Yunost head to Gothenburg with very slim lead

Yunost Minsk turned in one of the more impressive performances of the first games of the Round of 32, beating reigning SHL and CHL champions Frolunda Gothenburg 3-2.

“Yunost played very well and they deserved to win,” said Frolunda head coach Roger Ronnberg. “They were better than us. I am glad that we only lost by one goal. (In the return game) we will play more aggressive. Today we had a young team as we were without seven players from our regular roster, but that's no excuse.”

“Frolunda were a very tough opponent, and we prepared for the game. We had two good periods have but in the third period they were better. I am glad to beat such a strong team. We played decently,” said Minsk head coach Mikhail Zakharov. 

Yunost had a 3-1 lead late, but Casey Wellman scored for Frolunda with less than five minutes to play, making the difference only one. As we've seen in the past, Frolunda are very dangerous when playing from behind.

“Yes, they played well, but we scored twice and have a chance to win at home,” said a confident Wellman. On Yunost, he added, “They're a very good team, they have a good system. Everyone is strong in playoffs. I don’t think that’s a surprise.”

On the late Frolunda goal, Zakharov said, “The 3-2 score leaves no margin for error. The fact that they scored the second goal – it's a different game. It is much more difficult now.”

“We expected that they would play up-tempo hockey and skate fast. It was a little hard to play in the second and third periods at such a high speed, but we won the game,” said Yunost defenceman Pavel Chernook. “In Sweden, it will be a very tough game. I think that Frolunda will prepare more seriously. Maybe they underestimated us a bit today.” 

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