Roman Rotenberg speaks after beating Dinamo in Minsk

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

"First of all, I want to point out the fantastic atmosphere inside the arena! When you play inside such a loud stadium, you play with even more emotions.

"It was a close game in which we capitalised on our opportunities and Artemiy Pleshkov prevented the opponents from doing so. Furthermore, I was happy with how we competed in defence, our skaters displayed plenty of commitment. 

"Why didn't Sergei Tolchinsky play? We have healthy competition within our group, but he's a top player and he'll be back soon. Nikita Smirnov and Sergei Sapego aren't playing either? As I have already said, it's down to competition. You'll see them on the ice shortly. We need a large squad, because injuries can occur at any moment.

"Ivan Demidov was only given six shifts? Taking into account Dinamo Minsk's dangerous counter-attacking game, we had to use a more defensive approach. I'm confident that Ivan is continuing to develop, he's playing with guys who have won the NHL, KHL and Olympic Games."