Kirill Marchenko: "Magnus made big saves during the match"

SKA forward Kirill Marchenko:

- It was a very tense match. It's always like this against CSKA, there isn't much space but there is a lot of battles.

- Did you support Magnus Hellberg after what happened at the end of the third period?

- Yes, of course we did. I don't want to speak about mistakes. We have a goalkeeping coach for that, but Magnus understands the situation for himself. Nevertheless, I want to point out that Magnus made lots of big saves during the game, he showed what he is capable of. These things happen to everyone, in overtime I also made a mistake which allowed CSKA to have a chance clean through. We're a team. The main thing is that we managed to win in the end.

- There were a lot of mistakes by SKA in overtime. Did the two late conceded goals in the third period have an effect on you?

- Yes, maybe. We didn't lose concentration, though, but maybe we struggled a bit physically. It's great that we won the match.

- How difficult was it to recover after giving up a 3:1 lead in the closing moments of the third period?

- To be honest, psychologically it was tough. You begin to think that the victory is in your hands when you lead 3:1 with two minutes remaining. However, this is ice hockey, anything can happen. It was important that the third period quickly ended and we could speak on the bench about what to do next. We managed to see the game out and win.

- What did Valeri Bragin say before overtime began?

- He wanted us to keep our concentration and to play like we did throughout the first three periods.

- Speak to us about your goal in the third period.

- Maybe I got lucky, perhaps the goalkeeper made a mistake. I immediately made the decision to shoot when the puck fell at my stick.

- You seem to be skating more in the style of Andrei Kuzmenko as time passes by.

- Andrei and I are in great relations. I like how he skates and sharply speeds away from the opponents, I am trying to do something similar.