SOCHI, August 9, Andrey Senchenko. Head coach of SKA St. Petersburg Roman Rotenberg expressed the opinion that the referee did the right thing by sending off the army defender Ivan Vydrenkov for a foul in a friendly match against the Russian national team (under 23 years old) on striker Maxim Velikov.
As part of the pre-season tournament in Sochi, SKA lost to the Russian team (under 23) in a shootout (5:6 PB). The army team has suffered three defeats and one victory in four matches. Vydrenkov received a 5+2 penalty in the first period for being rude and attacking the head and neck area.
“You are confusing concepts. There is power hockey, there is dirty hockey. We need to specifically analyze the episodes. Evaluating dirty and clean hockey is the prerogative of the judges. In this episode, the player did not hit the opponent with his elbow in the head, but hit his shoulder in the head, which was much lower than him height. The referee gave 5 minutes of penalty and did the right thing. Let it continue. We are for honest hockey, honest work. When the judges send off for hooks, small fouls, dirty pokes in the back, then we will have a cleaner and more attractive hockey. When Kirill Tankov was hit in the back, and he flew headfirst into the side, and then ended up in the hospital, no one asked any questions. Surgeons fought for his life, we were lucky that we found a doctor who performed an operation on him very quickly. And what a responsibility from others? For example, from the judges who were resting at that moment,» Rotenberg told reporters.
Also, the head coach of SKA noted that at the moment there are no plans to change the composition of the team.
“A wonderful game, excellent and fast hockey. Everyone likes this kind of hockey. The Russian national team is a great team, great players are gathered there. It’s not easy for our guys now, a lot of training. We will bring the team to a common denominator, train all together. There are always a lot of plans, but «Life dictates its own terms. Guys under such loads cannot show their best hockey. In the third periods, the team loses speed, but this is understandable. Our task is to improve all indicators. Changes in the composition? So far this is a premature question. There is no news today» Rotenberg added.
Head coach of the Russian team Nikolai Voevodin positively assessed the performance of his players in the tournament. The Russians won two victories and two defeats in four matches.
“The first two periods were not for us, we lost on the move. We needed the first goal that would inspire the guys and give them strength. This goal happened. I am grateful to the guys for their character. At this tournament, many players exceeded my expectations . I knew few people. The guys have matured, they are already growing up in the KHL, «Voevodin said.