Reaction after beating Finland at the 2020 Karjala Cup

Acting head coach Igor Larionov and forwards Vasily Podkolzin and Rodion Amirov all spoke to the media following the 6:2 triumph over Finland in the maiden game of the Karjala Cup in Helsinki, the first stage of the 2020/2021 Euro Hockey Tour.

Acting head coach of the senior Russian national team Igor Larionov:

- It was a good match, we'll analyse both the positive and negative aspects before facing Sweden at the weekend. The guys showed their Russian character and won confidently. Of course, our goalkeeper Yaroslav Askarov was excellent today, he gave the other guys confidence with his solid play. We were reliable in defence in this match. Nevertheless, it's hard to draw conclusions after just one game, we need to continue training hard. A couple of the other guys will receive a chance against the Swedes. We want to show attacking ice hockey, dominating on the ice.

Forward of the senior Russian national team Vasily Podkolzin:

- We simply wanted to display our best ice hockey on the ice. Yes, the second half of the second period was really tough for us, but we stuck together and played for each other. The restrictions in Finland for us? We have to be in masks all of the time and it's best not to go outside of the hotel. We can only take our masks off to eat!

Forward of the senior Russian national team Rodion Amirov:

- We have only positive emotions from this game! We started really well by scoring three goals in the opening period of play. After that great start, we continued playing well and successfully saw the match out. Can I compare this Finnish team to a KHL club? No, everything is very different at senior international level. Before the game began, we did have some nerves, but they left our system when the match started. Our task was to compete in an aggressive manner. We didn't expect to win by such a large score, but all of us worked hard. A lot of the guys here are used to competing in the KHL and VHL.