The #1 Gopher Hockey team held their weekly press conference at Mariucci Arena this afternoon. Head Coach Don Lucia met with the media, as did Brady Skjei and Seth Ambroz. The team takes on Michigan State this weekend in East Lansing, Michigan.
Head Coach Don Lucia:
Regarding Hudson Fasching & Brady Skjei making the preliminary roster for Team USA in the WJC… “Well, obviously Hudson (Fasching), the type of first half that he’s had from an offensive standpoint. I thought that when we came out of camp in Lake Placid, that he had earned his. He put himself in a really good position this summer and continued to elevate his play during the course of the fall. Same thing with Brady (Skjei). Brady’s skating ability, he’s going to have to be playing in a shut down type role with the team and be a good penalty killer and first pass guy. They’re at the next stage. Neither of them have made the team at this point and time. We’ll have twenty six to twenty eight guys here on the fifteenth, and we’ll have four days to evaluate. Maybe make a cut or two, and then head over to Sweden with a couple extra guys and then make our final cuts after the two exhibition games in Sweden”
Regarding Michigan State… “I think they’re an improving team. When the year began, a couple of their key guys, Dreger, was out with surgery, and Barry was out with surgery. He was their leading goal scorer last year. Now they just started to play again, and I think that’s a big reason you saw them win a couple of games this weekend. First Big Ten games on the road. Our last two games before break. We’re on the road, and we’ve got a couple of guys that are injured right now. Got dinged. Tommy Serratore got hurt yesterday in practice. He won’t make the trip. And Vinni Lettieri was a little banged up over the weekend, and I don’t think he’s in a position to play this weekend. He could probably play next week if we’re playing. But hopefully Tom will be back for that tournament in January. So if you’re going to get hurt, it’s a good time to get hurt now with the Christmas break coming up.
Regarding Tom Serratore’s injury… “Well, it’s more of a lower body, a sprain. It obviously affects his skating. He’s gonna have an MRI done today. He’s walking around with a boot on right now. But I think Jeff feels comfortable that he’s got a good chance to play when we come back after Christmas. Obviously we’re going to have to move some people around. What we want to do there. It happened midway through practice yesterday. So, it affects the penalty kill. Obviously that line played terrific last week, and a big reason we won. But we’ve rotated guys in and out for a reason. (Taylor) Cammaratta is back. He’s practicing full go since Monday, so we’ll have him back in our lineup. And somebody else is going to get a chance to play that maybe was going to play one game this weekend. Somebody goes down, it’s an opportunity for someone else. We think that we have depth, and it’s an opportunity for some guys to prove it this weekend”
Regarding the small ice at MSU… “Well, I mean we’ve played the two games at Bemidji, and the two games at Notre Dame, which was 200x90. So, it’s a different game. I think the big adjustment there is there dasher boards along the ice are so wild that pucks fly off the end boards. We played there a couple of years ago, so our Juniors and Seniors have played there. I think we lost there and tied. Both very good games, and I expect the same this weekend”
Regarding Seth Ambroz… “I think that maturity, and his confidence as a person and a player have shown through. His skating I think is improved from last year. It’s something he worked on hard over the course of the summer. Seth’s game is the top of the circles on down, playing physical and being good around the net. A team like Wisconsin thats so good defensively, you’re going to have to score the type of goals that Seth scored. Just happy for him, because I don’t think that anybody has worked as hard as Seth to become a good player. I think anytime you have success, I mean any player wants success offensively. He’s no different. Seth is the type of player that’s out before we practice, stays out after, and works on elements of his game that make him a good player. I don’t know if I’ve ever been around a player who has grown so much as a person than Seth from when I first met him at fifteen, to what he is today. I could go back to Seth, and he’d probably say the same thing. At that age he was very socially awkward. He didn’t say much, and had a hard time looking you in the eye, and being comfortable just talking. The intimidation factor at that age. But watching him grow this year. I mean, we were at Notre Dame, and he had to do a little song. He’s up there singing in front of the whole team, and guys are roarin’. You wouldn’t have seen that from Seth a couple of years ago. I don’t think there’s any question that he’s as vocal a leader that we have. Both Nate (Condon) and Kyle (Rau) are kind of quiet by nature. But Seth, both in the locker room, and on the ice, is the most vocal player that we have at this stage. I don’t think there’s any question that we look for him to be a leader on this team”
Brady Skjei:
Regarding Michigan State… “It’ll be a new environment for a lot of our guys. They’re a strong, fast team, so we’ll prepare for that. I hear it’s a tough environment to play in. We’ll take it from there, and hopefully come out with four points”
Regarding Seth Ambroz… “He’s always talking in the locker room and getting guys going. He shows how hard work pays off. Kid like that works hard all the time, and definitely earned those four goals. We’re all happy for him, and hopefully he stays hot“
Regarding Hudson Fasching… “He’s kind of like Seth Ambroz, a big strong guy. And has the touch around the net to score goals, and works hard. He just needs to keep it up, and he’ll be fine”
Regarding Wisconsin… “Obviously, it’s always good to sweep bucky. It’s a big rivalry for us. Every time we play them, you get going, and the crowds going, so it’s definitely a big sweep”
Regarding the first part of the season… “At the start of the season, if I’d have thought we would be 11-2-1 I’d definitely take that. We didn’t really know where we were going to be this year. We lost a couple of big guys, but our teams looking really good, and fast, and we’re playing really well right now”
Regarding his confidence with his shot this year… “I’m just trying to get the puck on net, trying to hit the pads. That’s what they want a defenseman to do is shoot for rebounds from the point. Luckily I snuck that one by. Just keep shooting the puck, and hopefully it’ll go in”
Regarding playing for US Junior National Team… “It’s an honor. It’s a team I’ve always wanted to play on. I came up a little short last year, so hopefully this year I can make a little difference. It should be a fun tournament if I make it. Anytime you put on the USA jersey, it’s pretty special”
Seth Ambroz:
Regarding him being vocal… “We’ve got a young team, and a lot of quiet guys. I just like to joke around, or get em to smile, get em going, get em happy. I guess I like being talkative and having fun. It’s good for a team to have fun before games. Being a little loose. I like having fun, and I think our young guys are starting to mature real quickly. And they’re also enjoying it and having a good time. I’m out there to bring fun to the group I guess. I don’t know. I just enjoy chattering on the ice, before the game, during the game”
Regarding him having to sing in front of the team… “Yeah, ah. Sometimes we just have some little pranks going on in the team, and some guys have to sing in front of everyone. And I had to sing. You know, when something like that happens, you’ve gotta go all out. You can’t give less than one hundred percent. So, I went out there and gave it my best. And apparently I have a pretty good voice, so… I did ‘I Wanna Know What Love Is’ by Foreigner. Great song. That was my pick. Absolutely“
Regarding Michigan State… “Their record does not indicate how good of a team they actually are. It’s always a good series between us. My Freshman year we went there and lost and tied. You’re going into a different building, and haven’t been on the road that much. It’ll be interesting to see how our young guys and everyone adapts to a smaller rink. If we’re able just to play our game, keep things simple, get pucks behind their D and use our offensive power, we should be fine. But again, Michigan State’s got a good team. There’s a lot of depth in the Big Ten. It’s always going to be fun to see a new opponent, and see where we’re at as a team going into the break”
Regarding being named the Big Ten’s first star of the week… “I didn’t even know about it until about twelve o’clock yesterday. I mean, it’s pretty cool. But at the same time, you need to be focus on what you’re going to be doing next week. Like Coach (Mike) Guentzel always says, ‘what have you done for me lately’”
Regarding his game winning goal… “You know it was probably the biggest goal I’ve scored so far. It’s Wisconsin, late goal, game winner. Hopefully I can maybe score one that matches that one. I’ve seen the replay a couple of times. Great play by Travis (Boyd). The one thing I did focus on was how bad my celebration was. I don’t even know what to do anymore. I just got excited and lost control. So, I’ve gotta work on that”
Head Coach Don Lucia:
Regarding Hudson Fasching & Brady Skjei making the preliminary roster for Team USA in the WJC… “Well, obviously Hudson (Fasching), the type of first half that he’s had from an offensive standpoint. I thought that when we came out of camp in Lake Placid, that he had earned his. He put himself in a really good position this summer and continued to elevate his play during the course of the fall. Same thing with Brady (Skjei). Brady’s skating ability, he’s going to have to be playing in a shut down type role with the team and be a good penalty killer and first pass guy. They’re at the next stage. Neither of them have made the team at this point and time. We’ll have twenty six to twenty eight guys here on the fifteenth, and we’ll have four days to evaluate. Maybe make a cut or two, and then head over to Sweden with a couple extra guys and then make our final cuts after the two exhibition games in Sweden”
Regarding Michigan State… “I think they’re an improving team. When the year began, a couple of their key guys, Dreger, was out with surgery, and Barry was out with surgery. He was their leading goal scorer last year. Now they just started to play again, and I think that’s a big reason you saw them win a couple of games this weekend. First Big Ten games on the road. Our last two games before break. We’re on the road, and we’ve got a couple of guys that are injured right now. Got dinged. Tommy Serratore got hurt yesterday in practice. He won’t make the trip. And Vinni Lettieri was a little banged up over the weekend, and I don’t think he’s in a position to play this weekend. He could probably play next week if we’re playing. But hopefully Tom will be back for that tournament in January. So if you’re going to get hurt, it’s a good time to get hurt now with the Christmas break coming up.
Regarding Tom Serratore’s injury… “Well, it’s more of a lower body, a sprain. It obviously affects his skating. He’s gonna have an MRI done today. He’s walking around with a boot on right now. But I think Jeff feels comfortable that he’s got a good chance to play when we come back after Christmas. Obviously we’re going to have to move some people around. What we want to do there. It happened midway through practice yesterday. So, it affects the penalty kill. Obviously that line played terrific last week, and a big reason we won. But we’ve rotated guys in and out for a reason. (Taylor) Cammaratta is back. He’s practicing full go since Monday, so we’ll have him back in our lineup. And somebody else is going to get a chance to play that maybe was going to play one game this weekend. Somebody goes down, it’s an opportunity for someone else. We think that we have depth, and it’s an opportunity for some guys to prove it this weekend”
Regarding the small ice at MSU… “Well, I mean we’ve played the two games at Bemidji, and the two games at Notre Dame, which was 200x90. So, it’s a different game. I think the big adjustment there is there dasher boards along the ice are so wild that pucks fly off the end boards. We played there a couple of years ago, so our Juniors and Seniors have played there. I think we lost there and tied. Both very good games, and I expect the same this weekend”
Regarding Seth Ambroz… “I think that maturity, and his confidence as a person and a player have shown through. His skating I think is improved from last year. It’s something he worked on hard over the course of the summer. Seth’s game is the top of the circles on down, playing physical and being good around the net. A team like Wisconsin thats so good defensively, you’re going to have to score the type of goals that Seth scored. Just happy for him, because I don’t think that anybody has worked as hard as Seth to become a good player. I think anytime you have success, I mean any player wants success offensively. He’s no different. Seth is the type of player that’s out before we practice, stays out after, and works on elements of his game that make him a good player. I don’t know if I’ve ever been around a player who has grown so much as a person than Seth from when I first met him at fifteen, to what he is today. I could go back to Seth, and he’d probably say the same thing. At that age he was very socially awkward. He didn’t say much, and had a hard time looking you in the eye, and being comfortable just talking. The intimidation factor at that age. But watching him grow this year. I mean, we were at Notre Dame, and he had to do a little song. He’s up there singing in front of the whole team, and guys are roarin’. You wouldn’t have seen that from Seth a couple of years ago. I don’t think there’s any question that he’s as vocal a leader that we have. Both Nate (Condon) and Kyle (Rau) are kind of quiet by nature. But Seth, both in the locker room, and on the ice, is the most vocal player that we have at this stage. I don’t think there’s any question that we look for him to be a leader on this team”
Brady Skjei:
Regarding Michigan State… “It’ll be a new environment for a lot of our guys. They’re a strong, fast team, so we’ll prepare for that. I hear it’s a tough environment to play in. We’ll take it from there, and hopefully come out with four points”
Regarding Seth Ambroz… “He’s always talking in the locker room and getting guys going. He shows how hard work pays off. Kid like that works hard all the time, and definitely earned those four goals. We’re all happy for him, and hopefully he stays hot“
Regarding Hudson Fasching… “He’s kind of like Seth Ambroz, a big strong guy. And has the touch around the net to score goals, and works hard. He just needs to keep it up, and he’ll be fine”
Regarding Wisconsin… “Obviously, it’s always good to sweep bucky. It’s a big rivalry for us. Every time we play them, you get going, and the crowds going, so it’s definitely a big sweep”
Regarding the first part of the season… “At the start of the season, if I’d have thought we would be 11-2-1 I’d definitely take that. We didn’t really know where we were going to be this year. We lost a couple of big guys, but our teams looking really good, and fast, and we’re playing really well right now”
Regarding his confidence with his shot this year… “I’m just trying to get the puck on net, trying to hit the pads. That’s what they want a defenseman to do is shoot for rebounds from the point. Luckily I snuck that one by. Just keep shooting the puck, and hopefully it’ll go in”
Regarding playing for US Junior National Team… “It’s an honor. It’s a team I’ve always wanted to play on. I came up a little short last year, so hopefully this year I can make a little difference. It should be a fun tournament if I make it. Anytime you put on the USA jersey, it’s pretty special”
Seth Ambroz:
Regarding him being vocal… “We’ve got a young team, and a lot of quiet guys. I just like to joke around, or get em to smile, get em going, get em happy. I guess I like being talkative and having fun. It’s good for a team to have fun before games. Being a little loose. I like having fun, and I think our young guys are starting to mature real quickly. And they’re also enjoying it and having a good time. I’m out there to bring fun to the group I guess. I don’t know. I just enjoy chattering on the ice, before the game, during the game”
Regarding him having to sing in front of the team… “Yeah, ah. Sometimes we just have some little pranks going on in the team, and some guys have to sing in front of everyone. And I had to sing. You know, when something like that happens, you’ve gotta go all out. You can’t give less than one hundred percent. So, I went out there and gave it my best. And apparently I have a pretty good voice, so… I did ‘I Wanna Know What Love Is’ by Foreigner. Great song. That was my pick. Absolutely“
Regarding Michigan State… “Their record does not indicate how good of a team they actually are. It’s always a good series between us. My Freshman year we went there and lost and tied. You’re going into a different building, and haven’t been on the road that much. It’ll be interesting to see how our young guys and everyone adapts to a smaller rink. If we’re able just to play our game, keep things simple, get pucks behind their D and use our offensive power, we should be fine. But again, Michigan State’s got a good team. There’s a lot of depth in the Big Ten. It’s always going to be fun to see a new opponent, and see where we’re at as a team going into the break”
Regarding being named the Big Ten’s first star of the week… “I didn’t even know about it until about twelve o’clock yesterday. I mean, it’s pretty cool. But at the same time, you need to be focus on what you’re going to be doing next week. Like Coach (Mike) Guentzel always says, ‘what have you done for me lately’”
Regarding his game winning goal… “You know it was probably the biggest goal I’ve scored so far. It’s Wisconsin, late goal, game winner. Hopefully I can maybe score one that matches that one. I’ve seen the replay a couple of times. Great play by Travis (Boyd). The one thing I did focus on was how bad my celebration was. I don’t even know what to do anymore. I just got excited and lost control. So, I’ve gotta work on that”