The #2 ranked Gopher Hockey team held their weekly press conference at Mariucci Arena. Head Coach Don Lucia met with the media, as the team prepares to take on Bemidji State this weekend at Mariucci Arena in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The Gophers are coming off a weekend sweep in Bemidji, allowing them to win a share of the MacNaughton Cup as WCHA regular season co-champions. Minnesota shares the league championship with St. Cloud State.
Head Coach Don Lucia:
Regarding playing Bemidji again… "Well, you know, you talk to the coaches around the league, there's nobody you want to play. That's just the way it is. I think there's certainly more parity in college hockey than ever before. No matter who you play, it's difficult in the first round. It's always hard to end somebody's season. The positive is, you have a feel for how the other team's going to play, but at the same time, they've been practicing against us for two weeks too. You've played some games, so you get a better feel for the opposition and how they play their different players. We hadn't seen Bemidji in a year plus until last weekend. We knew that going in. That's something we talked to our players about, that we might see them the very next weekend, and that's exactly what happened. You get a feel for the type of game it's going to be. We'll change a little bit, because we're on a bigger rink, and there's a little more space. But there's more space for them to make a play too. Managing the neutral zone was really important last weekend, and I it will be real important here this weekend as well. The league is very competitive. I think you saw that last weekend. I think there's going to be a lot of drama in this first round all across the league. The good thing for our guys is, we know we're playing at the end of the month, regardless of what happens the next couple of weeks. We want to advance and get to St. Paul, because it's such a big time tournament. Like everybody, our goal is to get to St. Paul. Like it was the last year for us to have a chance to get the MacNaughton Cup, it's the last year to try to win the playoff title, and the Broadmoor trophy. Step number one is trying to eliminate Bemidji. Let's see how we do"
Regarding getting a part of the MacNaughton Cup… "We're excited, as we should be. It's hard to get a piece of that MacNaughton Cup. They should be excited about it. They had to win their last three game in order to do that. They did their job. Obviously we had help along the way the last couple of weekends to get a piece of it. It is special to get a piece of it, especially in the last year"
Regarding Nick Bjugstad… "I think he's got a little presence to him right now. It's kind of funny, he has twenty goals on the season right now, and he had twenty five last year. So, if we have a good playoff run, he'll probably have as many or more than what he had a year ago. Nick is effective in a lot of areas of the rink, not just scoring. He's had a good year, there's no question. I think sometimes the expectation is that he's going to score forty goals. No, he's not. It's just too hard to do that the way college hockey is today. So he's having a good year, and we have a lot of guys that have had a real good year for us. Especially the second half. When you break down the statistics for some of our guys the second half, they've been real good. You get to this time of the year, Nick's gotta be good, Erik Haula's gotta be good, and our top offensive players have to carry us from here on out. I think the best players want that. They want that responsibility. They want to be on the ice in a key situation, whether you're trying to score a big goal, or defending the end of the game. They're top players want the ice, they deserve the ice. They've earned it. But it's not just them. You get to this time a year, and all of a sudden guys that don't score a lot get a big goal, whether it's an overtime goal or game winning goal. It might be the guys fourth or fifth goal of the season, but you see that a lot this time of the year. Somebody steps up and makes a big play, and you have to have that happen too"
Ben Marshall:
Regarding getting a part of the MacNaughton Cup… "We didn't try put any pressure on ourselves, but obviously there was. It was a tight race. Coaches didn't say anything about the St. Cloud State-Wisconsin game during our game. We just focused on playing our game and finishing our game. We knew that if we wanted a piece, we had to get the win. Fortunately everything worked out, St. Cloud lost, so we were pretty happy at the end of our game. We knew how hard it was (to get the cup), we won it last year. You know, pressure just comes with playing at Minnesota. I think the day you commit here, you understand what kind of pressure you're going to be under, and what kind of media coverage you're going to have. I think that just comes along with playing here"
Regarding the MacNaughton Cup being with the Gophers in Bemidji, and not in Madison for SCSU… "I heard St. Cloud was pretty mad. But I figure, we won it last year, so I don't see why we wouldn't get first touch"
Regarding playing Bemidji State two weekends in a row… "That will be interesting. I think it has pro's and con's. We know Bemidji, and they know what we're about. I think we understand how we need to play against them, having swept them at their place. We've got the advantage of playing at our place now. They're not used to an olympic sized rink. We're happy we get to play a team that we just played. We know what they're about, but they know what we're about. They know our style, and they know our systems better than watching film, because they actually got to play us the weekend before. I think we simply need to stick to our game, and I think we have a step on them, being on an olympic sized rink"
Regarding the Gophers being called a 'big game team'… "I don't think so. We've got a lot of guys back from last year, and we've all been in that position of being in the big games. We know what it's about. I think our one downfall this year was the game against Wisconsin outdoors. We didn't step up to the challenge. At the same time, we've been in that atmosphere, and we know what it's about. I think that will help us in the long run. We want to be at the X (Xcel Energy Center), and we want to win it this year. We weren't fortunate enough to win it last year, and think we'll be a little more hungry for it this year"
Nate Schmidt:
Regarding getting a part of the MacNaughton Cup… "It was one of the things we set out to do before the year started. We thought that if we give ourselves a chance, hopefully some chips fall the right way. And they did. It felt great to get that thing back in our hands in the locker room after the game on Saturday. I think it was harder to retain it (than win it the first time). It was a log jam for a while at the top of the standings. A lot of teams played well this year, and came out of the woodwork this year. Mankato played really well, St. Cloud is one of those teams that kind of snuck up on people. So I think it was easier the first time, that second time was a little tougher"
Regarding playing Bemidji State two weekends in a row… "You know, they actually came out with some adjustments when we played them last weekend that we weren't prepared for. I think this week we know what they're going to do, unless they change their whole game plan again, but I don't think that will happen. So we've got an entire week to prepare"
Regarding the inconsistency the team had at times this season… "That can't be a problem anymore. If that happens, obviously we may not be playing. From here on out, we've got to be mentally engaged. Every game is a big game. We have some people who have been through this situation before and know what it takes to get there. For our Freshman that have come in and played a big role for us, they have to learn real quick, because playoff hockey is definitely different than the regular season"
Regarding heading into the WCHA playoffs… "I think the way we went out in the (2012) final five, and the team we went out to, left a sour taste in our mouth. But we have to make sure we win a couple of games this weekend in order to focus on what could happen in the final five"
Head Coach Don Lucia:
Regarding playing Bemidji again… "Well, you know, you talk to the coaches around the league, there's nobody you want to play. That's just the way it is. I think there's certainly more parity in college hockey than ever before. No matter who you play, it's difficult in the first round. It's always hard to end somebody's season. The positive is, you have a feel for how the other team's going to play, but at the same time, they've been practicing against us for two weeks too. You've played some games, so you get a better feel for the opposition and how they play their different players. We hadn't seen Bemidji in a year plus until last weekend. We knew that going in. That's something we talked to our players about, that we might see them the very next weekend, and that's exactly what happened. You get a feel for the type of game it's going to be. We'll change a little bit, because we're on a bigger rink, and there's a little more space. But there's more space for them to make a play too. Managing the neutral zone was really important last weekend, and I it will be real important here this weekend as well. The league is very competitive. I think you saw that last weekend. I think there's going to be a lot of drama in this first round all across the league. The good thing for our guys is, we know we're playing at the end of the month, regardless of what happens the next couple of weeks. We want to advance and get to St. Paul, because it's such a big time tournament. Like everybody, our goal is to get to St. Paul. Like it was the last year for us to have a chance to get the MacNaughton Cup, it's the last year to try to win the playoff title, and the Broadmoor trophy. Step number one is trying to eliminate Bemidji. Let's see how we do"
Regarding getting a part of the MacNaughton Cup… "We're excited, as we should be. It's hard to get a piece of that MacNaughton Cup. They should be excited about it. They had to win their last three game in order to do that. They did their job. Obviously we had help along the way the last couple of weekends to get a piece of it. It is special to get a piece of it, especially in the last year"
Regarding Nick Bjugstad… "I think he's got a little presence to him right now. It's kind of funny, he has twenty goals on the season right now, and he had twenty five last year. So, if we have a good playoff run, he'll probably have as many or more than what he had a year ago. Nick is effective in a lot of areas of the rink, not just scoring. He's had a good year, there's no question. I think sometimes the expectation is that he's going to score forty goals. No, he's not. It's just too hard to do that the way college hockey is today. So he's having a good year, and we have a lot of guys that have had a real good year for us. Especially the second half. When you break down the statistics for some of our guys the second half, they've been real good. You get to this time of the year, Nick's gotta be good, Erik Haula's gotta be good, and our top offensive players have to carry us from here on out. I think the best players want that. They want that responsibility. They want to be on the ice in a key situation, whether you're trying to score a big goal, or defending the end of the game. They're top players want the ice, they deserve the ice. They've earned it. But it's not just them. You get to this time a year, and all of a sudden guys that don't score a lot get a big goal, whether it's an overtime goal or game winning goal. It might be the guys fourth or fifth goal of the season, but you see that a lot this time of the year. Somebody steps up and makes a big play, and you have to have that happen too"
Ben Marshall:
Regarding getting a part of the MacNaughton Cup… "We didn't try put any pressure on ourselves, but obviously there was. It was a tight race. Coaches didn't say anything about the St. Cloud State-Wisconsin game during our game. We just focused on playing our game and finishing our game. We knew that if we wanted a piece, we had to get the win. Fortunately everything worked out, St. Cloud lost, so we were pretty happy at the end of our game. We knew how hard it was (to get the cup), we won it last year. You know, pressure just comes with playing at Minnesota. I think the day you commit here, you understand what kind of pressure you're going to be under, and what kind of media coverage you're going to have. I think that just comes along with playing here"
Regarding the MacNaughton Cup being with the Gophers in Bemidji, and not in Madison for SCSU… "I heard St. Cloud was pretty mad. But I figure, we won it last year, so I don't see why we wouldn't get first touch"
Regarding playing Bemidji State two weekends in a row… "That will be interesting. I think it has pro's and con's. We know Bemidji, and they know what we're about. I think we understand how we need to play against them, having swept them at their place. We've got the advantage of playing at our place now. They're not used to an olympic sized rink. We're happy we get to play a team that we just played. We know what they're about, but they know what we're about. They know our style, and they know our systems better than watching film, because they actually got to play us the weekend before. I think we simply need to stick to our game, and I think we have a step on them, being on an olympic sized rink"
Regarding the Gophers being called a 'big game team'… "I don't think so. We've got a lot of guys back from last year, and we've all been in that position of being in the big games. We know what it's about. I think our one downfall this year was the game against Wisconsin outdoors. We didn't step up to the challenge. At the same time, we've been in that atmosphere, and we know what it's about. I think that will help us in the long run. We want to be at the X (Xcel Energy Center), and we want to win it this year. We weren't fortunate enough to win it last year, and think we'll be a little more hungry for it this year"
Nate Schmidt:
Regarding getting a part of the MacNaughton Cup… "It was one of the things we set out to do before the year started. We thought that if we give ourselves a chance, hopefully some chips fall the right way. And they did. It felt great to get that thing back in our hands in the locker room after the game on Saturday. I think it was harder to retain it (than win it the first time). It was a log jam for a while at the top of the standings. A lot of teams played well this year, and came out of the woodwork this year. Mankato played really well, St. Cloud is one of those teams that kind of snuck up on people. So I think it was easier the first time, that second time was a little tougher"
Regarding playing Bemidji State two weekends in a row… "You know, they actually came out with some adjustments when we played them last weekend that we weren't prepared for. I think this week we know what they're going to do, unless they change their whole game plan again, but I don't think that will happen. So we've got an entire week to prepare"
Regarding the inconsistency the team had at times this season… "That can't be a problem anymore. If that happens, obviously we may not be playing. From here on out, we've got to be mentally engaged. Every game is a big game. We have some people who have been through this situation before and know what it takes to get there. For our Freshman that have come in and played a big role for us, they have to learn real quick, because playoff hockey is definitely different than the regular season"
Regarding heading into the WCHA playoffs… "I think the way we went out in the (2012) final five, and the team we went out to, left a sour taste in our mouth. But we have to make sure we win a couple of games this weekend in order to focus on what could happen in the final five"