SKA - Barys. Press-conference

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

"This was a difficult match for us, but we're happy that we managed to emerge victorious. Thank you to our supporters inside the Ice Palace for their wonderful support today!

"At Hockey City, I had seen just how much detail Barys had put into their preparation for this game. They worked an awful lot over their tactics and made it tough for us to break them down. This was a challenge for us, however I would like to thank our guys for following the game plan and competing as a team. We played with better discipline in this match.

"It's possible that our next game against Lokomotiv Yaroslavl will be staged at the SKA Arena. It will take place a matter of days after the Channel One Cup, so we think it would be best if we simply stay at the SKA Arena instead of moving back to the Ice Palace again. All of our requests concerning adjustments to the SKA Arena following last season have been granted, it's vital for us that our team has the opportunity to win games there and play at its best. The final negotiations concerning our move back to the SKA Arena are scheduled for Tuesday.

"I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at the SKA Arena during the Channel One Cup later on this week, we want to set a world record concerning ice hockey matches inside a closed venue! Our country's best players will participate at the competition, which promises to be really exciting. 

"Pavel Moisevich and Yegor Zavragin are both very calm goalkeepers? We have to thank their first coaches who worked with them during their maiden steps in our sport. Moisevich and Zavragin compete calmly without any additional emotion, this is just what we need. Furthermore, Artemiy Pleshkov and Stanislav Berezhnoi also appreciate the fact that they play for SKA."

HC SKA forward Arseniy Gritsyuk:

"Yes, maybe we didn't compete with our usual energy, but the main thing is that we acheived a positive result and made the fans happy. We'll now have a rest and prepare for our subsequent games.

"Was it difficult to get motivated for this match considering that Barys are bottom of the standings? No, not at all! We were determined to win having lost our preceding game, this was a very important fixture for us. We had no issues with the psychological side of preparing for this game at all."

HC SKA forward Vasily Glotov:

"Moisevich was fantastic in our net, he kept the opponents at bay with his smart saves. Our one goal was enough, so we earned the two points. We'll now move on to our upcoming matches.

"We were lacking aggression when presented with scoring chances? Well, I don't agree with that particular point. Factors which aren't captured on camera can affect how you try to convert an opportunity. To be honest, I would rather create lots of chances and miss them rather than winning 5:0 with only five opportunities."

HC Barys Astana head coach Galym Mambetaliyev:

"We had studied SKA well and warned our players of the opponents' strengths. Unfortunately, we conceded on the counter-attack and failed to take advantage of the chances which we created.

"Our players were stuck inside their own zone for almost half of the second stanza? SKA pinned us inside the defensive zone, and at times we failed to clear the puck when required. But, despite those particular difficulties, we defended well and didn't allow SKA to score their second. The Channel One Cup? One of two of our players will play at the tournament, no more."