Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU vs. UConn Quotes
October 13, 2006 | Ice Hockey
Oct. 13, 2006
Recap | Final Stats | Photo Gallery
Scott Paluch
OPENING STATEMENT
"I was impressed with their team. I knew they were going to be quick and physical based on what we saw. They have six pretty good seniors in there, and I like their team. I thought it was a fun hockey game. I liked how well we hung in there. We gave up some chances but we did a pretty good job of limiting the total number, which is the area we're really cracking down on. I think it's a good start for us. We told our guys this is a fun game to play and make a play. I think we made some terrific plays down the stretch. Then Svendsen almost won that game with no time left on the clock, and Whitmore had the good stick there in the end. It's a big win for us, no question about it."
What do you think about the play of Spratt?
"I thought it was a real good game. I didn't get a good angle on where that shot came from when it snuck between his arm. I didn't know if it went through the defenses legs, and I will have to take a look at that. Of the 17 there were some pretty good saves he had to make. He did it and ultimately we were able to win."
Matsumoto scored a great goal, your thoughts?
"Matsumoto scored a great goal and I thought he was electric from halfway through the game to the finish. You might have noticed, he probably played nine of the last 12 minutes. He was on the ice a lot and I thought he was terrific."
Could you talk about your power play?
"I thought there were some positives on the power play. For early in the year we looked confident in moving the puck, but we just weren't dangerous enough. A lot of it had to do with when we had open space that we did not get the shot off quick enough. We saw a couple of guys get into a scoring area, and have the shot deflected down. I thought we were a little more confident passing the puck. I thought we were really good coming off of the ice. I was really pleased about that, and we got through their zone well. I don't think we completed enough passes in the zone. Give credit to UConn you saw them block a lot of shots and do a great job of restricting the passing lane."
What does this do for you going into Huntsville on Sunday?
"It is big for this group. It was really important for us to get the positive feelings back. I think the way this went down and the plays we had to make to win the hockey game are real big for us. These type of games happen 85-percent of the time in college hockey, the one goal games going into the third period and coming down the stretch. You have to get that feeling and make plays down the stretch to win hockey games. We were able to do that. Not only did we make the play that ended the game, but I thought there were some outstanding plays that could have won the game in overtime."
Derek Whitmore
Can you take us through the overtime goal?
"We actually called a face-off play that we have been working on. Fortunately enough it worked. Tim [Maxwell] was able to walk out. I just used some of my hockey sense and went to the net, and found a nice puck laying there for me to tap in."
What does it mean to win the game and get the season off to a good start?
"It's huge. You go back to two seasons ago we had a really good start going to Union College and beat them two straight. Last year we got off to a rough start, and didn't have a great year. Getting that first win at home, the fans loved it. It was overtime and an exciting win. It was good for our team. I don't care who we're playing, if it's Boston College, Army or UConn, if you win a game in overtime it's going to be exciting, and it's going to be a good team boost."
Could you talk about your overall performance and how you felt the team played?
"I think we had a really good performance. We made a lot of good plays, and a lot of smart plays. Jimmy [Spratt] played really well in goal. We were a bounce or two away from breaking the game wide open. Fortunately in overtime we were able to get a bounce, and were able to capitalize. We had six freshmen in the lineup today and they all contributed well. I think it was a good win to get everyone off on the right foot."
Could you talk about the power play?
"It still needs some improvement. We're going to take a look at the film and see what we could do better. For the first time out I thought we had some good chances on the power play. Special teams is going to be huge for us this year. We're going to take a look at our penalty kill. I thought our penalty kill did really well tonight. We have to work on the power play, we have a lot of skilled guys on the power play, and that should be the time that we capitalize. We're going keep working on our power play and hopefully get into that 25 or 30-percent range this year. If we do that we'll win a lot of game."
What did you like about the penalty kill?
"I like that we're not too laid back. We have more of an opportunity to be aggressive on guys on the side boards. I think the huge thing about the penalty kill is that everybody is buying into the system. When you have four guys and a goalie on the ice and everyone is on the same page that it helps out a lot. We've been working on it a lot in practice because special teams are huge in college. If we can have a really good penalty kill then we're going to win a lot of hockey games as well."
