Reaction after Russia U18 finished in third place of the Black Sea Cup

Following the victory against the under 20 Belarusian national team in the third place playoff of the 2022 Black Sea Cup, under 18 Russian national team head coach Igor Efimov and forward Matvei Maximov spoke to the press.

Russia U18 head coach Igor Efimov:

- I would like to congratulate everyone with this victory, it's an excellent result for us. After initially starting well, we subsequently made mistakes, but this is normal for junior ice hockey. The Belarusians have an older, more powerful side than us, and they also wanted to win. Our guys did really well to successfully cope with the task at hand. I am grateful to the Russian Ice Hockey Federation for including us in the participant list for this tournament, it was a hugely important experience for both us coaches and the players.

Russia U18 forward Matvei Maximov:

- All of the guys were prepared for the fight. We relaxed a bit during the second period, but then the coaches gave us the required advice and we continued playing until the end. It was a really useful experience for us to compete against players who are older than us. Yes, it's good that we finished third, but we want to always be in first place.