Now the head coach of Lokomotiv, Igor Nikitina, is unlikely to call his wards “pimply boys” who should turn into men. Today Yaroslavl dominated from the first to the last second. The double was designed by techie Denis Alekseev. The second puck is Kharlamov’s. On the way to the goal, he subtly beat the captain of the hosts, Andrei Mironov, and then outwitted the goalkeeper, discouraged by such a turn, Ilya Konovalov. And the first right-handed striker scored in an uncharacteristic manner: from the spot, ahead of Dynamo Jordan Weale and successfully substituting the stick after Georgy Ivanov’s cross.
Railway workers were not forced to turn off the right path by a goal conceded in the minority, when Alexander Polunin sat down in the penalty box for simulation. By the way, 19-year-old striker Andrey Nikonov scored against the Dynamo team, opening a personal account of abandoned goals in the KHL.
Today’s match was presented as a goalkeeper’s duel of the former – Ilya Konovalov and Ivan Bocharov. However, the hosts almost did not create sharpness in the possessions of the guests. In addition to the goal-ricochet behind the authorship of Nikonov, only an inaccurate throw from ten meters from the same former Pavel Kudryavtsev was remembered.
And Bocharov earned a numerical advantage for his team in the third period when Vladislav Efremov from Dynamo deprived him of his “guitar”.
After the final siren, Dynamo commander-in-chief Alexei Kudashov, who led Lokomotiv and led him to the conference finals, admitted that the opponent was simply faster, hence his team’s indistinct play in attack and defense.
It is surprising how some experts predict the imminent resignation of Nikitin. Lokomotiv is gaining momentum and learning to defeat big opponents. The railway workers were no worse than the army team – both Moscow and St. Petersburg, but lost to them in both home matches.
And Vityaz, Vyacheslav Butsaev, knows how to line up a bus and squeeze the maximum out of the minimum of created scoring chances.
Now about “Vanguard”. Konstantin Kurashov was removed from the Omsk coaching staff. I am writing this surname through “o”, and not “e”, as they did in the USSR championships, when he played (in defense) for the “Wings of the Soviets”. The team responded positively about him. In his place was invited Mikhail Kravets with a positive experience in the KHL. In the playoffs of 2020, the Vityaz headed by him was known as a thunderstorm of authorities, in the playoffs he gave a fight (albeit in one of four matches) to his older brother SKA.
Rumors immediately spread in Omsk: they were preparing a replacement for Dmitry Ryabykin, who found himself in a delicate situation. However, for now, he remains the head coach of the Hawks. Although the general manager of the club, Alexei Volkov, did not advocate for his appointment. It is very difficult to find a replacement for Bob Hartley, who left Avangard after three seasons. However, this is a separate topic, which we will discuss later.
Reliable sources reported that Kravets was invited to scare Ryabykin. With a strengthened headquarters, the “hawks” defeated “Barys” and “Tractor”. True, before returning to Omsk they will have four more away matches – in Sochi, Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhnekamsk and Moscow (against Dynamo). It is easy to lose what you have gained through pain and hard labor.
It would be nice to finish the hellish starting series on the road in the top eight of the strongest Eastern Conference.
Source: Sovsport
