Roman Rotenberg speaks after game six against Dinamo Minsk

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

- We prepared seriously for this series bearing in mind that Minsk form the foundations of the Belarusian national team which won the Channel One Cup in Moscow in December. All of us were aware that it was going to be a challenging series. Furthermore, Dinamo have intelligent coaches which regularly make tactical adjustments. Our guys did a good job, for a lot of them it was the first playoff series at this level. We will now prepare for the next round.

- You said a lot about Dinamo's Canadian players, but didn't you forget about their Belarusians? They scored a lot of goals against your team.

- Apart from the Canadians, this team with this coaching staff won the Channel One Cup. Dinamo's Belarusian players reached a new level this season, we have to give them credit. We understood that it was going to be a difficult series for us, so this is why we prepared in a serious manner. We had to work hard and overcome serious difficulties.

- SKA did concede three goals during this series while competing on the powerplay. What factors are worrying you?

- Dinamo were excellent on the PK, they covered our players successfully and didn't give them space. Our powerplay is something which requires a lot of improvement. Ahead of the next round, we will analyse in detail what happened. Nevertheless, I liked the fact that we immediately responded after each of Dinamo's two goals today, we're improving psychologically.

- How satisfied are you with Nikolai Prokhorkin's performance? It was his maiden appearance of these playoffs?

- We're satisfied with all of our players, this is a team win. Obviously, we can play a lot better, but we have reserves and injured players which are yet to return. We want to improve before the next series begins.

- What was the key moment today?

- When we successfully killed Dinamo's 4-on-3 powerplay. Moving forward, we must stop taking so many penalties as we're playing shorthanded far too often. We won't train tomorrow, but then we will subsequently return to work.

- How will you plan ahead for the quarter-finals?

- We will recover and continue training. In the playoffs, it's vital that the coaches plan accordingly and make sure that the players can recover effectively. In the Admiral against Salavat Yulaev series, we could see just how difficult it was for Ufa to play in Vladivostok after the long flight. We must plan in the correct manner.

- Did you expect this series to be so difficult?

- When two teams play against each other in the playoffs every year, the chances even themselves out. The teams know each other really well. We had to make changes to our tactical approach, you have to make life difficult for your opponents with your adjustments. This series contained ice hockey of a high level, and all of the games were contested at a fast tempo. We want to see ice hockey like this!

- When SKA play in Minsk, do you ever have time to explore the city?

- To be honest, we haven't had time for that whatsoever. We only ever walk around the hotel and the nearby river.

- Who would you like to face in the quarter-finals?

- We're prepared to play against any opponent. By the way, I would like to point out that top-class Canadian players are representing Dinamo. In the press, for some reason they often say that average Canadians are playing for Minsk, but this isn't the case at all. Just take Cedric Paquette, who won the Stanley Cup and participated in 448 NHL games. Dinamo are a really strong team, and we also have to say that they have great goalkeepers. I think that Dinamo have a bright future.

- Would you like to have a player like Paquette in your squad?

- I am happy with all of the players in our team. Right now we're focused on the playoffs, we will speak about potential transfers in the summer.

- SKA loanee Nikita Zorkin played well for Minsk, but he couldn't compete in the playoffs as a consequence of his injury. How impressed have you been with him?

- It was the right decision to let Zorkin play here. Dinamo use a modern system which involves the defensemen joining the attacking play, Zorkin received a great opportunity to continue developing as a player. Unfortunately, he picked him up his injury when scoring a goal. Nikita is a team player.

- This was your 100th KHL match as SKA head coach. Moreover, this is the 13th consecutive season in which SKA have qualified for the quarter-finals of the playoffs.

- Ever since I was small, I've always loved ice hockey. I used to play outdoors even when it was dark! I never imagined that I would receive the opportunity to coach such a fantastic team, I'm living the dream. I've been working with his team for 13 years now, and everyone has been working really hard over that period of time. Nonetheless, we're only just getting started. None of us are paying attention to the records which we are setting. I'm grateful to the guys for achieving this victory today, my job is always to make sure that I can help the team win. We're also happy that we can see more and more SKA fans in the stands wherever we play!

- If Vasily Glotov scores, SKA always seem to win!

- Our leading players must take the leading roles! I think that Vasily can play even better. He's with us because he has huge potential.