Russian coaches and players speak about the Black Sea Cup

Artyom Vladimirov, Russia-1 defenseman:

- It's always nice to win. We really wanted to win this game, and it's nice that we have beaten Russia-2 both in a friendly match, and at this tournament. We stuck to the coach's game plan, and as a result, we scored twice in a minute.

- Did you work on your mistakes after the previous match?

- We had a sleep, a think, and made conclusions.

- What impressions have you been left with from the tournament?

- I enjoyed everything. The Olympic facilities are excellent, and it was nice to play here.

Yury Babenko, Russia-1 head coach:

- A lot of guys hadn't played for the under 20 side before, and they had trouble getting into the competition. Nevertheless, they tried to understand what we wanted from them, and they did a good job in this game. They all gave it their all.

- Have you been left unhappy about anything?

- There is always something which needs to be improved. When we took penalties, the guys stood up to the task. Overall, they did really well, and everyone has an equal chance to get into the junior national team.

Nikita Korostelev, Russia-2 forward:

- We did well in the first two periods, and we didn't relax in the third. Unfortunately, we made some mistakes, and the opponents scored twice in less than two minutes. We have to work on the amount of penalties we take.

- What do you think about the tournament's organisation?

- Everything was great - the atmosphere, the stadium and where we have been staying. We all know each other well, but on the ice, we had to fight against each other. All of our work is going towards making it to the World Junior Championship.

Oleg Bratash, Russia-2 head coach:

- The game was even, and someone had to win. It's good that all of our players tried their hardest to win. At this training camp, we got to look at a large number of national team candidates, and maybe it would have been better if we had played more such games. However, we still had two fixtures against each other, and we have learnt a lot. This time spent has been useful, and we have seen some players for the first time.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation