Euro Hockey Challenge. Slovakia - Russia. Game one

The Russian national team have made the trip to Slovakia, and will play their hosts twice in the Euro Hockey Challenge tournament.

This wil be the second stage of the competition for Russia, as our players are coming off the back of two wins against Norway in Saint Petersburg 2:1 OT and 4:1 respectively. Head coach Oleg Znarok was left satisfied with the team's committment in those games, and he will be looking for more of the same today. SKA Saint Petersburg's players, who joined up with the team not long ago, have been brought along to Slovakia, and are eligable to compete in these games.

Following those fixtures against Norway, defenseman Artyom Alyaev and forwards Vladimir Tkachyov, Vyacheslav Leschenko and Pavel Buchnevich were released from the group. Also, due to injuries, defenseman Maxim Ignatovich and goaltender Ivan Nalimov had to take their leave.

Defenders Vitaly Menshikov, Maxim Chudinov and Andrei Mironov, as well as forwards Artyom Lukoyanov and Sergei Shirokov, have remained in Novogorsk to train under the watchful gaze of Valery Bragin.

Slovakia are quite familiar opponents for Russia, and these two teams have played against each other five times in the past ten World Championships. Last year in the Czech Republic, Russia emerged victorious 3:2 in overtime.

The Slovakia - Russia match will begin at 18:00 Moscow time. Match TV and our site will have live broadcasts, and you can follow all game details by subscribing to our official Twitter account.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation