Miami 4, Michigan State 2
11/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Nov. 15, 2007
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Michigan State Head Coach Rick Comley
On what he liked about the game...
Well they certainly came out and played great. To me it was like night and day difference between what we have been playing and what we faced tonight; they were good. They were really, really good. But then, after about the first ten minutes, for the next thirty, it became a real battle. I thought our kids kind of reacted, I think some kids struggled all night, I think that was obvious to anybody who watched but I thought Jeff was really courageous and fought and competed and had no chance on any of the goals and held us in there. And then that third one was a tough one; that was a tough goal to give up. They're the best team we've played by far. You can tell they're on a mission. They play hard, they compete and at the end of the game they just toyed with us for the last five or six minutes. We were tired, they wore us out tonight, so it will be interesting to see how some of our kids react, We'll be better - a lot of the kids are better than what they played tonight. You have to play well against good teams.
On Miami being as good as advertised...
Yep, absolutely. They make it tough don't they? Tough to get it in, tough to get it, tough to get shots through. They're good, they're real good. They are better than North Dakota. I can't imagine anybody better than Miami, so you have to react to that level of play.
Miami Head Coach Enrico Blasi
Overall impressions...
I thought it was an exciting game. It was a battle out there for both teams. Oddly enough there were a lot odd-man rushes for both teams. There were a lot of plays to be made out there. Sometimes the teams made them, sometimes they didn't. They missed open nets, and we missed open nets. In the end I think we got a bounce in the third period. (The goal) looked like it was fluttering in. In a game like that, that's probably what the difference was going to be.
On killing a five-on-three in the third period...
We did a nice job there. Mitch Ganzak did a great job, along with Nathan Davis and Kevin Roeder. Anytime you can kill a five-on-three it's a big momentum boost. We're doing a pretty good job (on the penalty kill). We're blocking shots, getting into shooting lanes, and Jeff Zatkoff is stopping a lot of shots.
On getting goals early in the first and third periods...
That gives you an opportunity to play your game. I think that was a real big for us, especially when you're on the road.
Junior Left Wing Tim Kennedy
On what Michigan State needed to do to beat Miami...
I don't think we followed the game plan . Miami is a great team and they're number one in the nation for a reason. They came on the road and started strong and got the puck in deep. They got chances, they got the power play early and they kept at us. When a team scores early like that in the first part of the game, it really takes the wind out of your sails.
On how the Spartans responded...
We came back and got a goal but we made some mistakes early in the third period that we just can't make. We're going to try to correct that for tomorrow.
On the physical nature of the game...
In this league, that's how it is every night. Whether it's Miami or somebody else, they're going to try to bang you around. So that's what we expect from every team in this league. I thought we did a good job responding to the physicality of the game, and I think that's the way it's going to be every night.
On Miami's penalty kill...
They send a lot of pressure at you. We're not used to facing that. But we had our chances tonight, our power play just wasn't clicking. I think that was our first off-night on our power play, and those nights are going to happen. We're just going to go back to the and figure out a way to break their system.
Junior Goaltender Jeff Lerg
On what kind of team Miami is...
We knew they were going to be a really fast team. All of the veterans knew that. They did a good job putting the puck where they want it. There was a lot of traffic in front of the net tonight. They're a smart team and they have four really good lines that can all score. You can tell they don't let up and you could they're well-coached. In the last five minutes, instead of us dominating them, they kept the pedal on the floor and didn't give us a chance.
On the strong emotion of the game...
This was the most emotion all year. They are a good team and they have a lot of good skill players. Their last goal was a really nice. It went through a couple of guys. Every line is dangerous, and they're the kind of team that any little mistake could be the difference in the game.
On the positives MSU can take into Friday night's game...
We figured it would be a close game. Coach said it could be a one-goal game and that's what it was. There were some positives in there. We fought back after getting down. We didn't come out with the intensity they had and they come out flying. Those first five minutes you could tell they were trying to run us out of the building. Tomorrow we're going to have to be ready and weather the storm.
On the Miami's disallowed goal...
Before I could look around, the guy was right on top of me. I knew right away there was something wrong with that play. That's the way they play. They go hard and try to get bodies in front of you. They do have ways to score goals. If that guy was just another foot back, it would have been a goal. I knew he was right on top of me because I tried to turn my head and I couldn't see anything. All I saw was his big jersey, so that's when I knew something wasn't right.
