RIHA: FOURTH MATCH WAS DECISIVE

HC Spartak head coach Milos Riha commented on the outcome of his club’s rivalry against Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.


"We were not lucky because we set the team for a different game", he said to sport press. "We were not lucky because we created the first scoring opportunity, which we didn’t convert into goal, while Lokomotiv scored in the counterattack".

"After that we conceded the second goal after a rude mistake. We didn’t have enough strength to fight back against this well-organized team".

"In general both teams played wonderfully in the series. Almost all games were held on high level, but we lacked something for victory".

"The fourth match of the series was crucial, because we lost with three minutes before the end. We wouldn’t have let Lokomotiv win, if we had taken 3-1 lead. The outcome of the series was determined on Tuesday".

"Lokomotiv experience helped them, while we couldn’t boast it. Moreover we lacked Slovak guys, who were not in their best form. I cannot say that they are to blame for everything, but I have some claims to them".

"Spartak made progress comparing with the previous season, however we didn’t make the final step to success. We lacked a strong player of Vasicek’s level, who is ready to take responsibility to him on powerplay and on penalty killing".