Latvia - Russia. Press-conference

Russian head coach Oleg Znarok:

- First of all, I want to congratulate the country with Victory Day. We watched the Latvians’ previous two games, and they performed well in those matches. We analysed their tactics, and everything went well for us.

- Comment on Alexei Emelin’s penalty and Sergei Mozyakin’s goal that was waved off.

- Alexei committed a foul, and Sergei’s goal didn’t count.

- You took a lot of penalties again. Will Alexei Emelin be disqualified for a game?

- Latvia’s player continued to skate, so I don’t think so. Overall, it’s good that we didn’t concede a goal, however we need to improve our discipline.

- Looking at results, you are improving. Would you agree?

- There is a lot of pressure playing at home, and the players can feel this.

- If Nikolai Kulyomin arrives, where will he play?

- We really hope that he can come here, and we will contact him this evening. He will play out wide on the right.

Latvian head coach Leonids Beresnevs:

- I also congratulate everyone with Victory Day, and Russia with their win. From our side, we couldn’t score a goal. We tried everything, and the puck wouldn’t go in. We played well in the first period, but unfortunately, the start of the second and third stanzas didn’t go our way. We made mistakes, and Russia made us pay immediately. They have enough talent to punish opponents.  After they scored they controlled the game, and despite us having a five on three, we couldn’t hit the net. If we had scored, maybe things would have turned out differently. Nevertheless, we will now move on, and we have important games coming up.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation