Reaction after beating the Czech Republic at the 2021 Channel One Cup

Following the entertaining 5:2 victory against the Czech Republic in the third match of the 2021 Channel One Cup, senior Russian national team head coach Alexei Zhamnov and forwards Daniil Vovchenko and Arseniy Gritsyuk shared their opinions with the press:

Senior Russian national team head coach Alexei Zhamnov:

- The guys are becoming increasingly familiar with our demands. However, there are still things which require improvement. For example, when we were leading 3:0, the players started making the wrong passes. The Czechs have a technical team, they're good at passing the puck. We tried to apply pressure on them across all zones.

- Why did you swap Timur Bilyalov for Alexander Samonov after the first two periods?

- The score allowed us to do this, and we wanted to give Alexander time on the ice. Furthermore, this change encouraged the players to stick to the game plan instead of relaxing. It made sure that we continued competing with discipline.

- Vadim Shipachyov has participated in all three matches so far. Will he play tomorrow against Finland?

- We will probably give Vadim a rest tomorrow, it's tough to participate in four games across five days. I had previously stated that we would rotate the squad and give everyone a chance to play.

- Nikita Nesterov and Vyacheslav Voynov didn't play in this game. How would you rate the performances of your younger defensemen?

- They were a bit nervous during the opening stages, but they subsequently performed well.

Senior Russian national team forward Daniil Vovchenko:

- I think that this goal will help me, I had really wanted to score for the senior national team. This is a great experience for me to work with these coaches, I am doing my best to improve while trying new things.

Senior Russian national team forward Arseniy Gritsyuk:

- Both teams performed well. We're happy that we won, we stuck to the coach's game plan. I am really enjoying playing with these coaches and players, I'm learning lots of new things. My first goal at senior international level? Yes, I'm pleased that I managed to score, but we have to move on.