(The freshmen) made a lot of plays in a lot of areas of the game, not only getting on the score sheet. Guys made plays in all three zones in the rink. That's positive. |
All the way through, our forward units did a good job and worked extremely hard down low. Michigan Tech is tough to play against. It was an awfully tight hockey game going into the third period. But the guys continued to do the little things and eventually they were rewarded for it. |
At the beginning of the year, one of the things we talked about was how we needed to gain some experience. There's only one way to do that. That's to go through the wear and tear of a season. We have gotten a little bit better. Our consistency has gotten a little bit better and that doesn't end. We want to keep getting a little bit better. Hopefully we have a few weeks left to do that. |
Being at home for the regional is very important and something we've heard about all year, but an NCAA berth is just the byproduct of playing well during the season. Our play has been pretty consistent since the middle of January. Our goal right now is to secure home ice for the league playoffs. |
Drew has to be the offensive leader for us. But what I was happiest about was how strong he was on defense and how well he killed penalties. |
Drew is very important because he plays in all situations. He brings a certain level of calmness and good stability. |
Early in the year, we lost four or five in a row at home, and you don't get all those back at once. You just have to slowly chip away, and we feel like we're playing pretty well at home right now. |
Erik is an awful important part to our hockey team. He's going to remain an important part. He just won't be on the ice with us. |
Guys that have got it done in the past, they know how to elevate their game at the right time. There is a connection there. Guys have that attitude and expectation of themselves to win. |
He had enough trouble taking his T-shirt on and off, let alone playing. But he played. |
He made an awful lot of good saves. That's one factor you can't control in a hockey game -- how the guy wearing the pads at the other end is going to play. |
He wears a lot of different hats for us. He's a guy we expect a lot out of. |
He won't be on the ice, but he'll make a lot of contributions. |
He's a dynamic force for us right now offensively. |
He's ready to go, he's ready to play. He wouldn't be in the lineup if he wasn't ready to play. |