Michigan State Hockey Postgame Quotes
3/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
March 16, 2008
Michigan State Head Coach Rick Comley
Thoughts on the game...
I thought the week off kind of hurt us; we just never seemed to get back to where we were. But we played pretty well. I thought (Northern Michigan goalie Brian) Stewart was magnificent. I thought their team played hard, worked within themselves, and I thought (Northern Michigan head coach) Walt (Kyle) did a really good job with that team. We had plenty of scoring opportunities, but we just couldn't get the puck in enough. We were fortunate enough to be able to tie it. You had a feeling in overtime that they were going to spring it; that we were going to have all kinds of pressure on them, and they were just going to pop something loose, and then they got the chance with the power-play.
On where his team stands after the loss...
Our league, because it was so top-heavy this year, has really hurt things. Knowing the system pretty well, I would think we'll probably get in, unless there are two or three upsets in the other leagues. But who knows; we'll just have to wait and see.
On how the team responded after the loss in game two...
It was tough. I thought our defense played young tonight - whether they felt pressure or whatever. But overall, our kids worked very hard. They generated a lot of shots again, it's just that Stewart was really, really good, but in our sport, that can happen to you.
Northern Michigan Head Coach Walt Kyle
On the series...
We averaged 43 shots a game, and when you're generating 43 shots, you're giving yourself a pretty good chance to score. Like I told you, our defense struggled tonight, for sure. We needed another goal before they got a goal. It was hard-fought series, I knew it would be, and Northern finished the year like we all thought they would. This was going to be the toughest series, and it turned out that way.
On winning the game on a power play...
We told our guys that if we scored on the power play tonight we were going to win. (Michigan State) had been so good on their power play that we had to expect them to do something. I thought that five-on-five there were times that we played very well and we had our chances. There power play was much more effective than ours throughout the weekend.
On getting contributions from role players...
Andrew Sarauer is a fourth-line guy and he got a big one for us. Gregor Hanson didn't play the last 12 minutes of regulation, doesn't play 10 minutes into overtime, we're on the power play and I go to him, "Are you ready?" He said, "Yeah, I'm ready." Then he made the play to (Matt) Butcher on the game-winning goal.
On getting a big win...
I've told our guys since the day that they got on campus about winning games late. Tonight we kind of correlated tonight to a game seven. This was the seventh time that we'd played this year. We had won three, they had won three. We talked about it being a game seven, playing in their building, and expecting it to be tight.
Michigan State Junior Forward Justin Abdelkader
On some of the unlucky bounces and bad breaks the team faced in the series...
I think it was just a lot of tough breaks and luck just really didn't go our way all weekend. The last two games, we've had 40-plus shots, and we were getting shots through, so it wasn't just their blocking shots. Stewart made some good saves, but he had some luck, too. We hit some posts and we had chances, but the puck didn't find the back of the net.
On his feelings at the end of the game...
It's definitely one of the worst feelings I've had in my hockey career, especially on home ice and in overtime. I thought we had the momentum, and then we got that penalty. We're just going to have to sit around and hope there aren't too many upsets in the other tournaments and hope the selection committee favors us.
On the team's mood in game one compared to games two and three...
I think we were frustrated in Saturday's game. The puck just wasn't going in like it was on Friday. I think the frustration might have carried over into tonight's game. I think it was some luck, too. We hit posts, we broke sticks and Stewart made some good saves. I give Northern credit; they played two good games after game one.
On Northern Michigan winning four of the past five against Michigan State...
I think that was our game to win tonight. We had our chances, but we just couldn't get the puck in the back of the net for some reason. I think we've proven ourselves all season against some of the top teams in the country. For some reason Northern gave us fits this year.
On what he would say to the NCAA Tournament selection committee about picking Michigan State...
Look at the run we had last year in the tournament. No one really thought we could do it, no one believed in us, but we played tough against all the top teams. This year, we beat Michigan twice, and they've been ranked number one all year. I'd just say we have a good track record and there aren't any teams that would want to play us in the first round.
Michigan State Senior Defenseman Daniel Vukovic
On his feelings following the game...
It is an awful way to go in the CCHA. To not know whether or not I played my last game in college is an awful feeling. That's just the way it goes, and you have to hope things will work out.
On the penalty call in overtime...
You never want to go out like that. In overtime, you just don't want that kind of situation to happen. Unfortunately it did and we are obviously unhappy, but it happened and we didn't end up killing it off, and it might end my season and the seniors' time here. I was surprised there was a penalty called in overtime, but maybe he saw it from a different angle. In overtime, it's a hard call to make but he made it and stuck with it.
On the play of Northern Michigan...
Let's give them credit for working hard, but I think Stewart was phenomenal this weekend. We just didn't get the bounces and things didn't go our way. They played hard, they won, and they are going to the Joe.
On his belief that Michigan State should make the NCAA Tournament...
I think last year is part of it, but this year we've been a top contender no matter who we've played. I think we've played top teams and we've beaten them. We've done well against Michigan, who has been number one the whole time. In my opinion, if we play any team in the nation we can beat them. Any team that we would end up playing would not want to play us. I think we're a top-end team and we still have something to prove.
Northern Michigan Goaltender Brian Stewart
On how he felt mentally going into overtime...
Going into overtime we had to rebound from the goal we let in with three minutes left in the game, so we talked about it in the room, just `nothing to lose, we're the underdogs here, they're supposed to beat us,' and that just gave us a bunch of momentum going into it. And we knew guys were battling hard. I had a good feeling going into overtime.
On what was said in the locker room after the third period...
Guys were just pumping the team up, a lot of the seniors just firing everybody up and there was just a good feeling in the room going into the overtime.
Northern Michigan Forward Matt Butcher
On what the game-winning goal means to him...
Probably the most exciting goal of my life I'd say, to this point anyway. Other than that, I was just really happy to continue the season on.
On what happened on the goal...
Miller did a good job chipping the puck out, and I kind of got a piece of it and threw it back to Hanson there, and he made a great play giving it back to me, and I just closed my eyes and shot.
