Reaction after beating Sweden at the 2021 World Junior Championship

Following the 4:3 overtime victory against Sweden at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship in Canada, junior Russian national team head coach Igor Larionov, defenseman Kirill Kirsanov and forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Vasily Podkolzin spoke with the media:

Russia U20 head coach Igor Larionov:

- We told the guys before the game that this match was going to decide a lot. It was important to see how much the guys came together as a united group. It's good that we made the fans happy, we always feel their support. I was pleased with the first period, the players displayed the type of ice hockey which we want to see. We were aggressive, moved well across the ice, played solidly in defence and scored our goals. However, the game changed in the second period, as we took too many penalties. Nevertheless, it's pleasing that we used our opportunity in the ensuing overtime period. We will have another conversation about controlling our emotions on the ice; we have a lot of work ahead of us.

Russia U20 defenseman Kirill Kirsanov:

- We stuck to the coach's plan and were rewarded for our efforts. Unfortunately, there were problems with our discipline in the second period, Yaroslav Askarov had to make a lot of wonderful saves in our net. We also blocked shots. My goal? I had a shooting lane on the powerplay. We will begin preparing for the playoffs tomorrow.

Russia U20 forward Marat Khusnutdinov:

- It's always difficult to play against Sweden. We were highly motivated to win today, we knew that it was the most important match of the group stage. We did everything in order to emerge victorious. My goal in overtime? Mikhail Abramov drew the penalty, Rodion Amirov took the initial shot and I only had to knock the rebound in. Other opponents won't let us off for taking so many penalties? I agree, we have to fix this. We bowed down to their provocation. However, the guys did a good job overall today, and Askarov was fantastic in net. I wish the fans a Happy New Year!

Russia U20 forward Vasily Podkolzin:

- It was a good, emotional game. We can't afford to take so many penalties like in the second period again. You cannot give the referees an excuse to hand you a penalty. We had to show our Russian character to win, we really needed this victory. We played with speed and there were a lot of physical battles. I congratulate all Russians with the festive season!