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 Mike Reilly and Travis Boyd. The team takes on Michigan State this weekend at Mariucci Arena. Game time is 8:00 PM on Friday (B1G Network), and 7:00 PM on Saturday (FSN-Plus).
Head Coach Don Lucia:
Regarding returning to a normal schedule… “You mean we don’t have something special going on this weekend, other than Big Ten games? We’re back to the routine now. I think that’s fair to say. The guys went through a couple of real emotional weeks with the outdoor game and certainly the tournament here at the Xcel Energy Center. And now you get back into the routine. We’ve got three weeks, and then we have a much needed week off at that point and time of the season. Now we have to turn our focus to the next six games. They’re obviously critical with Michigan State, Michigan and Wisconsin coming in the next three weeks. I think you’re still in a routine, but you’re playing in different venues. We played in four different venues in four games. That’s unusual, certainly, in college hockey, but I think the guys were able to keep their focus and not get too caught up in the event, whether it was the outdoor game, or the games at the Xcel Center. We played pretty well, and found ways to win, or in Saturdays case, tie and then win in a shootout”
Regarding Michigan State… “They’re a good defensive team. They’re goaltenders very good. We tied the first night, and won the second night by a goal. We were probably in control of the Saturday game with a 3-0 lead, but they battled back towards the end of the game. I expect the same type of game here this weekend. They’re smartin’ a little bit, because they lost two to their arch rival Michigan
last weekend. I’m sure the coaches have been very demanding heading into the games this weekend”
Regarding the B1G season so far… “I think it’s starting to ramp up now. When you look, we still have two with Michigan State here, but then we haven’t seen Michigan yet for four. And then we have to go to Madison. And we have a very difficult finish at Ohio State and at Michigan to end the Big Ten season. So, like everybody, just trying to put as many points on your side of the ledger as you possibly can. And we’ve done a very good job of that so far. The beauty of the Big Ten this year, is it’s a true Round Robin. So there’s no schedule advantage to anybody. You’re going to play everybody home and home. Right now, it’s been a long couple of weeks, and we’re a little short handed. We only have six defenseman for practices. We want to have quality practices, but we’re also trying to keep em fresh too. That’s a big thing. We’re going to have a short week next week. We go to Wisconsin on a Thursday-Friday series. So we have a shorter week. It’s making sure we practice hard, but this week we’ll take two of our Forwards and have them practice as Defensemen, just so we have the proper rest for our D, because we don’t want to wear them down either. So it’s quality practice, but probably not the duration we would the first half of the season. We’ve rotated. Yesterday it was Ryan Reilly and (Gabe) Guertler, and today it’s going to be A.J. Michaelson and Guertler. Right now we’ve got Connor (Reilly) up in Tommy’s (Serratore) spot, and just rotating the guys we want in at blue line“
Regarding Seth Ambroz… “We need it. With the guys that left early last year, we needed some guys to step up offensively. When you look at our team, we’re not a team that’s dominated by one or two guys offensively. We’re dominated more by balance than anything else. Seth is one of those kids who has worked extremely hard on and off the ice, and he’s matured. I think he understands what type of player he is. He’s got good hands, and he’s worked hard on his skating. He’s been a very good player for us, not only from an offensive standpoint, but as a guy that’s a good penalty killer and a guy that you trust on the ice in the last minute of the game when you’re ahead by a goal”
Regarding his choice of players in the shootout… “Well, we do shootouts every week. Seth’s got really good hands, and I don’t think there’s any fear in him and his game. He scores as much as anybody in our shootouts. Then you start to look at the balancing of the lefties and the righties in our shootouts so the goaltender gets a little bit different look. Travis (Boyd) might have been one of the guys I’d pick, but he couldn’t go, because he was in the penalty box. And if you end the game in the penalty box, you’re not allowed to go in the shootout. So Mike Reilly would have been our third shooter on Saturday”
Regarding injury status… “Tommy Serratore is going to be out for a few weeks. He got injured blocking a shot late in the game. In overtime, on his last shift. And then Michael Brodzinski is probably going to not be available I would say until after our week off. That’s why he didn’t play on Saturday. Injuries are a part of it. We’re going to be a little shorthanded this week on Friday, not having Ben (Marshall) available for the game. It was great getting Jake Parenteau back. The good thing about Jake is that he’ll be a lot better this weekend than he was on Saturday. You could see that he was a little rusty in the game, not having played for six weeks. First game back. It’s just a confidence factor coming back for him. Other guys are going to have to step up now. That’s all part of the course of a season. The good thing is, both those injuries that we do have now are not injuries that are going to prevent them from playing the rest of the year”
Regarding Ben Marshall… “We have a rule, and I don’t even know how it got into college hockey, but if you have three game misconducts, you have to sit out the next game. It’s tough for him, because as we saw on replay, whether it was a penalty or not is debated, but there certainly wasn’t any contact to the head. It’s something I spoke with (B1G Director of Officiating) Steve Piotrowski about. With all of the video capabilities now, football has a rule where, if it’s contact to the head, it’s a fifteen yard penalty and you get ejected. But they go to video, and if there wasn’t contact to the head, the ejection is off, the fifteen yard penalty stays. You know, hopefully, with the new rule changes this upcoming year, we can go to video in a situation like that. Because the last thing you want to do is penalize a player for something he didn’t do. And even the first game misconduct, I’m not sure that was warranted either, in that exhibition game. But that’s the rule today, and we’ll live with the rule. Ben understands it. I know he was frustrated and disappointed, but that’s hopefully something we can get changed in the rule book. I would be very much in favor of any major penalty getting reviewed. You don’t want to go to video for every trip, or anything like that. But any penalty that potentially a player is going to get a major, or thrown out of a game, you want to get it right. We don’t play enough games. Not only is our team penalized, but the player is penalized for something that you look at the video replay, and it didn’t happen. The other thing is, the diving part of the game. That’s just something that we have to eliminate. That’s on the players, and that’s on the referees. You put the referees in a very difficult position. I mean, the guy got hit, and he sold it like it was contact to the head. Even watching the video, you could see a little smile on his face as he’s going back to the bench. You hate to have the Officials put in difficult spots like that. To their defense, that play was such a quick play that happened, you don’t have the capability of… You know, you’re huddling together, and it looks bad. You don’t have the ability to go to replay and see what actually happened. Maybe you don’t have a replay vantage of it. In this technology that we have, like our games are almost all on TV, so you’re going to have a lot of different views. I think the referees want to get it right, and the players and coaches want to get it right. If we can use a replay in that situation, I think we should. Nobody wants head shots. Nobody wants the checking from behinds. At the same time, hockey is such a game of… it happens so fast, it’s hard for a referee. You could be just turning your head, and you don’t have a great view of it based on your position on the ice. If you just looked at that thing live, you would have thought that was contact to the head. It’s not what it was. I don’t blame the referees in any way. That’s a hard call to make, without the use of instant replay. That’s why, to me, football has the precedent of doing it right. Hockey still to me, it’s a game of speed and skill. We’re going to have the greatest hockey in the world in two weeks in the Olympics. I don’t know how anyone can watch those games and say that’s how the game should be played. Contact is part of the game, but the purpose of hockey is about scoring goals, speed and skating. Not, can I run somebody through the boards”
Travis Boyd:
Regarding returning to a normal schedule… “It’s definitely been pretty hectic the last couple of weeks with new things, and exciting things. So it is a little back to normal here this week, which is pretty nice. It was pretty crazy. It was a lot of new experiences, even for the guys that have been here a couple of years. It was fun. It was fun to go to Penn State, it was fun to have an outdoor game, and it was fun to play in the North Star Cup last weekend. It was fun, but at the same time, it was a little hectic, a little crazy at times, and just a little odd”
Regarding Michigan State… “We’ve gotta come every day this week and continue to get better. We have to come here and get work done every day, move into this weekend, and get six points”
Regarding the North Star Cup tournament… “We got two wins this weekend, but at the same time, I don’t think we necessarily played the way we wanted to”
Regarding coming back to the big sheet after a few games on NHL sized rinks… “We’re all pretty comfortable playing on the big sheet, but at the same time, you do notice it out there for practice, because we’ve been out on the small sheet the last couple of weeks. A little bit of a difference, but once you’re out there for a little bit, it’s back to normal”
Regarding the B1G season so far… “It’s been a lot of fun, and I think some of the things that I was looking forward to was going to play at new venues, and we’ve only done one of those really. It’s been fun, it’s been different, but I think we still have some firsts to come this year still. I think it’s going to be an exciting second half”
Mike Reilly:
Regarding returning to a normal schedule… “Yeah, it was a little weird playing Sunday-Monday against Penn State, and then just lead into the outdoor game at TCF. Not much time to practice. It’s good to be back at home here this weekend against Michigan State. I’m looking forward to the Big Ten rivalry picking up here again with Michigan following that, and so on. We’re looking forward to it. It’s been a fun experience, and I know from the beginning of the year we were looking forward to the outdoor game the whole year, and that was awesome. And it was fun at Penn State. They have a great rink, a good team as well, and a great fan section. That’s a new experience for all of us. And we were able to play at the Xcel, and the new North Star Cup, so everything’s a little bit new to us. But now we’re kind of settling down here, and getting back to the Big Ten schedule”
Regarding Michigan State… “A lot of guys hadn’t played there before. Their rink is smaller than ours, and the boards are really lively. Everything funnels back to the net. They played us really hard. That was a great weekend, and they’re going to give it their A effort this weekend against us, and we’re definitely not taking them lightly. We’re looking forward to it”
Regarding the North Star Cup tournament… “We’ve gotta give a ton of credit to Adam Wilcox. We didn’t have a great weekend this last weekend. A lot of turnovers, and things like that slowing down the offense. Trying to rush back into your positions defensively. He bailed us out. Both those first period games last weekend we could have been down by three or so, but he held us in there. Coaches aren’t too happy about that. But we’ve got a great goaltender back there. He’s been our best player. We can’t rely on him all year, but if something like that happens, we have trust in him. But we’ve gotta be better”
Regarding coming back to the big sheet after a few games on NHL sized rinks… “Maybe it’s a little bit of a challenge for us, but you’ve gotta be prepared. I guess each rink is a little different dynamic-wise, and we’ve been bouncing around a little bit. But we’ve gotta be ready to play, and be focused. We’ve gotta come out that first five minutes and win it. We didn’t do that this weekend. We’ve gotta pick it up this coming weekend, start focusing, engaging, and executing a little bit better. It’s good to be back in front of our home crowd. Last weekend was kind of a home series for us too, but it’s good to be back in the Olympic rink in front of our fans. We’ve been looking forward to this, having the Big Ten schedule picking up the rest of the year. We’ve gotta be ready for it”
Regarding the B1G season so far… “It’s been fun. I think we’ve gotten off to a good start. We’ve played at different arenas, and had new experiences. I think we’re doing well so far, but it matters what you do at the end of the year. We’re just striving for that, trying to get better day by day, and not get complacent. Wisconsin was already here, and we get Michigan State a lot already. But being able to play a team like Michigan, and Penn State starting up, it’s going to be great for our program. Playing those teams, and being able to go to those arenas will start the rivalry there with the Big Ten, and so far it’s going well”
Head Coach Don Lucia:
Regarding returning to a normal schedule… “You mean we don’t have something special going on this weekend, other than Big Ten games? We’re back to the routine now. I think that’s fair to say. The guys went through a couple of real emotional weeks with the outdoor game and certainly the tournament here at the Xcel Energy Center. And now you get back into the routine. We’ve got three weeks, and then we have a much needed week off at that point and time of the season. Now we have to turn our focus to the next six games. They’re obviously critical with Michigan State, Michigan and Wisconsin coming in the next three weeks. I think you’re still in a routine, but you’re playing in different venues. We played in four different venues in four games. That’s unusual, certainly, in college hockey, but I think the guys were able to keep their focus and not get too caught up in the event, whether it was the outdoor game, or the games at the Xcel Center. We played pretty well, and found ways to win, or in Saturdays case, tie and then win in a shootout”
Regarding Michigan State… “They’re a good defensive team. They’re goaltenders very good. We tied the first night, and won the second night by a goal. We were probably in control of the Saturday game with a 3-0 lead, but they battled back towards the end of the game. I expect the same type of game here this weekend. They’re smartin’ a little bit, because they lost two to their arch rival Michigan
last weekend. I’m sure the coaches have been very demanding heading into the games this weekend”
Regarding the B1G season so far… “I think it’s starting to ramp up now. When you look, we still have two with Michigan State here, but then we haven’t seen Michigan yet for four. And then we have to go to Madison. And we have a very difficult finish at Ohio State and at Michigan to end the Big Ten season. So, like everybody, just trying to put as many points on your side of the ledger as you possibly can. And we’ve done a very good job of that so far. The beauty of the Big Ten this year, is it’s a true Round Robin. So there’s no schedule advantage to anybody. You’re going to play everybody home and home. Right now, it’s been a long couple of weeks, and we’re a little short handed. We only have six defenseman for practices. We want to have quality practices, but we’re also trying to keep em fresh too. That’s a big thing. We’re going to have a short week next week. We go to Wisconsin on a Thursday-Friday series. So we have a shorter week. It’s making sure we practice hard, but this week we’ll take two of our Forwards and have them practice as Defensemen, just so we have the proper rest for our D, because we don’t want to wear them down either. So it’s quality practice, but probably not the duration we would the first half of the season. We’ve rotated. Yesterday it was Ryan Reilly and (Gabe) Guertler, and today it’s going to be A.J. Michaelson and Guertler. Right now we’ve got Connor (Reilly) up in Tommy’s (Serratore) spot, and just rotating the guys we want in at blue line“
Regarding Seth Ambroz… “We need it. With the guys that left early last year, we needed some guys to step up offensively. When you look at our team, we’re not a team that’s dominated by one or two guys offensively. We’re dominated more by balance than anything else. Seth is one of those kids who has worked extremely hard on and off the ice, and he’s matured. I think he understands what type of player he is. He’s got good hands, and he’s worked hard on his skating. He’s been a very good player for us, not only from an offensive standpoint, but as a guy that’s a good penalty killer and a guy that you trust on the ice in the last minute of the game when you’re ahead by a goal”
Regarding his choice of players in the shootout… “Well, we do shootouts every week. Seth’s got really good hands, and I don’t think there’s any fear in him and his game. He scores as much as anybody in our shootouts. Then you start to look at the balancing of the lefties and the righties in our shootouts so the goaltender gets a little bit different look. Travis (Boyd) might have been one of the guys I’d pick, but he couldn’t go, because he was in the penalty box. And if you end the game in the penalty box, you’re not allowed to go in the shootout. So Mike Reilly would have been our third shooter on Saturday”
Regarding injury status… “Tommy Serratore is going to be out for a few weeks. He got injured blocking a shot late in the game. In overtime, on his last shift. And then Michael Brodzinski is probably going to not be available I would say until after our week off. That’s why he didn’t play on Saturday. Injuries are a part of it. We’re going to be a little shorthanded this week on Friday, not having Ben (Marshall) available for the game. It was great getting Jake Parenteau back. The good thing about Jake is that he’ll be a lot better this weekend than he was on Saturday. You could see that he was a little rusty in the game, not having played for six weeks. First game back. It’s just a confidence factor coming back for him. Other guys are going to have to step up now. That’s all part of the course of a season. The good thing is, both those injuries that we do have now are not injuries that are going to prevent them from playing the rest of the year”
Regarding Ben Marshall… “We have a rule, and I don’t even know how it got into college hockey, but if you have three game misconducts, you have to sit out the next game. It’s tough for him, because as we saw on replay, whether it was a penalty or not is debated, but there certainly wasn’t any contact to the head. It’s something I spoke with (B1G Director of Officiating) Steve Piotrowski about. With all of the video capabilities now, football has a rule where, if it’s contact to the head, it’s a fifteen yard penalty and you get ejected. But they go to video, and if there wasn’t contact to the head, the ejection is off, the fifteen yard penalty stays. You know, hopefully, with the new rule changes this upcoming year, we can go to video in a situation like that. Because the last thing you want to do is penalize a player for something he didn’t do. And even the first game misconduct, I’m not sure that was warranted either, in that exhibition game. But that’s the rule today, and we’ll live with the rule. Ben understands it. I know he was frustrated and disappointed, but that’s hopefully something we can get changed in the rule book. I would be very much in favor of any major penalty getting reviewed. You don’t want to go to video for every trip, or anything like that. But any penalty that potentially a player is going to get a major, or thrown out of a game, you want to get it right. We don’t play enough games. Not only is our team penalized, but the player is penalized for something that you look at the video replay, and it didn’t happen. The other thing is, the diving part of the game. That’s just something that we have to eliminate. That’s on the players, and that’s on the referees. You put the referees in a very difficult position. I mean, the guy got hit, and he sold it like it was contact to the head. Even watching the video, you could see a little smile on his face as he’s going back to the bench. You hate to have the Officials put in difficult spots like that. To their defense, that play was such a quick play that happened, you don’t have the capability of… You know, you’re huddling together, and it looks bad. You don’t have the ability to go to replay and see what actually happened. Maybe you don’t have a replay vantage of it. In this technology that we have, like our games are almost all on TV, so you’re going to have a lot of different views. I think the referees want to get it right, and the players and coaches want to get it right. If we can use a replay in that situation, I think we should. Nobody wants head shots. Nobody wants the checking from behinds. At the same time, hockey is such a game of… it happens so fast, it’s hard for a referee. You could be just turning your head, and you don’t have a great view of it based on your position on the ice. If you just looked at that thing live, you would have thought that was contact to the head. It’s not what it was. I don’t blame the referees in any way. That’s a hard call to make, without the use of instant replay. That’s why, to me, football has the precedent of doing it right. Hockey still to me, it’s a game of speed and skill. We’re going to have the greatest hockey in the world in two weeks in the Olympics. I don’t know how anyone can watch those games and say that’s how the game should be played. Contact is part of the game, but the purpose of hockey is about scoring goals, speed and skating. Not, can I run somebody through the boards”
Travis Boyd:
Regarding returning to a normal schedule… “It’s definitely been pretty hectic the last couple of weeks with new things, and exciting things. So it is a little back to normal here this week, which is pretty nice. It was pretty crazy. It was a lot of new experiences, even for the guys that have been here a couple of years. It was fun. It was fun to go to Penn State, it was fun to have an outdoor game, and it was fun to play in the North Star Cup last weekend. It was fun, but at the same time, it was a little hectic, a little crazy at times, and just a little odd”
Regarding Michigan State… “We’ve gotta come every day this week and continue to get better. We have to come here and get work done every day, move into this weekend, and get six points”
Regarding the North Star Cup tournament… “We got two wins this weekend, but at the same time, I don’t think we necessarily played the way we wanted to”
Regarding coming back to the big sheet after a few games on NHL sized rinks… “We’re all pretty comfortable playing on the big sheet, but at the same time, you do notice it out there for practice, because we’ve been out on the small sheet the last couple of weeks. A little bit of a difference, but once you’re out there for a little bit, it’s back to normal”
Regarding the B1G season so far… “It’s been a lot of fun, and I think some of the things that I was looking forward to was going to play at new venues, and we’ve only done one of those really. It’s been fun, it’s been different, but I think we still have some firsts to come this year still. I think it’s going to be an exciting second half”
Mike Reilly:
Regarding returning to a normal schedule… “Yeah, it was a little weird playing Sunday-Monday against Penn State, and then just lead into the outdoor game at TCF. Not much time to practice. It’s good to be back at home here this weekend against Michigan State. I’m looking forward to the Big Ten rivalry picking up here again with Michigan following that, and so on. We’re looking forward to it. It’s been a fun experience, and I know from the beginning of the year we were looking forward to the outdoor game the whole year, and that was awesome. And it was fun at Penn State. They have a great rink, a good team as well, and a great fan section. That’s a new experience for all of us. And we were able to play at the Xcel, and the new North Star Cup, so everything’s a little bit new to us. But now we’re kind of settling down here, and getting back to the Big Ten schedule”
Regarding Michigan State… “A lot of guys hadn’t played there before. Their rink is smaller than ours, and the boards are really lively. Everything funnels back to the net. They played us really hard. That was a great weekend, and they’re going to give it their A effort this weekend against us, and we’re definitely not taking them lightly. We’re looking forward to it”
Regarding the North Star Cup tournament… “We’ve gotta give a ton of credit to Adam Wilcox. We didn’t have a great weekend this last weekend. A lot of turnovers, and things like that slowing down the offense. Trying to rush back into your positions defensively. He bailed us out. Both those first period games last weekend we could have been down by three or so, but he held us in there. Coaches aren’t too happy about that. But we’ve got a great goaltender back there. He’s been our best player. We can’t rely on him all year, but if something like that happens, we have trust in him. But we’ve gotta be better”
Regarding coming back to the big sheet after a few games on NHL sized rinks… “Maybe it’s a little bit of a challenge for us, but you’ve gotta be prepared. I guess each rink is a little different dynamic-wise, and we’ve been bouncing around a little bit. But we’ve gotta be ready to play, and be focused. We’ve gotta come out that first five minutes and win it. We didn’t do that this weekend. We’ve gotta pick it up this coming weekend, start focusing, engaging, and executing a little bit better. It’s good to be back in front of our home crowd. Last weekend was kind of a home series for us too, but it’s good to be back in the Olympic rink in front of our fans. We’ve been looking forward to this, having the Big Ten schedule picking up the rest of the year. We’ve gotta be ready for it”
Regarding the B1G season so far… “It’s been fun. I think we’ve gotten off to a good start. We’ve played at different arenas, and had new experiences. I think we’re doing well so far, but it matters what you do at the end of the year. We’re just striving for that, trying to get better day by day, and not get complacent. Wisconsin was already here, and we get Michigan State a lot already. But being able to play a team like Michigan, and Penn State starting up, it’s going to be great for our program. Playing those teams, and being able to go to those arenas will start the rivalry there with the Big Ten, and so far it’s going well”
