Michigan State 0, UMass-Lowell 3
10/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Oct. 16, 2008
Michigan State Senior Goalie Jeff Lerg
On what he would tell his teammates...
I would tell them that it is not Michigan State Hockey to just go out there and float around for 60 minutes. We worked hard during the week and we thought it would go well tonight. We worked on getting offensive chances so getting 16 shots was disappointing. I think we should tell them that you can't just go out and expect the `W' every time. You have to earn it. We have to go out and just play.
On this week compared to last...
They were really similar games. I think that the goalkeeper played better tonight. We tried to get more intensity but it just didn't translate.
On improving as a team...
It's not how you start it's how you finish. We just have to keep our heads up. We'll be okay. The only way you get better is to see what you did wrong and learn from it. I think we just need to come out here and get the win tomorrow and get ready for league play, which will be up another notch of intensity. We're a young team and we've played against all experienced teams so far so they're used to fighting for it and seeing what college hockey is all about.
On the team's conditioning...
I feel like the conditioning we've done this year is the most we've done. We are in good shape in practice it just isn't transitioning to the games. It's tough adapting but hopefully we can start to keep that intensity up through the whole 60 minutes.
Massachusetts-Lowell Head Coach Blaise MacDonald
Overall impressions...
We were playing a very good team in Michigan State. They're one of the best defensive teams in the country so we had to work hard for our goals. I think Michigan State was 12-12 on the penalty kill coming into the game so for us to get two power play goals was huge.
On his team's defensive effort...
Unless you have a goaltender getting 52 saves, usually it's the blocked shots that get you the shutout. One point in the third period we had a defenseman, Jeremy Dehner, stay in our zone for two minutes, blocking shots and getting the puck out of the zone. It's little things like that, the honest player making the plays.
On solid performances from his team...
I thought two of our freshmen played well, David Vallorani and Matt Ferreira. They were really solid out there. I just thought we had a lot of players play well. I thought Jeremy Dehner played outstanding on defense as well. Those were probably some of our best contributors.
