Sergei Golubovich: "We have things to work on"

After the Russia U18 - Canada U18 friendly match in Slovakia, Russia's head coach and players shared their impressions.

Russia U18 head coach Sergei Golubovich:

- It's good that we won. How ready are we? I don't want to make guesses. However, we have things to work on and there are a few days left before the World Championship begins. There is time to make corrections.

Unfortunately, Daniil Lobanov receieved an upper body injury today and will miss the World Championship. He is a loss for us. We have to think about who to replace him with. Canada's goal after the puck left the attacking zone? It was a friendly match, we couldn't ask for a video review. 

Russia U18 forward Kirill Slepets:

- Kirill Maximov saw me skating ahead, gave me a great pass and I managed to score. Nerves? Why should I have been nervous? When presented with such a chance, you don't even have time to think. I had to score. 

It's always interesting playing against Canada, the score is hard to predict. There weren't many fans at the arena, but I know that my parents in Khabarovsk were watching the broadcast. I think that these two friendly wins will help us, they have us extra motivation. However, we want to win in official matches, not exhibition games. We have worked hard at this long training camp. 

Russia U18 forward Kirill Maximov:

- Matches against the Canadians usually have a high tempo to them. They required less time to get used to the smaller ice though. I had to remember how to compete on the Canadian sized rink. Canada are a good opponent, it was interesting to see how strong we are. They have a lot of players born in 2000, but I don't think that a year's age difference has a big impact at this level. 

I always work on my penalty shots, I took a lot of them in Canada. Usually, I know what I am going to do before I step up. I am satisfied with my second season in North America, I feel that I have become more confident and experienced. I am looking forward to play at the World Under 18 Championship.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation