Former coach of Ak Bars and Lokomotiv, Igor Gorbenko, shared his thoughts on the opening match of the Gagarin Cup finals between the Kazan and Yaroslavl teams. The game ended with a 3:1 victory in favor of Lokomotiv.
“I think it was a good, interesting, and high-quality hockey game. In the first period, you could see that Kazan aimed for an active start, and they succeeded. They needed to capitalize on their power play chances; then that activity would have turned into a lead on the scoreboard. But Yaroslavl endured and composed themselves.
In principle, in the second period we saw the familiar Lokomotiv: aggressive, physical, always with a forward near the opponent’s net to screen the goalie. I also want to highlight their very strict defensive play, almost without mistakes.
Of course, in such games, consecutive goals are crucial. Those two quick goals conceded were devastating for Ak Bars! But this is only the first game of the final series, and surely in a couple of days we will see a different Ak Bars.
They will understand that to break through Lokomotiv’s defense, they need to put in more effort, character, and desire to score! The Kazan team has done this in previous series,” said Gorbenko.
