Michigan State-Ohio State Postgame Quotes
12/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Dec. 1, 2006
Michigan State Head Coach Rick Comley
On the team's play...
I thought we were tentative or tired early. They've always given us trouble because they're big, strong and older with eight seniors. That kind of team seems to have always really frustrated us, and we didn't generate anything. I didn't think they did either. It was a ho-hum first period and we gave up the bad goal with nine seconds to go. Fortunately, the quality of our play picked up in the second and I thought continued to get better as the day went on.
I still think that it's a carry over a little bit from last week. If you looked at Minnesota, when they were down 4-2 in the third, it's a tough grind. I was really happy tonight because we used some people killing penalties that we haven't used all year. We got more people in the game, kept our better players for 5-on-5 in some situations. Overall, it was a good win. I thought the two teams were very even and both goalies played well. It was a real hotly-contested, even game.
On Ohio State's play...
Early, we were trying to run through them and they're good. They have some very good, experienced defensemen who are big and strong. We kept turning it over on the rush and later we just kept chipping it by them, making them go back and get it.
On the play of the special teams...
On their power play, they shoot from the outside. If you look at their leading scorers, they're defensemen. (Jason) DeSantis is a very good player and (Sean) Collins is a very good player. Our strategy was to keep the puck high and to keep it outside. They didn't get much in close. They're good enough that they're going to have the puck, and when they had the 6-on-4 at the end of the game, you held your breath a little bit.
Ohio State Head Coach John Markell
On Michigan State's penalty killing...
They blocked a tremendous amount of shots. They pack it in and that's the new NHL style (of penalty killing). They blocked a lot of shots and we've just got to find a way to get them through.
On the turn in the game after the first intermission...
In the second period, we knew they were going to come out hard after having just one shot on net and after that we were still in good shape. You need to execute on the power play whether you're up one goal or down one and tonight we didn't. You have to have it working to win in a good team's building.
Michigan State Sophomore Forward Tim Kennedy
On the team's play in the first period...
Its always tough the first game back home after three on the road against the top teams in the nation. Ohio State just came out flying and we were kind of on our heels so that first period was just what we needed to get the rust off.
On his breakaway goal...
When I got the pass from Howells, I was kind of scared because I had my head down. Usually, when you are going across the middle with your head down, you are going to get hit. But since no one was there, I just had a free lane. I use that move a lot and the coaches get mad, because I am like 6-of-18 with it. They are happy when it works though, so I was glad it went in or I would have heard it when I got back to the bench.
On beating Ohio State's defense...
I think we have to use both speed and physical play to beat their defense. Justin Kroll and Sean Collins are two of the best defensemen in our league. You are not going to beat them one-on-one very much so you have to use your teammates. I think our team has to use our speed more, but we can also pass well when we are down low so that gives us two options. We utilized both of those tonight.
Michigan State Junior Forward Chris Mueller
On scoring a pair of key goals...
I've had a little bit of a drought this year and I'm just trying to help the team out. If I can help them out on the scoreboard, that's an even bigger plus. Two good plays by guys on our team gave me the puck and I was able to put them home.
On generating momentum after the road trip...
We had three road games, so we had to get used to our building again, settle down and get comfortable. We haven't lost in this building yet and we have to continue to do so. We have to win hockey games right now. We were struggling a bit and when I scored that first goal you could feel the momentum change.
On MSU's home-ice advantage...
When you score a goal, the fans get into it and that helps us feed of their energy. The guys smile and encourage each other to play better each shift, so the momentum definitely switched and we build on that in this building.
