Reaction after defeating Sweden at the 2018 Karjala Cup

Following the victory over Sweden at the 2018 Karjala Cup, Ilya Vorobyov, Andrei Kuzmenko and Igor Shestyorkin spoke with the media and expressed their impressions from the 4:1 triumph.

Russian national team head coach Ilya Vorobyov:

- The guys tried hard, stuck to the game plan, blocked a lot of shots and did everything which we had asked. In these two matches, we've been playing team ice hockey. The main thing is that our powerplay worked, because Sweden have good players to kill penalties. Of course, it would have been better without our penalties and conceded goal, but these things happen in ice hockey. We need to rest before playing the Czech Republic. We'll analyse the opponents and prepare.

Russian national team forward Andrei Kuzmenko:

- For my opening goal, the guys from the first line did a great job, while the Swedes were getting tired. I only had to slot Alexander Barabanov's excellent pass into the net. Alexei Byvaltsev created my second marker, it was a fantastic assist and I simply needed to hit the target! I hit the crossbar when presented with an opportunity for the hat trick. The main thing is that we won, it's an important victory for us.

Russian national team goalkeeper Igor Shestyorkin:

- The guys blocked a lot of shots and helped me out. In the second period, we started to take the initiative, I was even getting a bit cold. It was a different story in the third period. The Swedish goal? I could have saved the shot.