Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcon Quotes From Saturday's, 5-2, Loss To No. 1 Miami
January 06, 2008 | Ice Hockey
Jan. 5, 2008
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Sophomore forward James Perkin tallied two helpers in the No. 24 Falcons, 5-2, loss to No. 1 Miami on Saturday. Perkin now has tallied 12 points in the last eight Falcon games. He and head coach Scott Paluch both entertained questions from the media following the game.
Head Coach Scott Paluch
Opening Statement
"I thought we got the focus of a pretty good hockey team [Miami] right from the start.They had a really good start to the game, but I like the way our team was able to battle back and gives ourselves a chance by making some plays to get the game evened up. Unfortunately in doing so, we spent so much energy trying to get back in the game and the depth of their team really allowed them to take control of the game late in the second period and into the third. They [Miami] made a lot of strong plays as the game went on and ultimately, they were the much stronger team in the final periods of the weekend."
What can you take away from this weekend?
"Well, I think for a lot of the weekend, we played pretty well against a pretty good hockey team. I liked the way our team approached the game. Miami has a lot of depth on their team and they come at you hard, but I think our team showed that our speed can be a factor against a team like that and I like the fact we stuck with it all weekend, even tonight when things didn't start so good for us."
Despite the win last night, were you and the team totally happy with a split?
"Well it's a definitely a positive step for us. We all would've liked to have started the game tonight a little bit stronger and get a better start with our penalty-kill at the beginning. I thought our penalty-kill was good on the weekend, but we needed to have a stronger effort on it there at the start of the game tonight. Overall though, we aren't totally satisfied. We put ourselves in position last night to do something special tonight and when it was all said and done, they [Miami] were just a good team tonight and they won the hockey game."
How important was Miami's third goal after you guys had just tied it up about a minute earlier?
"That was definitely a swing shift in the game - there is no question about it. We're at home, we come back and get two strikes to tie the game and there was a really good feeling on our bench. But we need to extend that and keep the good play going, but again, that's the sign of a good hockey team. They struck first and stalled the game's momentum a bit and that was a big play for them to come back down and score like that."
What led you to start Jimmy [Spratt] tonight?
"Well when we looked at the game from last night [4-2 BG win], we just thought it'd be a good opportunity to keep a consistent lineup out there against a good team. He had a pretty good effort last night and I thought it was good way to keep that matchup from last night a part of the game tonight."
Sophomore Forward James Perkin
Thoughts on the game
"We knew they were going to come out hard. We talked about the earlier in the day, we wanted to match their intensity. They got a couple of quicks in right away and we were able to battle back, but in the third period, we just couldn't put any pucks in the back of the net to get the win."
How do you feel about this weekend as a whole?
"Obviously we wanted to win tonight, but as you know the win last night is pretty big with knocking off the No. 1 team in the nation. But we had the chance to get the sweep and really wanted that. I thought we matched up pretty well against them, but they came to play tonight and they were the better team."
Despite the disappoint, this has to be a step forward for you guys, does it not?
"For sure it is. Competing like we did on both nights is definitely a step forward for us. Especially on Friday night, getting the lead and playing with the lead like we did against this team. That is definitely a big step for this team."
How big was that third goal for Miami?
"It was a huge goal. It turned out to be the game-winner for them and it was a tough break for us. We get a goal on the power play and they come right back and get that one - it was definitely huge."
