It’s time for the decisive games in Ukrainian hockey – the drawing of medals and the championship trophy. Our website asked who is Kiev’s top scorer, a 29-year-old striker. Vladimir Cerdak.

– Vladimir, in what mood does Sokol approach the decisive stage of the season – the fight in the playoff finals -? Are you excited?

– Good morning my baby! The training shows that all the guys are concentrated and trying to bring out their best qualities as well as tactical moments. And the excitement or tension in experienced players is not as intense as in younger players, for example. I know from my experience playing in the same finals of the national championship. Regardless, after two or three shifts the situation will return to normal and any athlete’s nervousness will be gone.

– Do you shoot just in case in training?

– We’re working on that. In this score, goalkeeper Bogdan Dyachenko and I make exciting “calls” to each other, accompanied by constant words, and this makes the atmosphere of the training session even more fun and memorable. I have to admit I have two signature moves in my life when shooting, but I don’t use them in training. What’s the point if the same Dyachenko, with whom we played a lot together in different teams, already knows about my “chips”? We have to improvise and put new unresolved tasks in front of the goalkeeper. By the way, it is not a fact that successful penalty shootouts in training will bring results to the player in the official game. I realized this a long time ago. This has happened to me before. If I were a coach, I’d bet on penalty shootouts if experienced players and youngsters just keep the game going and feel confident. Here you need to be a subtle psychologist and take into account the mood of the actor during the meeting.

– Who successfully plays hockey “penalties” in the “Falcon”?

– Seryozha Babinets has always been famous for conducting successful fights, Sasha Gorlushko can surprise. I can call Roma Blagoy a full-time bullet master, but he’s crippled now. However, there is still a chance that Blagoy will be in the final series and help us win the championship trophy. I also almost forgot to mention Vlad Kutsevich, a talented actor.

– By the way, how did Sokol react to Kutsevich’s call to the Ukrainian national team? The experienced striker started the season “yesterday” in the semi-professional HC “Kiev” and here is such a breakthrough!

– Personally, I am very happy for Vlad and other collection partners. As I understand it, Kutsevich has not been called up to the national team for a long time, so at this stage it is a big event for him. I think Kutsevich will be useful to the team – he is a hard worker who does very important work on the ice, and such players are valuable! I hope he manages to make it into the team’s main bid for the 2023 World Cup.

– What do you think about the final series with Kremenchuk?

– Oleksandr Savitsky has a good, fast team, and we lag a little behind in team speed … I see Kremenchuk as a team that is not only strong, but also balanced on all lines, where the connection plays a leading role: Lyalka – Krivoshapkin – Senik . We all know this and prepare accordingly. I repeat that Kremenchug has a strong team that we respect very much, but at the same time we believe in our strength and expect not to bring matters into the fifth meeting, which by regulation must be held at the opponent’s court. .

– But in this final, the factor of natural walls will be of great importance!

– Yes, because the first two games will be played on a small Iceberg field, this greatly affects the power match, especially for the visiting team. It is necessary to quickly move to local icebox standards, adapt to local conditions, and engage the speed of thinking on ice. It will not be easy.

– And who is the couple’s favorite: “Kremenchuk” – “Falcon”?

– Favorite Kremenchuk in terms of statistics and position of the regular season. They won 5 out of 6 matches against us in the first place and this gives them a certain “virtual” advantage. But we think differently about ourselves. Do not forget that there are many experienced and talented players in Sokol who have something to stand against the opponent. Moreover, the playoffs are a completely different hockey from the regular season.

– Volodymyr Cherdak twice became the champion of Ukraine with Donbass. What is the most vivid memory from the victorious seasons?

– The first championship is always unforgettable! For any athlete in any sport! I was also lucky to be champion at the Kiev Sports Palace when Donbass closed the series away from the Generals (4-0). At that time I was on the ice when we finished the last shift … I remember how the epic fight between the “generals” Pavel Taran and Andrey Tatarenko before the champion group. Then we had a very “dirty” men’s drama and showdown, including boxing, became a bold point in this story. As I understand it, the fistfight also needed to be emphasized and Taran’s victory made our holiday twice as fun!

– In your rich biography, there was also an unforgettable season in Kremenchuk in the 2019/2020 season when the team won the championship…

– Due to the coronavirus, the season lasted until autumn, and I no longer finished playing for Kremenchuk by moving to Mariupol in the playoffs. I want to say that the meetings against my former team did not have a fundamental subtext for a long time, I warmly approach the coaching staff headed by Alexander Valeryevich (Savitsky), and I am grateful to the club that left much more in my memory. moments more positive than negative ones. In the end, I never became a champion with Kremenchuk, but now I’m focused on Sokol, where we created a new history.

– How do you personally motivate yourself for the final series?

– Nobody knows: is this your last career finale or not?! That is why I want to take full advantage of the opportunity to play for “gold” in decisive matches and achieve the maximum result.

I want to give the medal shine to my family, and especially to my beloved wife Yana, who always supported me in the stands, rejoiced in victories and empathized with failures! I am proud to have such an amazing wife and I will try to do everything on the ice to make her proud of me too! After the final, I dream of returning home with the “gold” on my neck and the Cup in my hands, and I dream of showing that it was not in vain that you started playing hockey, that your family put so much effort, that the feelings were not in vain. and you have money! This applies not only to my beloved and incomparable mom and dad, for whom I thank them very much, but also to all parents who “raised” their little hockey players in our expensive sport. They are heroes!

– What crazy decision will you make if your team is still ascending to the championship throne?

– I don’t know how crazy it is, but he has the idea to invest in helping our ZSU soldiers, among whom there are many Falcon fans and ardent fans. Thanks to them, today we have the opportunity to play hockey and organize this Ukrainian championship! You can’t even imagine how hard it is to find emotions and get organized when there is war in the country and innocent people are dying every day!.. There has never been such an emotionally exhausting season in Ukrainian hockey, and it will be. stay private forever! I think winning this championship is especially prestigious! And in this context, I have a desire to “sign up” to buy an SUV for our front-line defenders through a good hockey player, but the college decision of the Sokol players on this issue will still be discussed. ideas are always implemented more actively and faster (smiles).

– Vladmir Cherdak is Sokol’s top scorer this season – 41 (16+25) points. How would you rate your results in team success?

– I did not realize myself as much as I could, I could show myself better, but overall I am satisfied with the performance. For this I have to thank my partners in the attacking trio: Sergei Babinets and Vadim Mazur. I think we’ve formed the perfect “chemistry” in the team and in terms of friendly relations (on and off the ice) and mutual understanding of hockey – this is the best combination in my career!

– Even if?

– We understand hockey the same way! This is a strong and important quality! For example, in the Donbass I also had the chance to play with the grandmasters: Varlamov and Kochetkov, but at that time I was young and limited in my role: my partners did a lot to keep me in the right place and I only changed one stick ! But the Falcon is different. Here we participate together in discussing game models, creating games, “creating” on ice, improvising, trying to give each other a suitable pass, and we know how to do it. Yes, sometimes we overexpose the puck, we struggle with it for a long time, but I get hung up on hockey surrounded by my partners and that’s why we’re so successful this season! Thanks to the Sokol coaches who checked our combination!

Vyacheslav VOLKOV