, but then were able to refocus and got the game under control. Nevertheless, I am not satisfied with too many penalties we got tonight, because it directly influenced the complexion of the match; those who are frequently on the ice while shorthanded play get tired quicker. Moreover, once again I have to rave about the lottery of penalty shootouts; we lost fourth or fifth game in penalty shootouts already, so we have to come up with something to eliminate this problem when the playoffs come around.

Andrey Nazarov, Severstal’s head coach:
First off I would like to both thank and congratulate our fans for their vocal support and on the victory respectively. I would have to agree with my counterpart on his point concerning penalty shootouts being the lottery. We got a bit lucky tonight. There is a fly in the ointment though – I am not satisfied with the way we fared during power plays. Of course I am pleased with two points we got tonight, but our power play leaves much to be desired.

Question to Belousov: Considering the fact that it was your 1200^th match in Russian hockey’s top league, were your players extra motivated?
Belousov: I learned about this milestone right before the match; actually it was Andrey Nazarov who told me about it. Life goes on, 1200^th match, 1300^th match, no big deal.

Question to Belousov: Traktor is having some problems with goaltenders; Garnett is injured, Mezin makes too many mistakes in second consecutive match and has to be substituted. When is Garnett going to be back?
Belousov: After the next break in the championship.

Question to Nazarov: Why was Ryazantsev was absent from tonight’s match line-up?
Назаров: He is injured, and it’s hard to say when he is going to be back.

Question to Nazarov: You played with the leaders, now it’s time to play with the underdogs. Are you going to motivate your players more for these matches?
Nazarov: I would not call Avto an underdog. They do not have many points, but they have been playing very well as of late. Right before the press-conference I found out that they were leading 5:2 against Dynamo Minsk. So, to answer your question, no, I am not going to give my players any extra motivation; we will try to do our best and win as usual.

Question to Nazarov: When the puck hit the net and the buzzer went off simultaneously, you were so glad…
Nazarov: Emotions got the better of me, that’s all; anyhow, I can tell you that the puck was scored after the buzzer, that’s for sure.

Question to Nazarov: You had a little milestone of your own tonight.
Nazarov: I will try to be like Valery Konstantinovich in that respect; hopefully I will make it to match number 1200 as well.