ROC players speak ahead of the Olympic quarter-final

Ahead of the 2022 Olympic Games quarter-final against Denmark, ROC men's ice hockey team defensemen Yegor Yakovlev and Nikita Nesterov and forward Arseniy Gritsyuk spoke to the media.

Defenseman Yegor Yakovlev:

- It will be a bit easier for us this time, because we've already played against the Danes. It will be a good game. I think that we are fully prepared for this match, we have held productive conversations within our group. We will certainly give everything, we want to show great ice hockey and make our fans happy.

Defenseman Nikita Nesterov:

- A lot of teams play a closed style of ice hockey at this tournament, we've already done the same. We couldn't score during our maiden two matches, but the game against the Czech Republic was open and we had to recover from a deficit to get back into proceedings. However, we know that we have to take less penalties, we must play for the team and avoid silly decisions. Against Denmark, it's key to not lose the puck in the neutral zone which will consequently prevent them from playing on the counter-attack. We have to be careful when taking shots, too, as they are excellent at blocking pucks.

Forward Arseniy Gritsyuk:

- The coaches asked us to change our style a bit. We have to play on the front foot, setting the tempo in the process. Our line combinations? They haven't changed in training in comparison to our line-up against the Czechs. In attack, we play well in that particular game. I hope that tomorrow we will be better in defence.