Reaction after winning the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup

Following the emphatic 7:2 victory against Slovakia in the final of the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, under 18 Russian national team head coach Vladimir Filatov, goalkeeper Sergei Ivanov and forward Matvei Michkov all shared their emotions:

Head coach Vladimir Filatov:

- To be honest, I feel tiredness more than anything else now. Thank you to the Russian Ice Hockey Federation for giving us all of the required facilities, we had trained hard in Novogorsk ahead of this tournament. This victory is a result of the efforts of our entire ice hockey community in Russia. I think that we played well in defence, and when we did make mistakes, goalkeeper Sergei Ivanov saved us. Our system is working. It took around two hours to travel to Slovakia from the Czech Republic for this game, but we were focused on winning. We are already thinking about how to call up to the next training camp.

Goalkeeper Sergei Ivanov:

- I feel great! Thank you to the team, the coaching staff and the fans. We didn't start the game too well, we took penalties and Slovakia had a lot of shots. I would like to thank our skaters for keeping the opponents at bay and taking advantage of their opportunities to score. The toughest match for me here? It was the semi-final against the Swedes, they like to protect the puck, fake shots and make passes to teammates who have escaped their markers. In terms of our psychology and future, this is a very important tournament.

Forward Matvei Michkov:

- The team gave 100%, I'm satisfied with how it worked out. I would give our team eight out of 10 for this competition, there are still aspects of the game which we have to improve. This gold medal is a result of our committed efforts. The atmosphere here? Of course, the Slovaks offered their team great support, but their loud cheering also inspired us to play well. It's great to play with fans inside the stadium, we play for the supporters! Slovakia have a disciplined, quick and technical team, thank you to them for this match.