Roman Rotenberg speaks after playing Torpedo away

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

- I would like to point out the wonderful atmosphere inside the stadium, both sets of fans supported the teams brilliantly. Unfortunately, though, we were let down by the quality of the ice. SKA and Nizhny Novgorod are teams which like to play with the puck, but the ice was poor today. We need the KHL to have standard regulations concerning the ice quality. After playing Dynamo in Moscow and Lada in Tolyatti, we had lost a lot of energy with all of the travelling, but we have to draw the correct conclusions. Our guys showed character and had a chance to equalise in the closing stages. In the last couple of minutes, the referees failed to count the amount of players on the ice and allowed Torpedo to compete with five skaters when it should have been 4-on-4. I had never seen this before, not even in children’s ice hockey! I hope this never happens again. We now have to look forward to Yaroslavl, where we will have a very important game on Friday.

- You used Ilya Fedotov on the powerplay late in the third period. Will this happen regularly?

- Since the summer, he has been used on our powerplay. Due to injuries, Ilya is currently the only right-handed forward in our line-up. He’s very upset with the defeat today, but we don’t need to be disappointed. We simply have to draw the required conclusions and move on.

- Matvei Michkov was only on the ice for six minutes. Is he not yet ready to play for longer?

- Ilya, Matvei, Dmitry Buchelnikov and Ivan Demidov are our limiters for this season. Demidov has started the campaign excellently. It’s all down to sporting principles and healthy competition. Whereas the ice was 26 meters in Moscow and Tolyatti, here it’s 28. The hosts find it easier here. In the past, Matvei has been able to score two goals from just two shifts. When you compete on the larger ice, you have to work harder with your legs and skate more. In Yaroslavl the ice is also 28 meters, but this time we will be better prepared.

- You’ve spoken about fatigue, but don’t you have any other players to put in your line-up?

- 10 players are currently out with injury. We don’t have anyone else to play, but some of the guys will return in time for our Far East trip. Some of the injuries are serious. Some were picked up before the start of pre-season, whereas others were sustained outside of the rink.

- 24 forwards are in your squad list.

- Our system consists of the senior SKA team, SKA-Neva, SKA-1946 and the SKA Junior Academy. Yesterday, two lines for SKA-Neva who played against Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk were from our senior side. They’re limiters who can play for SKA in the KHL.

- But don’t you have too many players to choose from?

- No, it’s great when you have a large pool of players. It’s frustrating when 10 senior players are on the sidelines with injuries, but our medical staff is working hard to ensure that they can soon return to action. We’re counting on seeing the team in its optimal line-up when we travel to the Far East.

- Can mistakes committed during pre-season result in such a large amount of injuries?

- I’ve just said that some of the injuries were sustained outside of ice hockey. Those situations weren’t connected at all with our team, ice or training sessions. Our pre-season efforts are the best in the league, we proved that last season with our results. And we’ll do the same again this year! There will always be different opinions, but we have our own system and we prepared well. Yes, there are teams which don’t train a lot during the summer, and they are feeling fresh and winning games right now. But we’re focused on the long journey which is ahead of us.

- The players which left SKA last season are now the leading figures for their respective new teams.

- They lost to Sochi today. They’re strong players, but we have our own system. Now is not the time to analyse what happened last season, we have already drawn the required conclusions. A serious training process is ongoing, our players are feeling its effects. When this is the case, they we have the foundations in order to ensure that the team reaches peak form when required.

- Don’t you regret parting ways with some players?

- That’s a philosophical question. I never regret anything. I’m grateful to guys like Nikita Gusev and Igor Ozhiganov who worked with us over a long period, they’re nice guys and great players. However, ice hockey is developing, and we want our team to move forward. Our player selection department worked 24/7 following the completion of the previous campaign. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and some of our new players didn’t have the opportunity to train with us during pre-season. They’re currently adapting to our team. Nonetheless, they are already helping us defeat strong opponents on the road. It would have been better to start at home, but we don’t choose the schedule. This was our third game, but Torpedo have only competed in two matches. We need all teams to be put in the same boat. Overall, I thought that we played well today, and we’ll analyse the mistakes which were committed. I enjoy playing against Torpedo, they display quick ice hockey with lots of passing plays. Hopefully, more teams in the KHL will begin playing in this manner.

- You are an open person who isn’t afraid to speak the truth. Don’t you think that you lack level headedness?

- What is sport without emotion? Do you want to see emotionless people on the ice?

- We can use Zinetula Bilyaletdinov as an example of a coach who is always calm.

- With all due respect, his Kazan team lost to Sochi today. I’m doing what I can to ensure that my team plays exciting ice hockey, the players need the emotions which I give them. If a coach doesn’t care whether his team wins or loses, then why should he be in that position? I have a lot of respect for Bilyaletdinov, he helps me a lot and we often speak. Everyone has their own life, their way of working and their style of game. The ice is the best judge.

- Referees often say that they don’t like it when coaches speak with them a lot.

- Please ask the referees why there were five Torpedo players on the ice when it should have been 4-on-4. I have never seen anything like it, even in junior ice hockey. Let’s help each other to make our product better with ice of a high quality and honest refereeing. Why where there five Torpedo skaters on the ice? Can’t the referee count to five?

- Will the Russian Ice Hockey Federation look into this matter?

- The KHL itself is fully responsible for the refereeing in the league.