Media briefing before the quarter-finals of the Gagarin Cup playoffs

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

- I would like to extend a huge thank you to our fans who have attended today's training session! They've provided us with additional energy. At the moment, the main thing for us is to recover in the correct manner. We're preparing for the next series, we are only just getting started.

- It was a tough series against Dinamo Minsk. What mistakes were committed by your team?

- Ice hockey is a game of mistakes. When they occur, it's vital to react in the right way. Dinamo have a high-quality squad with players from the Belarusian national team and Stanley Cup winners, we played as well as the opponents allowed us to. We understand what aspects of our game require improvement.

- Will any of your injured players be available for the quarter-finals?

- We're waiting for all of our players to be available for action. As you saw in the first round, opposing teams are competing in a physical manner against us. In terms of our possible line-up, I don't want to give any of the details away. Our doctors are working hard 24/7.

- Is your preparation for the second round being affected by the fact that you don't know your opponents yet?

- No, not at all. We need to improve our system. We're prepared to play against any team, we don't have any preferences whatsoever. We are looking forward to playing inside a packed Ice Palace on Thursday! Thanks to our fans, our guys tried really hard during this training session this afternoon. When so many people are watching you train, you're always going to give your maximum.

- Will training with supporters in attendance become a new tradition for you?

- Unfortunately, it's not possible due to technical reasons. However, it makes the coaches' job easier having fans in attendance. All players try their best with the fans watching them. In the future, we want to have a full arena even for our training sessions!

- The last match was your 100th as SKA head coach. Do you feel comfortable in your role?

- I've been involved in ice hockey throughout my whole life. Yes, it's great that I've now been a head coach for 100 official games, but this is only just the start. I have been involved with preparing the team for even more matches! I want to follow the example set by the likes of Anatoly Tarasov, Viktor Tikhonov, Vladimir Yurzinov and Scott Bowmen. We are just at the start of our journey.

HC SKA defenseman Alexander Nikishin:

- Which game against Minsk was the toughest and the most memorable?

- I would probably say the sixth match. It was decisive, as no one knows what would have happened had we lost that game. I think that it was the most difficult game of the series.

- Did you enjoy training with fans in attendance?

- It's a lot more interesting to train with fans watching us! Their reactions provided us with more emotion, I really enjoyed the experience.

HC SKA forward Dmitrij Jaskin:

- First of all, I would like to extend my thanks to the fans who are supporting us both at home and on the road. Their loud support is helping us greatly! Hopefully, they will support us in the same way during our next series. It was tough for us against Dinamo, they're strong opponents. The series showed us in which direction we need to work.

- Who would you like to play against in the quarter-finals? Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod or Severstal Cherepovets?

- I don't mind. If we want to win the Gagarin Cup, we must beat any team we face. Let's wait to find out who we will compete against. In terms of our preparation, we had a couple of days off after qualifying for the second phase. Regardless of who we play, it will be another physically demanding series.

- As a consequence of fans being in attendance today for your training session, did you feel any differences at all?

- No, I wouldn't say that, but it was great feeling their support. Our fans give us an additional burst of energy.

HC SKA forward Nikita Komarov:

- How did you feel training with the fans in attendance?

- It's great that people care about our team and want to watch us train. Given that games are different, we wanted to show the fans how we train normally.