Michigan State 6, Clarkson 1
10/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Oct. 9, 2009
Michigan State Head Coach Rick Comley
On how MSU started the game...
We had a real good start to the game, and I really think Clarkston came out strong. Power plays played a factor for sure, but that's the kind of start you like to see a young team make.
On the team's power play opportunities...
Yeah I think we had three power play goals tonight and we use a variety of people. We are still sorting out a lot of things, just as Clarkson is, but again, we have a new style of play that we are trying to implement. Because of that you can see us sometimes and not others, but all in all it was good.
On what he saw on the ice tonight...
Well, I really hoped that we would have some depth and some balance, and the ability to score some goals. I have liked our talent in practice, but that has to transfer to the game and to our opponents. I liked the fact that our first three goals were from juniors, and on the last one some freshman were involved. We use everyone tonight and I thought that was healthy. I also though Drew Palmisano played very well in goal and made a lot of good saves for us tonight. I think the score could have been much closer. Everyone had a lot of questions, including me.
On the overall competitiveness tonight...
I think we moved the puck pretty well, and we got up and down the ice pretty well.
On the special teams and being happy with the six goals tonight...
For sure they got one power play goal that we would like back, but it's early in the season and you have a great deal of opportunity to work on several things. We are still in a feeling out process obviously, and working to see who would complement who the best.
On freshman Zach Josepher...
He can really shot a puck. He will have to get use to the speed of the game a little bit, but he can really shot a puck. He had 60 or 70 points last year as a defenseman, and we knew coming in that he would be one of the power play guys.
On the improvement he's noticed from last year...
Well the two things that really just killed us last year was that we could never get out of our zone, and we could never win faceoffs. Because now the way the game is played there are so many faceoffs in the defensive zone, and getting Nick Sucharski back was major. We now also have Chris Forfar, and part of his recruitment was his ability to win faceoffs. We have worked hard at that and the kids are stronger and we are better at it now.
On Daultan Leveille improvement...
Yes, I agree. He has worked hard, as they all have all spring, all summer and now into the fall.
On his 750th win...
Yes it is a good feeling. Someone asked me if my number one win (on the season) meant more than 750, and right now, it does. It's a big year because it a re-prove year in some ways, and we have to spread some confidence around the community and winning does that.
On how the freshman look in his opinion...
Yes it does, and again we intentionally recruited older, bigger and stronger freshman because of what we felt were our deficiencies. They all look like they can play, although you cant make too much too early, but we are talking a lot more positive in here than we did most nights last year.
On the starting goalie for tomorrow night's game...
Bobby Jarosz is going to start tomorrow night. Drew Palmisano is classified as our number one goalie, but Booby is going to play more than people might think he is going to play. We had already decided that before the game. It's great to get going it's been a long, long summer.
Michigan State Freshman Defenseman Zach Josepher
On his overall impressions of the game and his offense night...
I would say I had a lot of puck luck tonight. It was most of the guys working really hard to set me up for those opportunities. Both of my goals were from the blueline so I mean the puck has to get out there somewhere. The forwards worked real hard tonight. I thought we all played really well and we're starting to click well. I think this is a great start to the season.
On how he felt when he took his shots...
On the first one I was just trying to get off in a hurry because the fore-checker was out of position on the penalty kill. He actually got a stick in there and I managed to get it on net. Like I said, I was just really lucky tonight and it worked out. I had a lot of time with the second one and I was able to put it where I wanted to.
On playing defense and the pace of the game...
After playing juniors, this is a big jump up. Everybody's so much faster and stronger. It is definitely an honor to play here at Michigan State. It is one of the top programs in the country and coming from a season like we had last year, it's a great start. We have to keep on going from here.
On if this win was fun for the freshman class...
I wouldn't say it was just fun for the freshman class, I would say starting the season off this way everyone is really excited and all the boys have good chemistry in the locker room and we're all really tight. This is a big win for all of us.
On his favorite NHL hockey team...
The New York Rangers. My parents had Rangers season tickets. I live five minutes from the Nassau coliseum where the Islanders play but I'm a Ranger fan for life. After I saw the 1994 playoffs where they beat Vancouver. My parents were at game 7 and they said it was definitely a thrill.
On his favorite Ranger player...
I would definitely say one of my favorite Ranger players right now is Matt Gilroy. He grew up two minutes away from me. He won the Hobey Baker last year and I skated with him all summer. He's also having a good start with the Rangers. My favorite NHL player is Andre Markov on the Canadiens. I would say we have similar styles of play and although he just got hurt and is out for four months.
On previously knowing Matt Gilroy...
We played together in the summer and he was a senior when I went to high school with him because we both went to private school. I didn't play for the hockey team yet but we went to high school together for one year and I've seen him around the rink a bunch of times. I see his brother too who also goes to Boston University.
On what they need to improve on for tomorrow night's game...
I would definitely say consistency. At the end they started getting some flurries. We beat them on the score board tonight put they had their chances. Drew Palmisano played really well tonight. He was phenomenal. We had a great start to the game which is also really good. If we get a great start tomorrow, we'll just keep rolling.
Michigan State Junior Right Wing Corey Tropp
On how nice it was to get his first goal this season...
Obviously it was a long time coming. Even if I didn't score we wanted to open up the game scoring the first goal, and tonight I was lucky to be that guy. Obviously it's a great feeling after what happened last season. It's good to come back and help the team and contribute right off the bat.
On the team, as a whole...
Obviously for the first game we did a lot of things right and there is also a lot of things we did wrong. We had some first game jitters, but also on the biggest things is that we didn't have four lines last year. Let's be honest, at certain times in the lineup we might have started the game with three lines. That is probably the biggest thing on a hockey team, being able to role four lines out there. I think that just shows a lot of guys in the locker room have worked hard and got bigger and stronger, and some of the incoming guys are pulling their end of the weight - it's just exciting. After what we went through last year, I'm sure you guys could tell by watching the game there is a lot more jump and we look like a lot better hockey team.
On how the freshmen class didn't really play like freshman...
Joeshper had a big night as a freshmen, a bunch of guys did a lot of good thing. You could just tell the biggest thing is the maturity level. They are a mature class and a little bit older than the class we last year, and they are all pretty strong and that will pay off on the ice. All of the freshman that came in this year are pretty darn good and will be big keys to our program and down the road as well. It is exciting to see all that stuff.
On the biggest positive from tonight's game...
I think from just talking with a couple guys in the locker room, it is nice to come in and not having everyone upset is fun. One of things from last year is the snowball effect kind of happened, and when you are losing it isn't the most fun time. We can enjoy it for a night but the biggest test for us will be how we respond tomorrow.
On the play of the defense and Drew Palmisano...
Palmy is palmy. He obviously has to carry a lot of weight. Jeff Lerg had four great years here and Palmy has tough shoes to fill. The biggest thing about Palmy is he just keeps his composure he doesn't get rattled he's one of the hardest goalies to score on. He is a competitor and he made some big stops tonight and hopefully he keeps on doing that and he will have success doing that.
On Clarkson tying the score 1-1...
That is another difference I noticed. Obviously last year we would score maybe 1 or 2 goals a game and I don't think anyone really got rattled. It was early in the game and we got on the board first on a nice power play goal. They (Clarkson) crashed the net on their goal and the other team will score goals and how we respond when that happens. We did a good job weathering the storm for a couple minutes after that and to have success that is what you have to do.
