The ice-hockey team "Derzhava" successfully completed the 1/8 playoff matches of the Student Hockey League championship. The team of coach Dmitry Zobkov began the series of games in Kazan. The away matches ended with an equal score in the series. The decisive playoff games were held at the Derzhavinsky Skating Rink, where the team won two victories and advanced to the next stage of the tournament - the "Final Eight".
This season, 10 teams from various Russian cities took part in the Western Conference of the SHL Championship: Tambov, Ulyanovsk, Kazan, Moscow, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Orel and Smolensk. Teams from Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Yekaterinburg, Novokuznetsk, Tyumen, Krasnoyarsk and Korkino competed in the East zone. Based on the results of the qualifying stages, four teams from each zone advance to the Final Eight.
– Winning a ticket to the final against a strong opponent who was higher than us in the standings was an important event for the team. However, the main goal is a successful performance in the final part of the championship, – explains the team coach Dmitry Zobkov. – We had a difficult season. However, we intend to prove that our presence in the final is not a coincidence. Competition in the League is growing from season to season and the rivalry in the final game is expected to be at the highest level.
The Final Eight of the 2024/2025 SHL Championship will be held from April 14 to 20 in Sirius.
