Roman Rotenberg: "We will draw the right conclusions"
HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:
- It was an even game, two strong teams are competing against each other. We will work on the mistakes which we committed today. The main thing for us is to now recover, as a very interesting seventh match is ahead of us. Game sevens are fantastic for ice hockey, it will be a joy to participate in it - especially given that we will host it. We will prepare for the next game.
- CSKA Moscow seemed to want the victory more today. Did you keep in mind that you could lose today?
- No, everyone wanted to win. The opponents are very strong in defence, so we have to overcome this challenge by shooting more and crashing the net harder. We must work harder than the opponents.
- Did Vitaly Abramov's early third-period goal knock you heavily at the start of the third period?
- Ice hockey is a game of mistakes, and we will analyse what happened there. We will look at the video, draw the correct conclusions and move on.
- CSKA's two goals were scored as a consequence of losing faceoff draws.
- Yes, that is correct. Set plays are a strength of CSKA, we are constantly working on this aspect of the game. We will improve for the next match on Thursday.
- Why are you using Oscar Fantenberg on the powerplay instead of Mikko Lehtonen?
- We are always searching for ways to improve. Oscar competed on the powerplay in the last game, and this was also the case throughout the season. Let's see what happens, each match dictates its own scenario.
- Yesterday, you qualified for the final of the MHL Kharlamov Cup playoffs. How much attention are you giving to your youth team?
- In the SKA system, we are all working together. I am constantly in contact with SKA-1946 head coach Vladimir Filatov, it was a really tough series against a good Irbis Kazan team. We're now waiting for the final series against CSKA's youth team, the opponents are strong.
- Why did you put Andrei Kuzmenko back in the first line?
- We have faith in our leading players, we want them to score as many goals as possible. We will think about our plan for Thursday, we have food for thought.
- SKA seemed to be lacking emotions today.
- It's obvious that we can play a lot better. We have to draw these emotions out of ourselves, and the fact that we will play game seven on home ice in Saint Petersburg will assist us. The guys are giving their all and we have a great atmosphere within the group. You can't win without losing sometimes, we are preparing for Thursday.
- This will be the third game seven between SKA and CSKA since 2015.
- Game seven is the best thing which can happen in ice hockey! We've been working to feel this adrenaline for a very long time, everyone understands the situation. We are looking forward to it!