Michigan State 4, Nebraska-Omaha 2
3/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
March 9, 2007
Michigan State Head Coach Rick Comley
Opening statement...
It was good to get the win. We had the 2-0 lead, and then they got a nice power play goal. The mistake that got them the tying goal was just mind boggling. But, we came back and got it done. It is obvious that we are struggling right now, but hopefully this will relax everyone and we can pick up our quality of play tomorrow night.
On Nebraska-Omaha...
They are quick and can really put pressure on you, and they are minus one of their best players. I also thought their goaltender played well. But, we also did some good things and overall we killed penalties very well - they make it tough on the power play.
On the game's progression...
The first period you expect to be a little ragged, and we were - we only had two shots on goal. We had the puck around the net, but we missed the net several times. They are so quick they make it tough on your defense - I thought our defensemen struggled with the puck tonight. Their speed kind of creates some of those problems. We played real solid up 2-0, but then took some sloppy penalties. They took advantage of them.
On the swing of emotions...
It is a tough loss for them. They came back and tied the game, then we came back and won the game. Obviously you want to be up 1-0 in a best-of-three series, and we are. I thought we played well at times, but we can play better. They skate, and that causes some problems for us. I think we will have more people play better tomorrow, and I think our defense will play better.
It frustrated me that we were turning the puck over so much, but they are quick and they forecheck well. We need our defensemen to step up and be better tomorrow.
On playing the Mavericks minus Scott Parse...
Not only is he one of the best players in the conference, he is one of the best players in the country. You take him out and it is tough, but I thought they rallied - they still have a lot of good players. You miss him because he scores big goals, but I thought they did a real nice job playing without him and their goalie came up big.
Nebraska-Omaha Head Coach Mike Kemp
Overall impressions...
We battled back and it was a close game. I didn't think that either team really carried the play throughout. I think in the first period we carried the play - and hit two crossbars, in the second they did and in the third period if you look at the shot chart it was very even. It's just disappointing that we gave up a goal in the last minute. That's the tale of the game. They were able to capitalize on their last opportunity and we weren't.
On the action in the last few minutes...
We had a couple more chances after they scored and then they hemmed us in our zone the last minute of play. That's when you've got to make the plays to get the puck out of your end and at the very least get the game to overtime. They executed excellently on the last goal and took advantage of our breakdown.
On playing with a depleted lineup...
I'm proud of the way we played. We battled, scratched, clawed and did the things we needed to do to win under difficult conditions with some players out of the lineup.
On the play of UNO goaltender Jared Kaufmann
I thought Jared did an excellent job, especially in the second period. They had some great point-blank opportunities and I thought he did just a super job in there. He was active and in the right position most of the night and he had to make some acrobatic saves.
Michigan State Center Bryan Lerg
On the game overall...
I feel like myself, McKenzie and Sucharski, were getting up and down the ice fine the first two periods, but just not much was happening. We hit the post in the first, had a couple chances and really not much else. We didn't do that much in the first two periods and coach came up to us and said, "You guys were unreal in practices this week, go out here and show it, I know you guys can do it." The third period I just felt like we played well; on McKenzie's game winning goal, he just made a great pass to me and I just supported him through the middle. Their defense played a great play on me, I just spun and hit Dunne, who was excellent on the play. I thought he was going to shoot it for sure and sure enough he put it right to McKenzie on the back door. It was a beautiful goal.
On the game winning goal...
My first plan was to take it to the net, and when I saw the play develop, I spun back and hit Dunne. That was a unreal play by Dunne following up.
Michigan State Right Wing Jim McKenzie
On the pass from Dunne for the game winning goal...
That was a great play by Dunne - a good heads up play, just to notice that that guy was going down to block his shot. He just kind of placed it out there for me. You have to give him a lot of credit for that.
On his shot for the goal...
I definitely was just going to the net for a rebound, I thought Dunne was going to bury his head and take a one-timer because it was a good setup for a one-timer. Just for him to make that play, it shows that he has the ability to make plays like that every night.
On the third period...
When they tied the game, that was a wakeup call. A team like that with the offense they have, to come back with five minutes in the game, you have to be pretty worried, especially scoring two in a row like that. It was kind of tough to let them get into overtime and get more comfortable again and play with a lead. It was pretty huge for Dunne to make that play with a minute left.
Michigan State Goalie Jeff Lerg
On the overall game...
There weren't too many great chances, but it was good getting a couple shots there in the first, kind of getting a feel for the game. They hit a couple posts tonight, so that was good - bounces were going my way tonight. They had three posts by the end of the third period so they had some solid opportunities for sure. We got kind of lucky with that, but we were good enough for the win.
On Nebraska-Omaha's third-period spark...
They weren't really in the zone too much, we were just getting the puck deep and letting the clock tick away. Then all of a sudden, look what happens - they get one real nice play, I think it went through a couple legs there right inside of the post, so I didn't see it until it went right past me. Then all of a sudden there is a turnover and the game is tied. They have guys that can score, they showed tonight how quick they can be with it and we always have to be on our toes waiting for them.
