We are out of playoff zone, but have to get there - N. Dawes

ASTANA. KAZINFORM - The best scorer of Barys HC this season, Nigel Dawes, had a hat-trick in a home game against Admiral and later in an interview to a Vesti.kz correspondent noted that his team needed to play tougher to get back to the playoff zone.

- Nigel, are you satisfied with how the game unfolded and the result against Admiral?

- I think the most important part is that we won the game, because we are out of the playoff zone now and we have to get back there. We had very important three points that already allowed us to get our confidence back and the team up in the standings.

- Barys have ups and downs, ups and downs. What is the reason of this instability, in your opinion?

- Yes, some games we play well, some break apart. We need to play harder and tougher. We began the season bad, we are supposed to be higher in the Eastern Conference. In the game against Admiral we controlled the pace, played well enough and created a lot of opportunities. We have to continue to work for all 60 minutes and not just for one half of the game.

- Your next opponent Amur has some problems this season as well, and the team positioned right behind Barys in the standings. Does it change the approach to the game?

- That's right, they are at the bottom of the standings like us. Therefore, this is going to be a very important game, and this is the last game of the home stand. We need a victory in the game against Amur if we want to go up in the standings. Most important, we have to be focused and not to lose control in the third period.

As earlier reported, Barys defeated Admiral with the final score - 5:3. The next game is against Amur in Astana on October 14. The last victory was the 7 th one in 21 games for the team from Astana. The team has 25 points and occupies the 11 th place in the Easter Conference.

Nigel Dawes scored 10 goals and seven assists this season.