Press conference with the coaches Ilya Vorobyov and David Nemirovski, and the players Harri Pesonen, Daniil Ilyin and Ziyat Paigin

PRESS CONFERENCE

Ilya Vorobyov, Metallurg head coach:

– Actually, I am satisfied how the guys playing tonight. Everybody has seen that they did their utmost.

– We are glad that the players started to pull round. Has Prokhorkin already got well?

– Yes, tonight he already was with us as well as Arkhip Nekolenko. But we missed Dronov. What should I say about his physical condition? Honestly, I think, during the training he skated one and half times and could take part in the game tonight.

– Though you missed 1 point, there are some good points. Artyom Zagidulin is becoming more confident every day. He played 2 bad periods in the away game, but tonight he was great. Also Yuri Platonov, who hasn't been included in the line up for long time, now plays in the second link and shows hard work.

– Yes, these are positive moments, I agree. But I wouldn't divide the unite team into the first and the fourth link. Since the very beginning of the season, we have been saying that we wouldn't break them down.

– How do you appreciate the performance of players, whom you had noted already in the spring? I am talking about Yurov and Varagyan. Are you satisfied with their work and progress?

– Good guys, their adapted well. I was working with them for one and half month before the vacation. I know not only them but also other guys – Krokhalev, Nikolaev and so on. They are doing well. You know young guys constantly have to keep the level of the game. But now they are keeping well.

– For Harri Pesonen it was harder to start the season than for other foreign players and now we are seeing such great movement forward. How would you explain it?

– It is hard to explain. We know that he is a hardworking team player. Indeed, we were a bit surprised that his start was so slow. Here is he met another league, different rinks. In Switzerland, it was he, who dominated. But now he is doing well, previous games were good.

– In this season Sergey Mozyakin has missed many games but he regularly shows his mastership. Tonight he got the 901st point.

– Yes, we gave this anniversary puck to him and congratulated. No one in the league has such achievement.

– 900 points is a significant achievement, further is 1000 points. Do you think is it real for Sergey to have time to get this record?

– We would be very glad if he does. Sergey is a legend, everyone knows it.

– When do you plan Dennis Rasmussen to join the team?

– After November 1st.

David Nemirovski, Torpedo head coach:

– I think the game was even, both the teams had enough chances. The most important is that we won the overtime and got 2 points. Now we are preparing for the next game.

– Two players from San Jose Sharks organization joined your team. First about the goalie. How long have you been watching Melnichuk?

– Not long, for a week.

– Are you not satisfied with other goalies or you just in need of additional strengthen?

– Both. We had bad games at the beginning of the season. Then we understood that both Tikhomirov and Serebryakov need time to get physical shape. Now we got a chance to strengthen and I think it will help us. Tikhomirov and Serebryakov are not the reasons, we are confident at them and believe that in this season there would be their time.

– Give a few words about Ivan Chekhovich. He has recently joined the team, he plays only the second game and already gets a place in the second link. Are you confident in him so much or you just decide to help him to get good impulse?

– We are just watching with whom he plays better. We decided to add him to this link as during the training we saw that they understand each other. They had chances tonight and scored good second goal. They have mutual understanding. We have tried and we are satisfied.

– The team leader Andy Miele missed almost 3 weeks. How do you appreciate his shape and playing in tonight's game?

– Andy is our first center-forward. When he doesn't play, the team moves in the other way. Surely, we have another players to replace him, while he was injured. But first center-forward is always important and we missed his play. In many cases he acts sound and it is hard to play against him. We are very glad that he returned.

– Tonight the line-up was almost the best, though Aliev missed many games as well as Goncharuk who is out already for 3 week. When will they return? I think Goncharuk will be back soon?

– Yes, he will be soon. Other guys started to do for away games with us. Aliev, I think, return after the break.

***

Harri Pesonen, Metallurg forward:

– We started slow, not a great start for us. But the goalie played well, there was only one puck. The second period for sure we picked it up, we did better, score two goals, get the lead. The opponent had really good chances today. And overall today, I think they deserve this win tonight.

– The start of the season was not very fruitful for you personally. What has been improved and changed up today?

– Yes, you are right. Maybe I needed some time to adapt to this league. I felt like I was slowly finding my rhythm. This is challenging league. There are many great players, great teams. Every game is challenge for me personally. Hopefully I will keep my performance going up this season. And I hope to keep my level at least this point.

– Does the joining of Rasmussen, another foreign player, to the team add challenge and motivation?

– You hope to play every game and now they bringing a new guy in. Create competition among the important players. But we have to live with it and hope that it is better for the team. Obviously, with all these COVID things going on, maybe it is good that we have an extra import. So we don't give any advantage to the opponents that we play only 3 or 4 imports. Hopefully, it will be a good thing for us.

– When you with other Finnish players arrived in Magnitogorsk you lived together. Now two of them are in quarantine. How did have to change your life in this situation?

– I have been living in a hotel lately. The staff isolated me from these sick guys. Hopefully in a couple of days I will go back home and sleep in my own bed. So far it is good. We talk on phone. They are supportive and want to know what's going on inside the team. It is going to be good to see these guys again in few days.

***

Daniil Ilyin, Torpedo forward:

– It is important and big win for us as there are few games before the break. Metallurg strong team with skillful players. For us, it is important to start the away-games series with a victory. And we did it. The game was tough, we were trailing but managed to tie the score and to get 2 points.

– In this season you already played in a few overtimes. Did you use this experience tonight?

– Surely, every overtime, even lost, is very useful experience. We watch many videos and work through our mistakes. It is nice that we could make the right conclusions and win two previous overtimes. But yes, every game is different and every overtime is unique.

– Your team won the start of the game. Did you think that this part of the game would be hard for Metallurg, who has tight schedule?

– We focus on our game. We analyze the strong sides of our opponents to pay extra attention to it. We always have a plan to start a game aggressively, move towards the net and shoot as often as we can. I think that we really won the start of the game.

– Does Torpedo win the leaders and lose to outsiders?

– I would say that now all teams are on the same level. Everyone is in equal terms, experiences lack of players due to well-known reason. We set up for everyone equally. During the game different things happen, from personal mistakes to banal failure. Yes, when you play against the leaders you are more motivated. But I repeat, our set up is similar for every opponent and we respect everyone.

***

Ziyat Paigin, Torpedo defender:

– We skated out, set our mind for the game, fulfilled the plan, and brought the game to the win.

– Tonight both teams were more disciplined than in the first game between each other.

– In fact, it depends on the situation on the ice. We did not pay especially attention to it. Surely, every team wants to get fewer penalties and score more goals.

– How has the interaction between the defenders and the goalie changed since Melnichuk joined the team? Did you have to reorganize?

– All three goalies are great and we play together. It's no matter with whom, we have perfect chemistry with every goalie. We work on it at the trainings.

– Do you work especially at the shorthanded play?

– Surely, we train it. We have special groups to play in shorthanded, we watch videos and analyze the game. We are trying not to break rules to play our hockey and show our game.