Michigan State - 7, Michigan - 4
11/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Nov. 3, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
Michigan State Head Coach Rick Comley
On the game as a whole...
Their speed really got us at the beginning of the game. Our defensemen got caught in some traps up ice. In the second period, we adjusted well and probably played our best period of the year. We got a little sloppy in the third, but overall it was a good win.
On adjusting after the first period...
I thought their goalie played really well in the first period, but there was no panic in the locker room being down 3-1. We weren't dominated, but we did make a few mistakes. We knew the game would be testy. They obviously didn't have Jack Johnson, which is a major player not to be in there as far as the danger factor. Everything got going in the second. We were able to get to their goalie.
On Michigan in the first period...
We just made a few mistakes. They are just such a fast team, and they transition so well, that we were chasing them back in our end all the time. Their speed is something you just can't practice against. But, they are not the same team without Jack Johnson. We will see the real Michigan tomorrow.
On the key point in the game...
On the fourth goal, Kivisto made a tremendous play to set up McKenzie. To have your fourth line get a goal like that really gives your team a boost. I thought Michigan looked really tired in the second period - they kind of ran out of gas and we took it and ran with it.
On what the team did well in the second period...
We got a few power play goals and I was really happy with our play. I was curious to see how we would play against a good team - especially a team with a lot of speed. Our defense adjusted in the second period, but they are really an untested group. They definitely will be tested tomorrow.
Michigan Head Coach Red Berenson
On the momentum shift after the first intermission...
The first intermission was a chance for Michigan State to regroup and it maybe was a chance for our group to think they were playing great. I thought we gave Michigan State too much and then they got the momentum and we couldn't get it back. It's very disappointing and it's embarrassing to come in here and play that way after you get off to such a good start.
On Michigan goalie Billy Sauer...
I thought Billy played well but when you give up six goals you question yourself as a goaltender. I didn't think he got the support he needs to have a good game in here (Munn Ice Arena).
Michigan State Sophomore Forward Matt Schepke
On his first collegiate goal...
The puck was originally dumped in and somewhere along the line one of the Michigan players broke his stick. Sucharski and Sprague did a really good job of working the puck down low, and I was cycling high and stepped down the boards. I saw the guy had no stick, picked up the puck and stepped to the middle. Sucharski set up a good pick and I just fired it at the net.
On his emotions after his goal...
At first I thought I missed. I heard the crowed roar, but I thought I missed. Then the horn went off and I don't remember much after that. It was a long time coming.
Importance of the team coming together and providing a third option...
It's very important. We have four good deep lines on our team. Our line is working really well. We've been together for a couple games, and we click very well. Both Sucharski and Sprague are hard workers and keep the puck low. They work and get to the net.
On the mood in the locker room after the first period and coming back out and playing hard...
It was a little scary going into the locker room. We weren't too worried, we still had forty minutes to play. You want to come out real hard, and the biggest thing for us tonight was the energy that the fans brought out for us. That set us off big time. It helps us to get going. When I stepped onto the ice for the announcements, it was unreal.
Michigan State Sophomore Forward Justin Abdelkader
On Michigan's team speed...
I don't think we've faced speed like that in our first four games. Michigan has a lot of talent and they skate really well. We've played some good teams but none of them had the speed that Michigan has. I think it took us the first period to adjust to that.
On what helped Michigan State shift the momentum...
It was nice that the crowd never got down. They had energy and they never got down. We got in the locker room and we didn't have any doubt that we could come back. The guys said some things in the locker room to get us going and keep us positive.
On the role the crowd at Munn Arena played...
One of the big keys was the crowd. We score a goal and they're going nuts. It's just an unbelievable atmosphere when we're feeding of their energy and they're feeding of ours. We need something like that in this arena every game to give us that seventh man.
Michigan Senior Forward T.J. Hensick
On the second period...
Giving up four goals in a period is inexcusable and embarrassing. It's something we talked about this week; coming out in the second period and playing to our capabilities. The second period seems to be our weakest period out of three and that's something we need to address as a team in a hurry.
On Michigan State's play in the second period...
They were coming really hard on the forecheck and creating chances off of it. That was discouraging our whole team. Our team is more of a puck control team, and if we don't have the puck we get frustrated. That's something we can't let happen as individuals and as a team.
