Reaction after beating Germany at the 2021 World Junior Championship

Following the tense 2:1 triumph over Germany in the quarter-finals of the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, under 20 Russian national team head coach Igor Larionov, defenseman Semyon Chistyakov and forwards Yegor Afanasyev and Vasily Podkolzin all shared their emotions with the media:

Russia U20 head coach Igor Larionov:

- I congratulate everyone with the victory. It was a tough match for us. We knew that we were going to play with the initiative, our plan was to dominate and create opportunities in attack, but it's difficult when you play against such a tight defence. The guys did well to hold on at the end. Yes, the opponents did have their chances, but this is junior ice hockey. Both teams battled for a place in the semi-finals. I'm happy that we showed character. The semi-final? We will have time to rest and prepare before that game is played. Mikhail Abramov and Yegor Chinakhov are on the way back.

Russia U20 defenseman Semyon Chistyakov:

- Both teams played well. We started well, but then we started taking penalties in the second period as we lost our concentration. Nevertheless, the guys did well to block pucks and clear the play away from our zone, the main thing is that we won. Our task was to move the play out of defence towards the attacking zone as soon as possible. Yaroslav Askarov was fantastic in our net!

Russia U20 forward Yegor Afanasyev:

- It was tough after the Germans scored in the third period. I would like to apologise to the fans for making them nervous, we felt their support! There won't be any easy games in the playoffs. Our plan was to protect the puck and keep possession in their zone. Germany's first line? Personally, I thought that we dealt with them well. We will be fully prepared for the semi-final!

Russia U20 forward Vasily Podkolzin:

- What are the positives from this match? The positive thing is that we won. However, it's a shame that we played like this, we have to improve. You have to play a lot better in knockout games. Hopefully, we will have a different mindset for the semi-final. We took penalties because of our emotions and technical mistakes. You cannot give the referees so many excuses to give you penalties. We must produce our best performance in the next match!