Igor Efimov speaks after the second match of the 2021 European Youth Olympic Festival

Following the 1:2 overtime defeat to the under 18 Belarusian national team in the second match of the 2021 European Youth Olympic Festival, under 17 Russian national team head coach Igor Efimov shared his feelings.

Russia U17 head coach Igor Efimov:

- We knew that we would be competing against an organised team, they play in the Belarusian league and are a tough opponent for anyone. After an underwhelming first period, we did subsequently compete with the initiative in the second and third frames, but we didn't take advantage of our opportunities and Belarus caught us on the counter-attack. Their goaltender was excellent. Nothing is lost, though, we need to win our next two matches and hope that Belarus drop points. Our guys are in good physical shape, they will recover in time to play Latvia tomorrow.