Sergei Golubovich: "It was a messy game"

Russia U18 head coach Sergei Golubovich:

- I am satisfied that we managed to be patient. With the team playing on a Canadian sized ice hockey rink, it made the match a bit messy. We failed to take advantage of our goalscoring chances. We have to give our due to the opponents, they were organised in defence and didn't give us a lot to work on.

No one is guaranteed a place on the final World Championship roster. Tomorrrow, we will work on our mistakes and try out our special teams tactics.

Russia U18 forward Alexei Lipanov:

- Our legs were feeling it at the start of the match. Despite creating a lot of chances, we failed to capitalise on them. My line with Ivan Chekhovich and Andrei Svechnikov? We started to improve in the third period. Andrei created a perfect opportunity for me to score! I only had to hit the empty net.

It was a huge honour and responsibility for me to be captain. It means a lot, this team has Russia's best players of this age group. We now need to become a united unit and fight for each other. All of the guys want to win the World Championship. 

Russian Ice Hockey Federation