"It's hard when the situation in the city is difficult, but we try to be positive"

The KHL had difficulties with the calendar due to the need to postpone HC Sochi's home matches. The reason was the announcement of an unmanned danger, which caused the games to be interrupted. On February 23, with the score 0-0, the match with CSKA was interrupted. We managed to play one period, and the other two ended up playing on March 11 in Moscow, at the Army's home arena, the day after CSKA and Sochi played the match originally scheduled in the calendar. The Army team won both meetings with a score of 2:1.

Following these games, Sochi was scheduled to face Ak Bars Kazan on March 12, but it was postponed to March 13 (Sochi lost 0:2). On March 1, the southern club's home match with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod was interrupted, but in the end they were able to finish it on the same day — Sochi won 5:1. It was followed on March 4 by a match with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (2:3), which was moved from Sochi to Yaroslavl, but then the southern team urgently had to return to host Avangard Omsk on March 6 (3:1). In an interview with Izvestia, Sochi striker Timur Hafizov told how the team was affected by the postponements, and commented on the disastrous results of the club, which took last place in the regular season and again lost its chances of reaching the playoffs long before the end.

— How did you survive these postponements of matches in terms of dates and venues?

— I've been through it calmly. They followed the league's instructions. We were told "It is necessary!" — we said "There is!" And we went to the matches on the appropriate dates.

— You did not play in the postponed match against CSKA Moscow on March 11. How does it look from the outside when the game is so time-bound?

— Yes, everyone was in the same position. Both us and CSKA. There was nothing so unusual. Moreover, the KHL is constantly played every other day. And here we played two days in a row, which also happened more than once in the league.

— Would you have a different attitude to this if something had been decided for Sochi in these games in terms of sports, if there were still chances to get into the playoffs?

— I don't think about it. In any case, there are not many matches left until the end of the regular season. Everyone is trying to show themselves well on the ice, to demonstrate their best qualities. Everyone is trying. Regardless of our position.

— Anyway, because of these postponements, it was more difficult for you - you played against CSKA for two days in a row, and you flew from Sochi to Yaroslavl and back for two days between two home meetings. Didn't it physically affect you at all?

— Well, we can only influence something on the ice. And everything that is off the ice is not in our competence. Therefore, we simply comply with the requirements of the league and the city of Sochi. It's hard to say anything else here. We are hockey players, we have to go out on the ice and play.

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— How hard was it to be in Sochi these days, when matches had to be interrupted and postponed due to drones?

— It's hard when the situation in the city is difficult. But we try to stay positive at such moments. Thank you to our families for supporting us and keeping themselves in check. Our wives and children are in Sochi. It's not easy for them, but I'm grateful to them for coping with the situation.

— Sochi is in last place and has long lost any chance of making the playoffs. What will be the motivation for the remaining three matches of the regular season?

— The same as in all recent matches. There is a moment when everyone wants to show their best, to earn a contract extension or to show themselves to another club.

— At the same time, you have a contract for the next season. Do you believe that Sochi will have the opportunity to improve its results and seriously compete for the playoffs for the first time in many years?

— In any case, we are looking to the future with a positive attitude. We must always stay positive and think about the best. So next season we will do everything to be much closer to our goal of reaching the playoffs.