Michigan State 4, Nebraska-Omaha 5
2/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 1, 2008
Michigan State Head Coach Rick Comley
On bringing back bad habits tonight...
It was really a struggle. We were really sloppy and out of it. It was a let down after a big emotional weekend. We really worked hard during the third period. But a lot of penalties - the ten and five minute penalties hurt us. We had chances, and Charleston dominated the last play.
On the defense...
They're a good team. You can tell that they struggled with goaltending all year. They've been good on the road. The power play is excellent. We had a lot of penalties, with a lot of people in the penalty box for too long. When we're not in it mentally, we struggle. A couple of guys gave some good effort, and tied the game.
On the good effort made by the team...
We deserved at least the tie. I'm not sure that we deserved to win, but we tied it late. And you'd hope that we'd at least get a point out of it. My fear was that we would come out flat and have struggles getting in the game, and that's what happened. It was a tough night for Jeff [Lerg] - bad goals but great saves. I tried to warn them all week. What we feared is what you saw. We didn't play well enough until we were forced to. You have to come and play, and if you don't, good teams are going to beat you. It was a good win for them, they deserved it.
Nebraska-Omaha's Head Coach Mike Kemp
On the emotion after Michigan State scores tying goal...
It's kind of like we can't stand prosperity. That has been a true mark for us all year long. Even up in Alaska, we are up late in the game, and give up a goal on the power play to tie it, and then we had to come back to win it in overtime. I was really pleased with the way we reacted. The penalty killers gave up that one early; then they just shut it down, and did a great job after that. That is the key; those guys got out there in overtime and really laid it on the line. They got pucks out and down, and did a great job to give us the opportunity, and then we hit Charleston coming out of the box.
On playing on the road...
We have been functioning much better on the road than we have at home. I don't have an answer for it, because you think you would be better at home, but after 32-years of doing this job, I still can't figure out why we are better one place than the other. Normally, we have been really good at home, but this year we have been much better on the road.
On playing well in Munn Arena...
We always have, I think for our guys, liked playing here. It's a great hockey environment, and a great hockey rink. The ice surface is great, and I think our guys like just enjoy coming and playing here.
On the fan support...
We are very fortunate. They are the same people that show up at my radio show every Tuesday night. They are just very loyal and committed fans. They got on a bus at 4:30 this morning and rode all the way here today.
Michigan State Forward Bryan Lerg
His overall thoughts on the game...
I think we just went back to bad habits. I give them credit; they showed up and played. We battled back and had a good third period, but the other two periods weren't good at all. Bad habits, from turnovers to not playing physical, and everyone's effort overall, including myself, was unacceptable.
On coming back to tie the game after being down by two goals...
We realized that once we were down two goals, we needed to pick it up and figure it out. It's sad to say we didn't figure it out earlier in the game, but it's good we bounced back there, tied it up, and took it to overtime to give ourselves a chance to win. We didn't put it in there on the power play, which struggled a little bit today. It was sort of a disappointment.
On the team's power play chances in overtime...
There were some good chances there, but the puck wasn't settling down. I give their goalie credit, though; he made a good save on Vukovic right there at the end. I give them a lot of credit. They're great on the road, and we knew that. I just don't think we put forth the effort that we should've tonight.
On how the team needs to bounce back for tomorrow's game...
I think right now it's frustrating and disappointing, but a loss is a loss. No matter how it happens, we have to throw it out the window and bounce back and make sure we have tomorrow night's game.
On what Nebraska-Omaha did to slow Michigan State down...
We had people stretching too much. They were slowing us down with their sticks, but they also traveled up the ice in the line, three at a time. We got too spread out, and I don't think our cycle was very good tonight. We threw pucks at the net and didn't get too many rebounds.
Michigan State junior center Justin Abdelkader
On his misconduct penalty...
I apologized, and I was frustrated with the call. I let my emotions get to me, and I let down the team. I feel bad for that.
On coming out and making amends...
I felt like I owed one for the team. So I wanted to try and fight back and get us back in the game. I wanted to do whatever I could. I thought we played a pretty solid third period. Obviously, the first two periods there was a lack of effort, and mentally, everyone wasn't there. The third period, for the most part, everyone played alright. There were a few mental lapses. It's a tough game after such an emotional weekend against Michigan. We can't come out against Nebraska (Omaha) and have give a letdown effort and not be there mentally. As you can see any team in the league can beat you game in and game out.
On talking all week about making sure this wouldn't happen...
You can say as much as you want, but once you go out there, it's tough. We played in front of 7,000 fans last week and to come here - it's a little quiet in the building; it was a lot different atmosphere. Their fans were pretty loud for as many that came. I t was a different atmosphere. The effort wasn't there mentally, I don't think. Brian and I were talking and some of the guys didn't seem mentally there. We just have to make sure that everyone comes mentally prepared. It will be a learning lesson for us and we'll just move on.
On his emotions after they tied it up...
We had some good chances on the power play. Crowder had one there, and I thought that was a goal for sure. It just missed the net, and then we got a good shot and a lucky bounce. We had some momentum there in overtime and with a couple bounces, some go in and some don't. Hopefully we can learn from this and come back tomorrow and the rest of the year a better team.
On luck playing a role in the game...
I don't say lucky. When we were playing our game, I felt like we dominated them and had control of the puck and had our chances. We knew if we shot the puck on the net we would get some rebounds and score some goals. Once we played, we were the dominant team in the third period. I felt like we could have scored a couple more, especially in the second period. We had a couple of lucky breaks and bounces. We'll learn from this. The first two periods were the worst two periods of the season for us mentally. We can't have a mental and physical let down. I don't think mentally all the guys were in it.
