Ant for the season with “Dinamo”: Guys came to play hockey “from the couch”

Peter the Anteater Photo: Raimonds Volonts / Riga “Dinamo”

In the conversation with the KHL press service, Pēteris Skudra, the head coach of the Continental Hockey League (KHL) club Riga “Dinamo” last season, told about the past season, as well as assessed the changes in the hockey style.

“It’s always hard to lose, but it’s a professional sport. If we take the whole long regular season, then there is always a roller coaster. I like to analyze losses rather than wins. It was a difficult season, but I can say that we did our best in those circumstances. Especially in Riga, when we were sick or in quarantine, because the guys came to play hockey “from the couch”. I was very grateful to the hockey players for their dedication, because it is very difficult to play hockey without a training process. In such circumstances, it is possible to clearly understand what works and what does not, ”admitted Skudra.

Before the arrival of the ant, Dinamo’s budget was reduced. “It simply came to our notice then. When taking on a job, you can understand what you will have to work with, what hockey players will be in the team, how much it will consist of young and experienced hockey players. It didn’t scare me. Last season, Dinamo was worried that there was no pre-season, because the team received financial guarantees late, so the line-up started late. The foreigners arrived, had to be quarantined and literally went on the ice for the first time five minutes before the game. We had to change our approach, but the small budget was not scary, because there was a good youth who could play and progress during the championship. There were also other problems such as quarantine and technical losses. It’s good that we ended the season in such conditions and we didn’t stop there, “said the former head coach of” Dinamo “.

“Hockey is getting faster. The pitches have become smaller and this provokes the acceleration of the game. You need to make decisions faster, move faster and play faster with the puck. Hockey is becoming non-standard, and the line between attackers and defenders has narrowed slightly. We see that creative teams are returning to the “carousels” of Soviet times. Five years ago, hockey was more primitive, but now the pattern on the ice is changing, ”said Skudra.

Led by ants 2020/2021. In the 2007 season, Dinamo ranked last in 11th place in the Western Conference with 27 points in 60 matches, as well as in the last position in the entire league. During the season, the team managed to win only nine victories – five in regular time, two in extra time and two more in the post-match series.