SKA - Dinamo Minsk. Press-conference
HC Dinamo Minsk head coach Craig Woodcroft:
- I congratulate SKA with their victory. We weren't ready for the immediate pressure which SKA applied, with our players looking nervous and giving them too much respect. In our first shift, we made a poor play after the faceoff draw, allowing the opponents to quickly take advantage of their early opportunity. The same thing happened for their second goal. Unfortunately, we were not ready for SKA's pressure, although we knew that this is their style. Later on, I think that we played better in the second and third periods, but the quality of SKA was key. I think that teams like SKA set a great example of how to approach matches and how to move on the ice.
- What can you say about another disappointing season for Dinamo Minsk?
- We are disappointed with the outcome. This is not what we had hoped for before the campaign began. Of course, we knew that the season would be tough, because we have a lot of young players without experience of playing at this level. Nevertheless, we had hoped for a better result.
HC SKA head coach Alexei Kudashov:
- I think that it was a great game for us today, especially at the start. The main thing is that the players continued working hard for the entire 60 minutes. We had movement, aggression and desire. There were moments which required more coolness, but we are satisfied with the match.
- When will Miro Aaltonen return?
- He had pneumonia, the recovery process is difficult.
- Will the young players have enough energy to continue competing like this for the entire season?
- Let's see. A lot of our players represent the national team. We will take it game by game.
- Sergei Plotnikov, Andrei Zubarev, Alexander Dergachyov and Dmitry Kagarlitsky haven't played for a while.
- I am happy with the team's physical state at the moment. We're looking at all aspects.
- Valery Bragin has joined the coaching team.
- He will help with the powerplay and our attacking play.