Friendly match. Russia - Czech Republic

Today on the 8th of September, the Russian national team will take on the Czech Republic in the first warm-up friendly for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Russia's players gathered in Saint Petersburg a few days ago, and along with head coach Oleg Znarok, they have been training with real passion as they look to rule the world in Canada. Today's game will be played inside Saint Petersburg's SK Yubileyny Arena, and it's expected to be a loud and passionate atmosphere.

The opponents will be the Czech Republic, and our most recent meeting with the Czechs was at the opening game of the 2016 World Championship. The Czech Republic won that particular fixture 3:0, and a victory today would amount to some sort of revenge. Nevertheless, the it won't be easy at all, and the Czechs do have real star quality among their ranks, even if the legendary Jaromir Jagr declined an invitation to play at the World Cup. Forwards Jakub Voracek and Ondrej Palat are likely to be their main threats, and Michal Birner, Michal Kempny, Vladimir Sobotka, Tomas Kondratek and Roman Cervenka will all be familiar to KHL fans.

This will be the first of two friendlies with the Czechs, with the second on Saturday in Prague.

The Russia - Czech Republic match will begin at 19:30 local time.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation