Interviews after the Russia U18 - Russia U17 friendly match

Russia U18 head coach Sergei Golubovich:

- We now know who we will take to the Five Nations, but we still have to make a decision concerning one position and the goalkeepers. It's a real shame that Klim Kostin is injured until the end of the season. In North America, there is a group of players born in 1999 who will probably play at the World Championship, their teams won't qualify for the playoffs. In Sweden, we will test just how deep our reserves are. We have to know who we can count on. Even those who won't play at the Five Nations will still have a chance to be picked for the World Championship. We are in close contact with the RIHF and MHL, we're always analysing how players perform. Today, I asked my players to not play physical, they listened to what I had to say.

Russia U18 forward Nikita Anokhovsky:

- We played well in defence, but we still have things to work on. We conceded a disappointing goal on the counterattack, the guys got mixed up at a shift change. We have a friendly group of players, everyone has found it easy getting along. The World Championship? I am trying not to think about it yet.

Russia U17 head coach Igor Efimov:

- During this match, we managed to gather a lot of useful information. After today, we will make a final decision on who will fly to the Czech Republic for the Five Nations. It was a good game today, we saw where we make mistakes and what we need to improve. We love to play against strong opponents.

In the first minute, we conceded a simple goal, with our centre forward making a mistake on a faceoff. Three of our players had left today to play in the MHL, but it's a regular situation, different guys who didn't play yesterday were put into the line-up. All of the guys are ready for the tournament, we will keep on working.

Russia U17 defenseman Anton Lukichyov:

- Overall, we put on a good performance. At times, we played on a level footing with the under 18's. We were a bit lucky in the first minute conceding a goal, we lost the faceoff despite the coach telling us to be better in this component. This is my first time with the national team, I feel a lot of responsibility. We were a bit shy with each other at the start, but we quickly became more comfortable and have a friendly atmosphere within the team. I would love to be selected for the Five Nations, matches will be even tougher at that competition. No one is relaxing.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation