HC MVD Balashikha forward Nikolai Chebykin was named the first star of the third MHL regular season day. The 19-year-old forward scored two goals to help his team prevail over Almaz Cherepovets. The win special for HC MVD as it was their first of the season. ‘The Policemen’ lsot to Cherepovets in the first game of the mini-series.

“We played well in the first game as well and should have won but we got unlucky too many times,” said Chebykin. “Sometimes we were just out of luck and we didn’t capitalize on a lot of scoring chances. Our opponent played a much more cautious game.”

- How were you getting ready for the second game? How did you adjust?
- Our coaching staff asked us to cherish scoring chances, try to capitalize on them and play smart defensively. In the end, we were able to do that. Besides our goaltender had a great game and sometimes the luck was just on our side. These factors put together got us the win and we are happy with the way we played today.

- HC MVD will now travel to Yaroslavl to face reigning champions Loko. How are you getting prepared for these games?
- We are pumped. It’s always tough to play against Yaroslavl, regardless of the level – MHL, junior B or kid teams. Besides they are the reigning Kharlamov Cup champions. We’ll try to get good results in those games but we understand that it’s not going to be easy.

- This is your third year in the league. What has changed over the time? What goals does your team set for the season?
- There’s only one goal for everyone – first place. Every team should set the highest goals for themselves. We’re going to work on doing better than we did last year. As for the changes, when I first came to MHL I mostly played against older guys. Now it’s gotten a little easier because the league has become younger.