Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU v. Lake Superior Quotes
November 04, 2006 | Ice Hockey
Nov. 4, 2006
Recap | Final Stats
OPENING STATEMENT
"Momentum switches and different things happen. You have to be prepared to play all 60 or 65 minutes every night. I liked the way we finished our game, we made a great play to make it 4-2. We got a real important win for us."
You played well again tonight, what was the difference in tonight's game?
"We thought going into the game yesterday that it's an important part of playing in this league. You have to be desperate all of the time. The amount of contact tonight probably can be translated that way. I think it's clearly a sign of what our team does. We've done it fairly consistently but we have to be that way to be successful."
What are your overall impressions for the weekend?
"Looking at it, we got two out of the four points we wanted. I liked the effort both nights. I think we had pretty good contact, tonight the contact was more pronounced. There were some really good hits by a lot of guys. Our special teams got better as the weekend went on. There were some terrific chances and we did a much better job of stressing the point to wrist pucks and get pucks down to the net. We saw that and it created some chances. I feel a little bit better where that is. After giving up two power plays last night we threw the shutout on that side, so I feel good about that."
How do you feel about the play of Jimmy Spratt?
"Jimmy played well. I didn't get a good look at the second one. I know the first one went past his legs and probably one he wanted to catch there is no question about that. I think he played well. After 3-2 he had to make two or three good saves, that's really important.
Was it nice for the top line of Petruska-Matsumoto-Whitmore line to get rolling again?
"It was good for them to score early obviously. They had some jump. Obviously scoring is always going to be important to us. We saw some terrific contact out of all three of them. Derek Whitmore was finishing checks tonight. No question it was a big part of getting that line going. Clearly they were a big factor in the game."
Can you talk about winning tonight and what it means?
"It was huge. The last two games although we've lost we've done a lot of good things. To win like that, going into the third period with a 3-2 game it gets tight. James Perkin had a big goal, and a great play by [Kai] Kantola to take the hit to make a play. It was a very big win for our team and hopefully it's a step in the right direction for us."
What do you take away from this weekend going forward?
"I think you can take away a lot. We played well both nights and I think our staple this year is competing and finishing checks. Both games we did a very good job of doing that. To get that win will hopefully get the ball rolling. I think we're feeling pretty good going into the weekend against Notre Dame."
You finished a lot of checks this weekend, but were you more hungry tonight?
"We talked about playing with a sense of urgency going into last night. Unfortunately we didn't come out on top last night, but that's the beauty of college hockey we have two games on the weekend. We didn't want to drop our fifth game in a row, it's a pretty big hole to climb out of. We got that win and hopefully we can keep going and keep moving forward. "
What did you feel you did differently to get pressure on Jakaitis?
"He's a very good goalie. I had a chance to play with him in junior hockey and he was pretty good. How to beat him is to get traffic in front of him so he can't see the first shot. If he can see the first shot he makes the save. I thought we did a good job of getting pucks through to him and getting traffic in front to obstruct his vision."
How important is it to get the first goal?
"The first goal in hockey is huge. You want to come out hitting and playing hard right away. To go up 1-0 especially at home, the first goal is huge. If we do that more often and come out strong getting the first goal, then I think we're going to be a very successful hockey team. At the same time, if you get the first goal you can't sit back you have to keep going. I think we were able to do that tonight."
What's your outlook going into Notre Dame?
"They're having a really good year. I'm sure we'll go over video. It's another chance to play hockey and earn points in the CCHA. They are a good team and hopefully we'll have a good week of practice. I know we'll have a good week of practice and get ready for the weekend."
