Alexey Isakov: "It was a very difficult and unpredictable series."

      April 1, 2026 07:00 SportsNizhny Novgorod's "Torpedo" has reached the second round of the playoffs of the Continental Hockey League for the first time since the 2022/2023 season. The fifth match in Cherepovets ended with a score of 4:3 in favor of the automakers and became decisive in the confrontation.

      The head coach of the Nizhny Novgorod team, Alexey Isakov, summarized the series at the post-match press conference.

      "I want to congratulate all our fans – there were many of them in the stands today. Thank you for your support. Congratulations to our team. For us, this is a very serious, good step forward. A good result. It was a very difficult and quite unpredictable series. From the very beginning, no one could predict which team would advance. If we rewind it back and go through each match, the nerves and tension were present in every meeting, in every game. Once again: we are happy to have advanced. We are already preparing for the next round," noted the coach.

      Isakov named the previous match as the key moment of the series. According to him, it was the ending of that game, when the team managed to come back from a 0:2 score in the last minutes and then win in overtime, that gave the players additional confidence and emotional momentum.

      "We took our chances. 'Severstal' had theirs, we had ours. We executed well today. It’s clear that if you look at the overall picture, probably 'Severstal' played more with the puck, attacked more, but we fulfilled our task and tried to find our moments on the counterattacks. We found them," emphasized the head coach.

      The specialist also positively assessed the break before the second round, as the hockey players had accumulated micro-injuries and fatigue, and the extra time will allow them to recover and prepare well for the next games.

      Ahead of Nizhny Novgorod are two days off. In the second round, "Torpedo" is more likely to face Magnitogorsk's "Metallurg." The series will begin on April 9. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" has a Telegram channel. Subscribe to stay updated on the main events, exclusive materials, and timely information. Copyright © 1999—2025 NIA "Nizhny Novgorod." When reprinting, a hyperlink to NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" is mandatory. This resource may contain materials 18+