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BIG TEN CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENTMarch 21, 2015Don LuciaKyle RauAdam WilcoxDETROIT, MICHIGAN MINNESOTA – 4 COACH LUCIA: I'm just very proud of our guys, to come in higher, first time we've been in this facility and to come through and win the championship is something special, something that we haven't done for a while and certainly this group of seniors had not done it yet. We knew it was going to be a man's game. Michigan is an outstanding team. Only disappointing thing for me tonight is that they are not going to be in the NCAA Tournament, because they are certainly worthy, and it's too bad we couldn't have got two teams in this year, so that's the only disappointing thing for me. I have great respect for their team, their program and their coaches. Over the years they have been one of my favorite teams to play as a coach because we play a similar way. We want to get up‑and‑down and we want make plays, and there's a lot of great plays made out there tonight. Both goaltenders played well and fortunately for us, we made the play in the third period to win IT. Obviously we had an advantage, only having to play two games versus their three over the course of the weekend and that might have been the difference. Q. Kyle and Adam, it's been four years in a row that the program has won the conference and since 2007 you've won the tournament. What does it mean to be able to win both of those in the same year for your program? KYLE RAU: Means a lot. This time of year, you're playing against teams that their seasons are on the line. This year was kind of our first year, that feeling in the back of our minds that if we lose, we could be done, too. Really happy for the guys and I thought we played some good hockey this weekend. ADAM WILCOX: Yeah, I think it's a good sign for our team because the conference regular season is kind of a marathon, and we played‑‑ had our up‑and‑downs throughout the year. But for the most part we got games, and towards the end of the year we got a lot of sweeps and when you get the conference playoff title, it's kind of like what it is in the NCAA. So we did a good job of doing our marathon over the year and a good job here with the tournament kind of like our sprint; and single‑game elimination, knowing what is on the line and the guys going all‑out, blocking shots and doing what it takes to win third periods. Q. Kyle, on your goal, how important was it to get the goalie moving on the two‑on‑one and were you expecting to get it back? KYLE RAU: Yes, I mean, we've been taught on two‑and‑one to pass the puck early, so I gave it to Fasching right when I get over the blue line. He made a great play. I think we kind of caught the defense ‑‑ pretty open back door. But Fasching made a really good play. He's a really good player. I think I saw him peek over, we figured it might be coming. Q. Following up on what you were saying, that it was in the back of your head that you might not make the NCAA Tournament; it was a little strange situation that it looked like that wouldn't be the case heading into the tournament, but can you take me through a little bit how aware were you or did you just not think about it? KYLE RAU: We knew going into Ohio State, we needed to come out and get a win. Tonight, we knew that there's some chance we couldn't make the tournament if we didn't win. But we didn't want to leave it up to chance. We control our own destiny and I thought we came out and played really good defensive hockey. Only let up two goals which season fantastic and played really well in front of him. When we had our full team effort going, I think we're a tough team to beat. Q. Adam, how tough was it in that second period, seven shots in that first period, to get some action coming your way finally? ADAM WILCOX: It's a tough period. Sometimes it's hard to stay in there. You kind of get cold in a way. And I think especially when the shots are all coming from the power play, because especially a team like Michigan, you know they are going to get a chance and they capitalized on two of their power plays in the second period. And they had some patience there and they had this good moves, and those are always tough shots, in tight. And I thought we did a good job for the rest of the game kind of staying around the box and they were calling stuff, especially in the second period. When you're having periods like that, you have to make sure you keep your team in it and not let anything get out of control. Q. Nor either one of you, you guys were able to come out strong‑‑ you were able to get pass‑‑ what was it like in the locker room and were you guys coming out with more desperation in the second? KYLE RAU: Any time you get 20 shots, we're really happy with our effort. We knew we needed to get more guys in front of the neat and try to make them move a little bit. I think all three of the goals, you kind of had to move to the side and that kind of opened up a few lines and any time you play a good goalie, they can only stop the square right on one, but you get it moving, we like our chances. So we did just that and Kloos made a really good play on his goal. ADAM SCOTT: I thought Steve played really well tonight. You could tell he's on his game. I thought the mood in the locker room was really good. Even though it was 0‑0, the mood was kind of like we were up a goal or two, just because of how we were playing, we knew our whole team was on our game and we were going to eventually get some goals. When you get that many shots in a first period on a team like Michigan, it's tough to be in a bad mood in the locker room; we knew we were going to be rolling. Q. Kyle, four straight wins to end the season and you're able to go and play into the tournament rather than back into it‑‑ playing your best hockey this time of year? KYLE RAU: Two months ago, who thought we would be here‑‑ we stuck together in the locker room. There was a whole process and we believed in what Coach was teaching us. Nobody gave up and we stuck together. We knew that sooner or later, we would tart putting wins together and that's what we did. Now we're taking our stride in the tournament and that's right where we want to be and we feel really good about our game. Q. Can you talk a little bit again what it means to win that first tournament championship since 2007, because it has been a bit of time. COACH LUCIA: Well, most years we've gone in not having to win it, and you're playing for seeding more than anything else. So I don't know if that took the edge off. Obviously this year was different. We knew going in that had we not won on Friday that there was probably all likelihood our season would end. I think our guys played a little bit nervous last night to be honest. Adam helped us get through that night. I think after last night, the guys were much more relaxed. I thought we played much better tonight, and we wanted to come in here and try to earn our way in, and that's really what we've done the last few weeks. It came to the end and we won the league title on the last weekend by winning two games. We came in here, a building we had not been in before and won two games. We didn't give up a five‑on‑five goal and obviously Adam looks to be back on top of his game and when he is on, obviously the rest of our team feeds off that. For us, obviously it's great to win the conference tournament, because we opened our own door to get into the NCAA. We didn't have to rely on anybody. But the bottom line is whether you win the thing or not this weekend. It's your body of work that gets you in the tournament. The way things turned out, we were going to be in regardless of tonight. I'm happy for our guys because they experienced something they had not experienced before. They have been through it all almost except for the one game we didn't finish off last season. But this group has certainly had a taste of a lot of banners, a lot of championships, and they have been a fun group. This year, it's been obviously a journey, and we've been up‑and‑down. But the guys stayed with it. They understood how they have to play. They have been there before and I think that really helped. Q. You mentioned last night the roller coaster ride that the season has been, and as you could see finish line, do you feel like you finished that right now and it's hopefully building on more steady? COACH LUCIA: Yeah, I think that obviously it would have been a disappointment had we not made the NCAA Tournament. You look at the depth of college hockey right now, you see the four and six team we are playing; Michigan is not getting in; they are a heck of a hockey team. I would not have wanted to play Michigan State if I was somebody next weekend. But that's just how it is today. With the different leagues, the parity, guys leaving early, and there's so many more good teams now; you could take the 25th or 30th team and they could easily win a game or two in the NCAA Tournament. We are just fortunate that we got in this year because you never want to take that for granted, and now we get to play next weekend. That's always the goal when the year begins is to try to hang a banner. We hung two this week. This group of seniors has five in their back pocket which is pretty darned good, and now we get an opportunity to play in the NCAA. I don't know where, I don't know who, but right now, I don't care. Q. Zach Hyman had an incredible season for Michigan. How hard was it to prepare for a player like that who has been magnificent this year and how do you think he's feeling right new? COACH LUCIA: Well, I said it before; we knew the type of game this was going to be, and Zach has had a terrific year. Certainly deserving to be a Hobey Baker candidate. When we played him at Michigan, those guys ate us up. The difference was match‑ups. Obviously us having the last change, the last three games made a big difference. It allowed us to get the line we wanted out there. It allowed us to get the right defense men out against them as much as we possibly could. But I think more than anything else, we played Michigan, we knew based on when we were in Ann Arbor, that if you turn the puck over and allow them to shorten the rink in their transition game, they are difficult to beat. And he was so good down low. I know he's good off the rush but his low play rolling off down low, creating opportunities, creating scoring opportunities, and obviously he and Dylan were a great combination with the left center and the right wing. I feel‑‑ I do, I have such respect for Michigan's program. Going back to the mid 90s when I was at CC, we had some great games against them. I just wish they were in the NCAA Tournament because they are deserving and they would have been a great representative from the Big Ten in the tournament. Q. With the top two offenses squaring off, were you expecting the power play to be the difference tonight? COACH LUCIA: Fortunately for us we scored a couple, because the last couple weeks, our power play has not played very well. We were not very good last night; something that was a point of emphasis in our meeting today that our execution had to be much better; it was. I'm not surprised from the standpoint that you get to this time of the year, it becomes more difficult to score five‑on‑five. There's only one goal scored, five‑on‑five, but when you have some elite players, and have that extra guy and extra space to make a play, if you feel the clear when you have an opportunity, and you make a mistake, it's going to end up in the back of the net and that's really what happened a couple times and each way tonight. Q. I know you and Red share great respect for one another. Did you get to say anything to him after the game? COACH LUCIA: I said, I just wished they could have got in, I do. It's no fun; they had an unbelievable run of making it each and every year. You know what, I went through that three‑year stretch where we didn't make it. You don't even want to watch the NCAA Tournament because you're bummed out, because you're competitive and Red is as competitive as anybody else. I said I enjoyed playing Michigan because they play the right way. They play to win and they are a classy program, and it's fun to compete. That's what I kept telling the guys during the game; are we having fun yet? This is great. It is a man's game and this is the way they are at this time of year, especially when you play a team with some real top‑end talent, and it was a good game for the Big Ten tonight, quality of product on the ice was outstanding. Q. It's been a while since you've won one of these conference tournaments, especially with this team given where they were at the end of January, how rewarding is it? COACH LUCIA: We just need to get away from St. Paul to win one; is that how it works. You know, I've always said, if I had to rank them, to me the conference regular season is more important because it's over a period of time and it's a body of work. This is a one‑week deal now or two‑week deal in the past where you had the first round. It really became, either you've got to play yourself into the tournament or you're playing for seeding at that point in time. But it is rewarding. I'm really happy for our guys. It was something that we had talked about coming in that this group of kids, as much as they had accomplished, had not won a game at this point of the season. So it was an emphasis and obviously with what was on the line, and once we got to tonight‑‑ we talked about, you play Friday; get to championship Saturday, and the guys really responded. I thought we had a great first period. We did what we wanted to try to make Michigan return and go get pucks as much as we could and hopefully wear them down a little bit in their Game 3. I'm happy, our coaches did a great job and our players. Q. Last night we talked about playing that conference tournament outside of Minnesota. Tonight you had the added dynamic of playing in front of a more partisan crowd. What was the mind‑set playing against‑‑ COACH LUCIA: We are used to it. To be honest, I wish it was 15,000 Michigan fans because you want the atmosphere more than anything else. I don't care if they are cheering for you or against you. Once you get inside the boards, the game is going to be decided in the 200 X 85, but the crowd can give you energy, and so that was not a factor. You go through the season, you're playing in hostile environments all year long, and you know what, if you want to win, you've got to be able to win on the road. Q. Can you talk about the second period and the resiliency of your team? You guys came back and tied it up‑‑ COACH LUCIA: You have to stay with the game. I use the expression, you've got to take a purge. And you know what, we punched and scored the first goal and they popped us a couple and it's two to one, and Steve made an unbelievable save and he was terrific all weekend. He was really good tonight. I saw his stats, and I didn't realize he had the record he had in the playoffs; he had a pretty good run going. Obviously we knew he had played really well in this building, but to me I was comfortable as the game was going on because I pretty much knew we had locked in our tournament bid. So then you just want your guys to play well and we were playing well. So if this game ended up where we didn't win, I was fine. I mean, we were playing well, the way we hope to be playing heading into next weekend, but you have to be able to weather a few storms. You have to be able to take a punch and today we did; and after the second, I said, get the third goal. And caught the rebound; it wasn't a rebound, it was a power play and we're going to get an open netter. I'm not sure how many 180‑foot open netters we've been getting lately, but it was a big goal to make it 4‑2. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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