Photo: Markéta Křížová, hc-kometa.cz
“It’s a hat trick,” blared over the arena speakers at 37:12. Steve Moses resurrected an otherwise miserable Brno power play and, by equalizing from 0:2 to 2:2, made a turnover that Kometa completed in the third period.
And the turnaround was not the only thing that was accomplished in the south of Moravia. The sonorous summer signing was unstoppable and capped off a great performance in the third period with a hat trick.
You scored your first hat-trick in the extra league, how did it feel?
It was amazing. The fans were great the whole time, even though we were losing at the start of the season. It’s a big win, every point is important for us now. The main thing is that we gradually improve as a team and build a team identity.
Do you remember the last time you scored a hat trick?
Yes, but it’s been a long time. I’ve had good games in between, but I’ve never scored three goals. The last time I had a hat-trick was in my first season in Finland. Sometime around Christmas. My family often joked about it that I would always give two and not finish.
“My family often joked about it that I would always give two and not finish.”
Almost seven thousand people chanted your name. Have you ever experienced something similar?
In my career, I have been fortunate enough to play in front of great audiences. But I rank this experience very high. I respect our fans very much and I want to show them the best that I can do. They supported us even in difficult times and we are now giving it back to them.
Your power shots from the left circle were almost identical. Did you aim or close your eyes?
I haven’t scored like that this season, which was a bit frustrating. I talked about it with the coach and he told me to just focus on hitting the puck and not deal with specific details. And it paid off. I think the first one went straight, the second one was a little trickled. The main thing is to shoot and we have shot a lot now.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play in front of great audiences in my career. But I rank this experience very highly.”
In the past matches, you overplayed the situation a lot. Wasn’t there just straight-line shooting?
When you fail, sometimes you try too hard. Goals are expected from me, so every game I don’t score annoys me. But it’s about how the whole team plays. For example, in power plays, we create chances together, it’s not up to one player. Maybe many times we wanted too much and it turned against us. After a win, everyone relaxes and we can do constructive work in peace.
It was the unproductiveness of Kometa in the power play that was talked about, but they may have decided the match against Liberec…
We worked on it during the week, but I think it has already improved in the last matches, even though we started really badly. It’s on the right track. These things go in cycles, there are times when the power tools don’t work, then it breaks and suddenly it works on its own. The season is still at an early stage, we have to be patient, maybe we broke it right now.
“Perhaps many times we wanted too much and it turned against us. After a win, everyone relaxes and we can do constructive work in peace.”
Are you used to the Czech extra league?
I had a bad start as did the whole team. Every time a player changes leagues or teams, there is a period of time when they feel uncomfortable. Every league is different and it can take some time to adjust. It actually took me a little longer than I expected. It’s a team game, and when we started playing better as a team, I suddenly did a lot more. Apart from the first four matches, we at least troubled every opponent.
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2023-10-20 20:28:00
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