Russia's players speak after beating Denmark

Sergei Shirokov, forward:

- It’s not important who scored, the most important thing is that our powerplay worked. We played with discipline today, and only at the end of the game did we start to take penalties. Nevertheless, we need to work over our game, and prepare for future matches. We never thought that this game was won, and carried on giving our all in the second and third periods. In the next matches, we have to carry on in the same vein and improve in defence.

Everyone is showing what they are capable of, and when you block the goalkeeper’s view in order to score goals, you gain confidence. Stepan Sannikov played well today, he has immediately fitted into the team and he even had a chance to score. Also, Ilya Sorokin showed that he is a good goaltender and after entering the game during a Danish powerplay, he made a big save.

Roman Lyubimov, forward:

You always have good emotions when you score a lot of goals. In defence we played better, however we still have things to improve on. In the next game, my line will try to score too.

Alexei Marchenko, defenseman:

- This was our best game of the tournament so far. We scored nice goals, and I am always trying to break forward into the attacking zone. When we played two men down, the players didn’t give Denmark a chance, and I can’t remember when they had a shot. We are improving with every match.

Stepan Sannikov, forward:

- We won in my first game, and I hope that we will continue playing the same way. If we talk about my game, I had chances, but as usual I couldn’t score. I hope that this will change, and I will try to stop making mistakes. The main thing is that the team got its game together. When you are sitting in the stands, you can analyse the game better, and when you are on the ice, emotions help you play. You simply have to follow the coach’s game plan.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation