“It was not the best movement on our part”: Vadim Yepanchintsev appreciated the loss of the Khabarovsk “Amur” in Omsk

The match ended with the score 3:1 in favor of Avangard

In this outing, the opponents of the Khabarovsk team are like a match – regulars at the top of the table. After a pause, it is the most to cheer up. It became a cold shower defeat in Magnitogorsk, when the team seemed to be playing well, but still could not keep the score in the third period. At the same time, “Amur” arrived in Omsk after resounding victory over Salavat Yulaev.

The score of 5:1 suggests that the Khabarovsk team is gradually gaining experience and now they can fight on equal terms even with the top squads, but there is not enough stability. It was interesting how the “tigers” would show themselves in the game with the “hawks”. By the way, Evgeny Alikin stood at the gate this time. As for Avangard, Mikhail Kravets, who is well remembered in Khabarovsk, managed to reconfigure the team and, after a pause, the Omsk team won two victories in a row. Serious adversary.

In the first period, Amur had nothing to boast of. The initiative belonged to the hosts, the guests lacked movement and speed, apparently affected by the tension of the previous match. Khabarovsk snarled, but, unfortunately, failed to score. But the hosts presented the Khabarovsk team with a very unpleasant surprise – a goal in the locker room. Ten seconds before the end of the period, Alexander Dergachev corrected the puck after Semyon Chistyakov’s strongest shot into the open corner of the goal.

The Tigers bounced back already in the third minute of the second game segment. Sergei Dubakin, rolling on a nickel, received the puck from Yaroslav Likhachev and immediately confidently sent it to the goal. It is worth saying that in the second period, the Khabarovsk team finally woke up and added to the movement, but Avangard had some kind of confusion in the game, which the Amur players took advantage of.

Unfortunately, Khabarovsk citizens received the answer in the same period. The Hawks were able to pull themselves together and began to put pressure on the guests, seizing the initiative on the ice and transferring the game to the opponent’s zone. On 34 minutes, Alex Broadhurst puts his team ahead again, but Amur has a chance to bounce back. But everything was broken by Yakov Rylov, who got 4 minutes on the penalty box, his opponent Korben Knight spent only two in the penalty box and this was a turning point in the game. Avangard played the majority and scored the third goal against Amur. Outcome 3:1 in favor of Omsk.

– If we evaluate our game, it was not the best movement on our part, the first period was very timid and with great respect for the opponent. We’ll figure it out, but nevertheless, in the second and third periods, we increased our momentum and started to create some chances. It seems that we equalized the score, but the opponent did not allow us much, especially in the attacking zone, we did not succeed in many things. Effort, desire, it is clear that the third match was away, we were not at home for a long time. It was no longer the same team as in the previous game. I think that a well-deserved victory for the opponent. As for this trip, those two games – in Magnitogorsk and in Ufa – I think that it was in terms of content and movement that the game was much better than today. We understood that the rivals were top-notch, they looked good. In Magnitogorsk, we were a little unlucky, we didn’t endure. We go step by step, now we are preparing for home games. As for Yakov Rylov, we knew the capabilities of this player. We knew what would add solidity to us when playing in unequal lineups, in the majority, in particular. But to be honest, in three games we have one or one and a half removals. We didn’t even have time to look at the case, although we understand its possibilities. An experienced player will add solidity to the majority, with a lot of experience. It will help our team in the future, let’s hope for it. As for the four-minute removal – it has become the key, now you can already say that. We tried, played to the end, we knew that the opponent had a very strong majority. Not bad worked out the second removal, here, I think that the mistake that was made – left almost four against one goalkeeper. Wrong played in that situation, conceded a goal. I’ll say it again: I’m not going to blame anyone, this is a game, hockey, a game of mistakes. Unfortunately, they did not fix it, so they lost the game, – noted Vadim Yepanchintsev, head coach of HC Amur.

Mikhail Kravets can be satisfied with his team – 6 points after the break, an excellent result.

– Of course, we are very glad that we won, having come home after hard games on the road, with our fans. I congratulate everyone on the victory. The guys played very well today. Amur is a good team, a lot of players have changed. I think that a very good defense, which was very difficult to pass, and a very decent goalkeeper who kept the team in the game. Naturally, in such games one should not make small mistakes so as not to give air, life to such a team. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened. Although the first period was completely ours, one mistake in the second period led to the fact that the score became 1:1. In general, we outplayed Amur, created chances. Somewhere the implementation failed, but they scored good working goals from shots, from rebounds. This is also important. It’s the middle of the season now, all the teams are at this level, they’re holding back, they’re all playing well in defense, and such working goals with meat are very important. The guys showed character, scored these goals, and I’m glad that we won. Let’s take a break and prepare for our game with Barys, – stressed Mikhail Kravets, head coach of HC Avangard.

“Cupid” returns home, where he will face another test – three matches of the Far East derby. The first game with “Admiral” will take place on Tuesday, December 27 in Khabarovsk, the other two will be held in Vladivostok. “Sailors” will try to change the score in the confrontation with the “tigers” in their favor (after the first three matches “Amur” leads – 2:1), especially since they now need points just like “Amur”.

Read also: Khabarovsk “Amur” in Ufa defeated “Salavat Yulaev”

With whom and when will Amur Khabarovsk play in December 2022