When Barry Brust pulled off a shocker and left Medveščak to continue his KHL career in literally the middle of Russia, many have thought that Medveščak has close to no chances of reaching the postseason. Then, however, Aaron Fox went on a scavenger hunt in a park and found the Russian – Ugandan goalie phenomenon Mark Owuya. Owuya has started in three games, got scored on only four times in these three games, and eventually went on to win these three games.

“He’s great. I’ve never played against him, he’s all new to me. He’s making key saves at the right time and you can see that he’s already playing with a lot of confidence. He’s won our last three games, he’s got a lot left in the tank for us and we’re glad to have him“ said Marty St. Pierre about his new teammate

“It’s a beautiful city. I feel really comfortable here. The organisation’s been great so far in this short time. I’m really happy to have this opportunity“ said Owuya

“Three games don’t make a season, but we’ve won three in a row with him now. But let’s face it, he looks pretty good out there. As long as he doesn’t handle the puck too much, because I don’t really like what I see when he tries to handle the puck. But he’s big, he’s comfortable, he’s making that first save, that’s all we want from a goalie“ added head coach Doug Shedden

On Friday night against Atlant, Medveščak started a six game home stand, and to say the least, they’ve started it off on the right foot. A 4:1 win gives a hockey club a big confidence boost going into games against teams they’re battling for a playoff spot.

“I’ve been trying to get to our team that this home stretch is so important for us. We’re playing all the teams that we need to catch. This game tonight was a big game for us, in that right direction. Mark’s making the first save, he’s giving us a chance to win now. We had the two early powerplays against us, we did a great job killing those penalties. Our powerplay gets a big goal for us. St. Pierre’s line came up with big three goals for us. As a coach, you look at the game and there’s a lot of good things for our club to keep building on this home stand. All the teams coming in are all teams right within striking distance“ said Shedden

“In the beginning of the game it was very tight. We had a few good chances to score a goal but we didn’t score. After the first goal, and especially after the second goal, the team lost the game. We started to lose all battles. It’s the reason we lost the game today – because we lost all battles during the second and third period. We lost the plays from our net and we didn’t go to Medveščak’s net. I think that’s the reason why we lost“ said Atlant’s head coach, Alexei Kudashov

It was the French Connection of Marty St. Pierre and Pascal Pelletier that lead the charge Friday night. St. Pierre had two goals, both of which were assisted by only Pelletier, and an assist on, you guessed it, Pelletier’s only goal of the night.

“It is what it is and we got to find some chemistry between the lines. Katic’s playing really well with me and Pellts (Pelletier) and it’s kind of odd that that’s happening. It’s good chemistry and it’s working so we just got to stick with it and focus for Sunday“ said St. Pierre

Before the last four, five games, Pelletier and St. Pierre were going through somewhat of a rough patch. Now, Pelletier and St. Pierre are playing in the fourth line, with Mark Katic as their winger. And it is working out well.

“I don’t think it’s a wake up call. I was getting my chances but I wasn’t really scoring. It feels good to get the monkey off the back. I definitely missed my first chance, my first breakaway of the game, but I got it back. You just have to stay positive“

“It’s just a matter of watching a lot of video and learning from your mistakes. I’m the type of player that will make mistakes offensively, because that’s the type of player I am. Trying to make some plays and it’s not always going to go my way. As far as the coaching staff, they’ve definitely been helping me with my defensive game and we’re getting some pluses and scoring five on five so that’s what we want to do“ said St. Pierre

“It’s not a matter of who you play with, you just got to bring your best, hope to get the win, and that’s what we did tonight“

“Nothing different. I’ve been working hard the past five, six games, but I couldn’t find the back of the net. Now, things are starting to turn around and it went in“ added Pelletier

“It’s not a fourth line. We try to get some matchups some nights. If we can get them on the ice against the right people, we have guys that can shut down star players, and you need to shut down star players, and if they get the advantage against other teams’ third or fourth lines, that should be good for them“ said Shedden

Katic has adapted well to being a forward, bring his share of dynamics to an already fast-skating line of St. Pierre and Pelletier.

“Yeah, he’s a good player all around. Obviously, he’s a defenseman, it’s definitely odd to put him on the wing but he’s done a great job in the last three games. Our line is definitely staying more positive and confident and we’re scoring. Hopefully we don’t change a thing. He’s fast and he understands the game. It’s tough, especially for defensive defensemen to be on the wing, but he’s doing a great job and he’s a good asset for our line“ said St. Pierre

“He’s been playing forward for the past four, five games, and that line is getting better and better. Marty got better defensively, Pelletier seems to have found a spot there on the wing, he’s making some plays“ added Shedden

However, when Shedden was asked if he could permanently see Katic as a forward and Thomas as a defenseman, his answer was rather brief.

“No (laughs), Thomas just plays defence on the powerplay“

If you were to look back at the Bratislava game, you’d notice that the first goal there and the first goal against Atlant are incredibly similar. St. Pierre was on the wing, he passed into the slot where he found Pelletier whose shot was initially saved by Backlund, but he got the rebound in. Against Atlant, Pelletier and St. Pierre switched roles.

“We know each other, I know where Marty’s going to be, he knows where I’m going to be, so we kind of have preset plays. It was a good play by Marty to be in the right spot at the right time“ said Pelletier

“That’s what we did during practice, but you know, we did in Bratislava but we made a lot of mistakes, too. We’re minimising our mistakes and sticking to our game plan and it’s paying off right now“ added St. Pierre

While St. Pierre and Pelletier lead the charge in front, the cavalry in the back stood strong, too.

“That’s one thing I’ve been pretty impressed with lately. Guys like Flood, Martinovic and Morrisonn, these top 4 guys are playing really well. All I’m asking is for the goalie to make that first save. When Brust was playing, we were playing well, when Dekanich was is, he just wasn’t making those saves for us. When you take away the four games that Dekanich lost in the last 14 games since I’ve been here, our record’s pretty damn good. I keep telling Mark every day, it’s an opportunity, an opportunity is what you make of it, don’t f*ck it up“

“We’ve won three in a row now and we’re not giving up much. Mark’s giving us a chance to win. We got to keep building on it and you got to get on a roll, back in the playoff picture. We’ve played more games than these other teams, every win is big“ said Shedden

“I’m just doing my best. Obviously, I want to show that I can play in this league, I want to show that I can play on this team. You got to work every day. You got to be good every game. The season is 60 games long here, it’s a lot more games you have to take every day, one step at a time“

“The team is playing well. Most of all, it’s a great group of guys, that’s the most important thing for a team. It’s a great group of guys, we’re really helping each other out, we’re really working hard in practice to get better. In the long run, that’s the biggest thing. They’re really good and skilled hockey players, too. If we keep working hard, we’ll try to make something out of this“ said Owuya

One would imagine that, with all his hobbies, Owuya has a special pregame ritual. Turns out, he doesn’t. Yet he always saves the day.

“The mindset is to save every puck. It’s really no specific ritual like that, it’s to focus, eat well, get a good rest“ said the new goalie

“Goalies give you a lot of confidence, you’re not afraid of making that big mistake when goalies are making that save. Our defence blocks our very well, so if our goalie can make the first save, we seem to clear a lot of rebounds. Again, just making that first save is huge“ added Shedden

The overall team effort has, too, been on a rise during the past few games.

“It’s more consistent, we’ve definitely been playing the full 60 minutes. Even if our line had three goals, other lines did a good job on shutting down their top line. With special teams and our goalie it was definitely a big team effort, and that’s what we need for Sunday night as well“ said St. Pierre

“Even in the last games against Vladivostok and Amur, I thought we worked hard, we just didn’t win, we couldn’t score. We were working, but tonight we were happy to get the points, get the points in Slovan, and now we got to look forward to Sunday. Sunday is a big game, Sunday is a huge game“ said Pelletier

Turns out, simple, ugly hockey is the key to winning in this league.

“It’s a pucks in, pucks out kind of thing. Our special teams are doing their job, we’re simplifying our game and it’s definitely helping“ said St. Pierre

“That’s what we are. We’re not the 80s Edmonton Oilers, we’re not flash and dash. We’re a big team, we got big bodies, we got to get pucks behind their defence and forecheck well. We need guys like Pelletier and Anderson’s line to score. We got these two other lines that are big, strong men, that are going to pound the pavement all night. You do need a couple lines that can score“ said Shedden

After 60 minutes of play, Medveščak was outshot 30-21, but won key face-offs that helped them win despite being outshot.

“Anderson was the difference, he had a big night. He was 14-2, but Wright struggled, Murray still struggled a little bit with his shoulder. St. Pierre was good, too. Obviously, you’d rather have the puck than chase the puck“

“We talked between periods about getting more pucks to the net, and Aaron made a good play. I don’t know if the goalie was cheating a little bit there or not, but Aaron made a good play that just surprised him. It’s a good play by Aaron to get that puck to the net“ said Shedden

Medveščak has five games left in this six game home stand, and out of these six games, they’ll be playing against four teams that are directly ahead and of them in the standings.

“We’re battling for eight place right now, for the top eight. We definitely feel like we have more in the tank. We’ve had some tough road trips, but now we have five games left at home here before we hit the road again. Every game is going to be important“ said St. Pierre

“We’re not looking at getting five, six, seven, eight wins, we’re just looking at what’s up next. We’re not looking behind, whether we’re 2-0 or 0-2, we just got to look forward and the next game is the biggest game of the year and so on. Got to think about one game at a time“

“Sometimes you look at the standings and there’s teams that you’re thinking “Wow, that team shouldn’t be there“. Sometimes you don’t get the bounces, but we’re a hard working team. Atlant is a hard working team. It’s a tough league to play, you have to work hard, try to get the breaks and wins, climb up in the standings“ said Pelletier

Injuries are constant woes for Medveščak, but with the return of Murray and Glumac to the lineup, things started to improve. However, since October 24th, Medveščak is missing Ville Leino in the lineup.

“Depending how he practices tomorrow, and if he practices well, there’s a chance he’ll play Sunday“ said Shedden

Edwin Hedberg was one of Medveščak’s acquisitions to help take some pressure off the lineup when there are many injuries. When most of the lineup is healthy, though, Hedberg gets almost no ice time. Against Atlant, Hedberg played only 11 seconds in the first period.

“If he played 11 seconds that’s 11 more than I thought he played. Hedberg is a young guy, he is a project. We got so many tight games right now, he’s not going to get a lot of ice time unless we have injuries or somebody’s not playing well“ concluded Shedden

With the long road trips out East now behind Medveščak, the focus is on divisional opponents, and the fight for the postseason.

“I got to admit that it’s nice to be home, or at least in the Moscow time zone, that’s for sure“

“You always have something to prove to yourself and to the people, to management, to whoever is watching. There’s a lot of hockey left“ concluded Pelletier

Owuya has the potential to be the go-to guy for Medveščak, and he’s done nothing but prove that with his current record. He didn’t get too much of an opportunity in the AHL, the league closest to the KHL, at least quality wise. Now, he’s on the right track to proving quite some people in the AHL wrong.

“This is the second best league in the world, that’s what I think. It’s better than in the AHL. The players in general are overall better skilled. It always differs between team and team, team and players, whatever specific role you have. There’s a difference in quality for sure“ concluded Owuya

When asked if he knew anything about Croatian rap, his answer was negative, but also open to suggestions

“I actually don’t. You can tweet me one and I’ll listen to it“

We sure will, Mark, we sure will.

Photo: Franjo Janković/BPA Images