Post-Game Quotes
1/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 24, 2006
MSU Head Coach Rick Comley
Opening statement... "Give Ferris credit, because they played their game to a T. They pack it and keep it tight, and try to convert on power-plays and turnovers. If you give them a 5-on-3, eventually they'll probably score a goal. That was obviously the swinging point in the game, and I thought their goalie did a really good job and did what he had to do. On our part, we didn't have the jump that we've had and they take things away from you in their zone for sure."
On MSU's offense... "We hit the crossbar twice at critical times, and it was so hard to get the puck. It was hard to get the puck along the boards and it was hard to get the loose pucks in front. I thought we did a really good job getting the puck back to our defensemen - I thought they were patient with the puck, but there's just nothing there. It certainly wasn't our `A' game by any means, but don't take any credit away from Ferris."
Evaluating the team's performance... "I thought we played tired. I think they're all frustrated right now, and sometimes when you're frustrated, you think you're not ready, but the bottom line is the physical side of it is very demanding. Should you be able to play over it, you hope so, but then again these kids always work hard, they always battle and sometimes a sequence of games has an impact."
Ferris State Head Coach Bob Daniels
On the effects of playing a Tuesday night game... "I'd say that both teams looked fatigued. We played two pretty hard games against Lake State and Michigan State played two hard games against Nebraska-Omaha and had to travel. I think that lends itself to a weary looking game. I also think that's why goal scoring was down."
On the play of his goaltender Mitch O'Keefe... "What he was really good at was handling all of the maintenance around the crease. He made a lot of saves that weren't easy look easy, because of his positioning. He also got a little fortunate when MSU hit the crossbar."
Drew Miller, MSU junior forward
On whether fatigue was an issue in the loss... You never want to blame it on being tired. I thought we had some strong points to our game tonight; we hit some posts and crossbars and put some through the crease. We had opportunities to score, so we can't blame it all on being tired.
On the five-on-three opportunity for Ferris State in the third period... "It was a crazy play; I just took my guy in front of the net. I thought we killed the five-on-three really well. They had it for 1:20 or 1:30. They had some time to work with and (Jeff) Lerg made some good saves, but then they got that shot to find its way to the net."
On bouncing back... "Tonight was a game we needed to win; we knew it was for second place. We just need to come back this weekend against Michigan and get those four points. They are very big points not only because it is Michigan, but also because of the standings and where we sit."
Jared Nightingale, MSU Senior Defenseman
On the game as a whole... "I thought they did the little things right. Give them credit, they worked hard and played to their system. Unfortunately there were a few bad plays and stretches that cost us."
On the difficult midweek schedule... "I hate to blame it on that because we would be practicing if we weren't playing, which is just as hard. I have heard Ferris has played a lot of games in a short period also. They just played to their system better than us tonight."
On whether momentum would carry over to the third after the late goal... "I think everybody did (think the momentum would carry over). We have a lot of confident guys and even after they got that second goal, we thought we would get it back. But to their credit, they played great defensively and their goalie played really well."
Tim Crowder, MSU Freshman Forward
On Ferris State's play... "You just have to give Ferris State credit. They came out and played hard. You've got to give them credit for their work on the penalty kill. It was hard for us to get shots around them because they were blocking so well."
On his goal... "I read that Boothy (David Booth) was going to the net and I followed him there. The puck just happened to be lying there so toe-dragged it to myself and chipped it in."
