Khabarovsk “Amur” lost to “Admiral” and missed the last chance for the playoffs

Until the very end, the Khabarovsk team still had chances to send the game into overtime, but the opponent’s goalkeeper played too well

Well now exactly everything. There is nothing to reproach the Khabarovsk residents for. They fought, at least as much as they had strength and skill. They fought to the last, but “Admiral” was on the edge today and knocked out the brothers from the Far East from the playoffs. This is already the ninth game of two neighboring clubs, in the previous eight “Amur” scored more victories than Primorye. Maybe that’s why it was important for the “seamen” to beat the “tigers” today.

Already in the tenth minute, Yuri Pautov, Admiral’s defender, did what was least expected of him – he scored his first goal this season. The teams have been playing for more than three minutes without pauses, carrying out one attack after another – it was important for everyone to open the score first. The tactics of the “Admiral” are familiar to everyone who has ever played with him. As soon as Primorye scores, they organize such a viscous defense that it becomes a non-trivial task to throw on goal.

Therefore, Amur tried to prevent them from doing this. But it didn’t. The attacking troika of “Admiral” took possession of the puck in their zone and with good control went into the zone of “Amur”, Rudolf Cherveni’s back pass to the rolling Yuri Pautov, a shot from afar, and Janis Kalnins pulls the puck out of his own goal.

The tenth minute and it seemed that there was plenty of time to recoup. However, the guests failed to do this in 50 minutes. The team created chances, but either the puck went past the goal, or the defenders caught it, and Nikita Serebryakov played very well. As a result, finished this match dry.

The second goal was scored against the Khabarovsk team already in the last minutes of the game, when the Amur coaching staff, in a gesture of desperation, decided to remove the goalkeeper and replace him with a sixth outfield player. This time, at the 60th minute, Artem Gareev scored, coming out to an empty net. But the outcome of the meeting was decided by Putov’s goal. The result – 0:2 in favor of “Admiral” and “Amur” loses his last hope to play in the playoffs.

– A tense match, as, probably, all matches of the Far East derby. It was very important to score first – we scored first. And in principle they played by the score. Yes, there were some mistakes and shortcomings on our part, but the guys compensated for all this with crazy dedication, crazy self-sacrifice, blocked shots. We see things that need to be corrected, there is still time. I am glad that the injured players are returning, we are giving them a chance to play so that they can get back into their playing condition. Today the guys are great, I am very pleased with them. I want to say special thanks to the Admiral fans, the house is full, it’s nice to play in such an atmosphere. All the best, let’s get ready. So strong, even opponents with a strong line-up, that’s why it doesn’t matter to me who to play with. We will prepare for each opponent, analyze, and then time will tell. It’s good that we are already in the playoffs. It’s great that the season is over and we continue to play. I understand that appetite comes with eating, but let’s restrain our appetite. There will be an opponent – we will analyze, we will think. It’s not enough for me, I told them. Before the start of the season, I said that Admiral would play in the playoffs, few believed, everyone laughed. But we’re here to play in the playoffs. The most important thing for me now is that all the guys return to the ranks, that there is a depth of the squad, the rotation is correct. Well, got it, so what? Shall we sit in a circle and rejoice all together? I have reviewed a lot myself. We will fight, we will fight, we will play. In my opinion, “Admiral” has never passed the first round, which means that I have a high sports motivation and the guys too. To say that my task is to win the Gagarin Cup – they will think that I am an idiot. It is necessary to at least go through the first round, to make some kind of achievement, – noted Leonid Tambiev, head coach of HC Admiral.

The Amur mentor was, of course, not very pleased with the result. But he did not want to reproach his team for the defeat.

– I will say that before this game there was still some chance. And to be honest, there is nothing to reproach the team with, they tried to the best of their ability. We lost this chance today thanks to the well-deserved victory of the opponent, a well-deserved entry into the playoffs. Chances are lost, but honor in front of their fans is not lost. It’s hard to say anything unequivocally, zero goals from our side, it’s hard to win such matches, although there were good moments, but the opponent’s goalkeeper played great, kept the team. I would not say that the team burned out, I liked the game today: both movement and dedication, played hockey, created chances, but, unfortunately, our problem, which throughout the season is the majority, and the implementation of chances, which today didn’t work, said Vadim Yepanchintsev, head coach of HC Amur.

At “Amur” only one match left this season, the same “Admiral” will become the rival of the Khabarovsk team. The meeting with the Primorye team will take place under the arches of the Platinum Arena this Saturday, February 25th. There is a chance to become winners at least in the Far East derby, considering how the same “Admiral” rolled out “Amur” last season.

Read also: Khabarovsk “Amur” lost the second match “Ak Bars”. The “Tigers” tried hard, but were powerless in front of the team from Kazan that caught the courage.

With whom and when will Amur Khabarovsk play in February 2023. The Amur calendar for February 2023 includes 12 matches, eight of them at home.