Roman Rotenberg speaks after beating Lokomotiv in Yaroslavl

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

- It was an excellent game of a very high level! The opponents are strong and we competed at a high tempo. This is the ice hockey which we need, our players would develop even quicker if we had more matches like these. Lokomotiv are an organised team with a specific structure. We understood the importance of this game, and our players stuck to the plan. However, we still have things to work on, for example it's unacceptable to take penalties in the closing stages. I would also like to point out that the atmosphere here in Yaroslavl is fantastic. Furthermore, the ice is of an excellent quality.

- You often note that Daniil Isayev is a superb goalkeeper. Today, however, you managed to beat him. Did Nikita Serebryakov win his goaltending duel against Isayev?

- It's a team game. We had worked very hard in order to find the key to Lokomotiv's defence, it's a difficult process. Today we found the key. We have to give credit to our guys, they did what we had asked them to. As always, Isayev was phenomenal against us today, if we had more goaltenders like him the Russian national team would always win. It was a duel of the two strongest goalkeepers today. I have a lot of respect for Isayev and Lokomotiv, they displayed ice hockey of a high level.

- What went wrong for SKA in the first period? And how did you become so fired up for the second?

- This season, our opponents are punishing us for every single mistake which we commit. Nonetheless, just like in boxing, you have to withstand the blows and then land the decisive punches. Everything depends on the players' desire, and today we showed that we wanted to win more. Once again, we have to speak about the schedule. Lokomotiv have just come off the back of nine away games. What was the point of consisting such a calendar? I don't understand it. Last season the schedule was better, everyone played three at home and then three on the road. We must start thinking about the players' health. Lokomotiv were fresher than us in Saint Petersburg, but today we saw the opposite occur.