Despite the difference between the two teams, there were some regrets following the big defeat against Grenoble. The Amiens Gothiques lacked efficiency at key moments of the match, which, who knows, could have changed the course of the match…
There was a class of difference on the ice of the Coliseum this Tuesday evening between Amiens and Grenoble (1-6). From the outset, the Wolf Burners respected their rank and imposed their game, which the Gothics had difficulty managing. The Isérois were the fairest, the most dangerous, and ultimately, this large success in their favor was rather logical. “We gave what we could to do better. You have to give them credit, they have a very good team”conceded Mario Richer a few minutes after the match.
Privates of Fouquerel, Cepon and Svanenbergsall three injured, the Samarians did not have their full strength and this was felt on the ice, especially against an armada of the caliber of Grenoble. A formation that Mario Richer compares with Paris Saint-Germain, resident of Ligue 1 in football. “It’s a team that can beat you up (sic) whenever they want”he slipped. Without several of his executives, it was, according to the Quebec technician, difficult to hope for another outcome: “If we want to compete against them and against the big powers of the League, we have to have our whole team and everyone plays their best game. We have several juniors who played tonight and who gave their all. It’s not enough, we need to give more. It’s learning. »
We missed opportunities, sometimes it plays in our heads.
Mario Richer, coach of the Amiens Gothiques
In addition to the lack of depth, often pointed out by Mario Richer and which should partly be filled by the reinforcement of Josh Brittain, made official on Monday, the Amiens coach regretted the lack of efficiency of his players. He referred, among other things, to Jesper Larinmaa’s breakaway just before Grenoble’s first goal in the first third and to the missed opportunities of James Phelan and Zachary Lavigne in the second. For him, this makes them turning points in the match: “We missed opportunities. In the first period, we had our chances and we weren’t able to score. […] We didn’t manage to get the goal to make it 1-1 or 1-0 for us from the start. Sometimes it plays in your head. We missed the little goal we needed to stay in the match. » That of Aleksander Magovac arrived too late, after 45 minutes of play, since the Grenoblois were already leading four goals to zero.
The face to face missed by Jesper Larinmaa
Like his coach, Amiens captain Zachary Lavigne, who once again presented himself at a press conference, also underlined the Picards’ efficiency problem. « I think we lacked opportunism. They had someand we know it, they have a talented team, they have a lot of depth, so they made us pay. We just have to find a way to score on the chances we have. » The Canadian striker, very disappointed after this result, was harsher than Mario Richer regarding the overall performance of the team than his coach: “We know they have a good team. They took the lead at the beginning, then we fell into their game and indiscipline, it was costly.« In a physical meeting, often tense, the Amiens were punished more than their Grenoble counterparts, counting 22 minutes of penalties in total compared to 14. Mario Richer was content with a simple analysis of the evening refereeing, but he didn’t think any less: “The punishments? I can’t say anything against the referees. You can say the refereeing was weird, I can’t say that. I just have to say that they do their job, or at least they try to do it well. »
César Willot
Photo credit: Kevin Devigne – Gazettesports.fr
Thank you for joining us today. Can you please introduce yourself for our readers?
Guest 1: I’m Zachary Lavigne, captain of the Amiens Gothiques hockey team.
Guest 2: Hello everyone, I am Mario Richer, coach of the Amiens Gothiques hockey team.
Q: Coach Richer, can you tell us about the performance of your team in the recent match against Grenoble?
Richter: Well, despite missing some key players due to injury, we gave it our best shot. The team put in a lot of effort and energy, but Grenoble proved to be too strong for us. They controlled the game from start to finish and we couldn’t match their intensity level. It’s a learning experience for us as we continue to grow as a team.
Q: What challenges did you face without your injured players, specifically Privates, Cepon, and Svanenbergs?
Richter: As you said, we were missing some key players, especially our top-line scorers like Privates and Cepon. It means we had to find ways to adapt our style of play without them. We tried to rely more on our defense and forecheck which worked to an extent. However, it also meant that we didn’t have the same level of firepower up front, which made it difficult to score goals against such a strong opponent like Grenoble.
Q: What lessons do you take from this match, and how will you implement them in future games?
Richter: We need to be more efficient in front of the net. We had our chances but couldn’t convert them into goals. Sometimes, it plays in our heads, and we need to work on being more clinical. Additionally, we need to stay out of the penalty box and limit our mistakes. We gave too many penalties in this game, which allowed Grenoble to capitalize and extend their lead. Going forward, we need to focus on limiting these mistakes and playing a disciplined game.
Q: Zachary, how do you assess your team’s performance in this match?
Lavigne: I think we lacked opportunism. Grenoble capitalized on their chances, and we didn’t capitalize on ours. They had some, and we know it, they have a talented
