"Olimpia" finished the year outside the playoff zone.

      The Supreme Hockey League has finished the calendar year. Kirovo-Chepetsk’s Olimpiya is in 23rd place. The team was roughly in the same position when the coaching staff was changed. It was surely expected that under the new leadership it would regain its spirit and move closer to the playoff zone. That did not happen.

      As of today they are five points short of the playoffs. That means that in the remaining games their rivals would have to suddenly start losing en masse while Olimpiya wins every match.

      It’s foolish to count on such a fairy‑tale outcome. Although, after Mikhail Zvyagin was appointed head coach (the local specialist Yuri Kultynov somehow fell out of favor with the management) the team carried out significant roster changes. To no avail. Yes, there were successful matches, but at the same time defeats in games where they shouldn’t have dropped points.

      An example is the recent home game against Zauralie from Kurgan — a neighbor in the standings that they simply had to beat. Result — 0:3.

      And on December 26, in the final match of the outgoing year, the Kirovo‑Chepetsk players hosted Omskie Krylya. The match ended with the visitors winning 2:1.

      Olimpiya’s head coach explained the latest defeat: “We score goals against ourselves, we put the puck in with our hands. You can say whatever you want, but the result is on the scoreboard, and that’s certainly unpleasant. But it is what it is…”

      Olimpiya is now going on a New Year break. Training will resume on January 5.