Reaction after beating Kazakhstan away

Roman Rotenberg and Mikhail Grigorenko spoke to the media following the first match of the 2025 Liga Stavok National Team.

Russia 25 head coach Roman Rotenberg:

"We know what ice hockey Leonid Tambiev likes to play. The Kazakhs play with organisation in defence, block pucks and compete with commitment. They don't normally allow their opponents to create many opportunities, but, thanks to our hard work at training, we managed to put together moves which opened up their defence. We're happy with our players' performance and the excellent goals which they scored, everyone followed the game plan. 

"All of our goals were scored by the third line? We're a team together! We don't break the team down between lines. I'm pleased with how all four of our lines played, they stuck to our system. Furthermore, I think that Kazakhstan received a useful experience ahead of the upcoming World Championship. They're a strong side with players who won last year's Gagarin Cup with Magnitogorsk. Danil Aimurzin? He scored and dished out a wonderful pass for Mikhail Vorobyov's marker, so we can definitely say that he played well."

Russia 25 forward Mikhail Grigorenko:

"We're happy that we won. As a consequence of us having not played for a few weeks following the KHL playoffs, we needed time to get back into our rhythm. Plus, we have to remember that Kazakhstan are preparing for the World Championship and are playing in front of their own fans. We have to give credit to Andrei Mishurov, who was superb in our net.

"How important is it to play at international level? It's vitally important to show everyone that the Russian national team is continuing to operate! It's also a good opportunity for our young guys to play in international games. For all of us, it's always a huge honour to wear the Russian jersey."