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NCAA MEN'S FROZEN FOURApril 7, 2017Scott SandelinWillie RaskobDan MolenaarBrenden KotykChicago, Illinois MODERATOR: We're joined by Minnesota-Duluth student-athletes Brenden Kotyk, Dan Molenaar and Willie Raskob and Coach Sandelin. Q. Willie, if you had your druthers on what type of game you want to play, last game was a defensive game, but seems like Denver can get up and down the ice rather quick, would you rather the defensive posture game or the run-and-gun track meet? WILLIE RASKOB: I think run and gun is dangerous to play with a team like Denver. You see they score a lot of goals. I wouldn't say necessarily play a stay-at-home defensive game, by any means. We're a team that can get up and down the ice too. The games we played in Denver were two very good games. 4-3, 3-1, I think that's going to be the type of game it's going to be. We're a good skating team, they're a good skating team. I think it will be a fun game. Q. Dan, this week you guys have seemed really relaxed, really enjoying the moment. How do you guys -- where does that attitude come from, where does that mentality come from, and how have you guys stayed so loose here in Chicago on such a big stage? DAN MOLENAAR: I think that's a message that Coach Sandelin has preached to us, is just don't change who we are. I don't know if I've ever been on a team that's as close-knit as the team we are now. We love coming to the rink. We just love being with each other. And so you just have to approach it like any other game. Obviously it's not any other game. But the mentality doesn't change. And it's a fun place to be. It's a fun time of the year. That's the message behind that. Q. What are your emotions? All three have had a different kind of journey to this point. But your long careers and capping it off playing for a national championship for the school? BRENDEN KOTYK: It's a pretty surreal feeling. Like you said, we've all had different paths. But I think we've come together as a team. Everybody brings something a little different to the table. And I think that's why we've been so successful. DAN MOLENAAR: Yeah, like he said, we've all had different paths. I want to give credit to the guys who aren't in the lineup. The last couple of years in the regionals and stuff I was out. I know how hard that is. But they've just been exceptional teammates. And I think that's a reflection of the character in our room, and I think it speaks volumes to the program that so many people laid the foundation to build. And it's just a blast to be here with these guys and, yeah, there's no other way we want to end it. WILLIE RASKOB: I'd say I'm honored to be here and represent the city of Duluth, the program, be here for all the fans. This is something that you remember for the rest of your life. And to do it with these guys, like they said, we're a close-knit group. I think we've got guys who bought into their roles, and I think that's been the difference this year, is everyone's accepted the role they have on the team and, yeah, it's been incredible and so amazing and so surreal, and just taking everything in and enjoying the moment. Q. Brenden, you guys only saw Denver the one time this year. Do you still feel any comfort, any familiarity with them even though you may not have played them as much as other conference rivals like a St. Cloud or North Dakota? BRENDEN KOTYK: We've watched them, the Frozen Faceoff when they played North Dakota, we watched last night. And like you said, we played them twice. We know they're very skilled hockey team. They've got Will Butcher back there and Borgström and Gambrell. Terry. They're all exceptional hockey players. So I just don't think we have to quit what we're doing right now, we've just got to keep playing defense on those guys especially and be real hard on them. I think that will be key to us. Q. As seniors, you guys are playing on the biggest stage in hockey tomorrow night. What do you guys as seniors tell some of the younger guys to calm any jitters that they might have? WILLIE RASKOB: I think for us it's just we're in the same spot as them. Obviously this is our first time playing in a game this big, too. If you look back at our season, I think it's an accumulation of everything we've been through. We've been through overtimes that could end the season, one-goal games and been put through the ringer all season. And you have to rely on those situations. And obviously the first couple of shifts you'll be jacked up, but, after that, get into our game, play our 60 minutes and hope for the best. MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach. Q. How much can you apply those two games in December to how you prepare for them, because obviously it's been a while and a lot has changed from now. How much can you actually use to apply to that game tomorrow? COACH SANDELIN: Well, I think a little bit. The unique situation when we played them in December, we had 19 days off. So I didn't know what we were going to come out looking like or how we would play because we had two weekends off before that. So it was a little quirk in our scheduling. But we went in there. We played. Actually the best game we played on the weekend was Friday, the game we lost. But, again, our guys, they were missing a couple of players, too. But I think you take some of that for sure. But they're a team right now that's playing as well as they probably have. And it's not just been a short period of time. They've gotten better through the years. So our guys are familiar with their team. Maybe not to the extent like that was talked about before where you played teams four or five times. But I know one thing, our guys are looking forward to the opportunity. But we know they pose a big challenge in some ways because of how they play and their offensive ability and puck position ability, and I think they defend very well, too. But, again, the games we had there, I think you can gain something from that. And I think you apply some of that to this. But, again, it's one game. And all you're asking your players to do is go out there and play their best game, and that's all you can do. And one team's going to probably play a little bit better or maybe it's a bounce or a break, and that's what's going to decide the game. So I think it's going to be a great hockey game if both teams play up to their capabilities, and it's probably going to come down to those things. Q. Coach Montgomery said he has seen both teams grow since the December 9th and 10th games. How have you seen your teams grow since those games? COACH SANDELIN: Again, it's funny, because we've talked about -- I think I've mentioned to people I think we've lost once in the last 20 games, something like that. Sometimes it doesn't feel like that because all our games have been so hard and grinding. And sometimes you go through those streaks where you just feel you're really on top of the world. And I think we've had some tremendous parts. I think our team has certainly had their character tested a lot in the second half. We haven't had any blow-out games. But I think our guys have grown a little tighter together. I think that drive, when you start finding ways to win those games, continues to grow. I think some of our players have grown. Certainly, look at guys like Riley Tufte in the second half has been a bigger factor for us, and Joey Anderson has had a great year and has been a key contributor here in the last month. Not that he hasn't been the whole year. But some of our freshmen have really grown, and I think our older guys have been a big part of that. But it's been funny. It's been -- I've been through streaks where you just feel like you can't do anything wrong. And this is one where I just feel like every game we have a chance to win. Our guys do, too, and they know it's going to be a hard or a tight game. So I think just mentally they've grown stronger that way. Q. You heard Willie say that this isn't a team you want to get into a track meet against. What do you do to slow that game down? Where is it happening? Is it the neutral zone? Is it the defensive zone? Is it the puck possession? COACH SANDELIN: When you look at -- if you look at, number one, just forechecking, their D -- they're very -- they don't have maybe the biggest guy. Hammond is a bigger player, but they've got some great skill and shiftiness. You've got to be careful. You can try and play really aggressive in their face, but they support the puck so well and those guys are pretty elusive that you've got to certainly play above the puck. Be aggressive when you can be. But just defensively you've got to be tight. And you're going to have to weather some storms. They're going to play in the offensive zone and they transition well, but in the offensive zone, they possess the puck, they move, they get five men involved in the attack, and obviously they've got some great guys to finish around the net. And they're a very good small-area team, and their D add to that with their involvement. So sometimes you're going to have defensemen at the blue line, our defensemen, just sometimes how they move around. And there's got to be a lot of communication. Like I said, we've seen them play. We've played against them. So that helps. And we've seen a lot of teams play that way, so that helps. But I just think one of the things they do really well is not just on their forecheck, but their end zone forecheck. They're probably one of the best puck pursuit teams that get above you and they don't give you room, and they make it very difficult to make clean plays or plays because they recover above the puck and they pursue the puck so well. And so that's something we've got to make sure that we're better at and we're not spending a ton of time in our O zone -- or D zone, excuse me, because we can't get clears or transition breakouts. Q. You've got this group of players has been a pretty fun, loose group all year. But are they -- is this as loose and as comfortable and as excited and joyful, all those words you can put, as you've seen them all year? Seems like it's a group that's really, really enjoying this week and where they're at. COACH SANDELIN: You know, well, I've told my wife a couple times, I don't know if I've ever figured this group out all year. And she just told me, don't worry, they're doing fine. So sometimes it happens. But '11 was a little bit -- we had a team that way, some guys were serious, some guys were -- but I think it's really important when you get to these points of the year to really enjoy it. And I said it last night, and I talked to our guys about it before we got here. It's great to get there. But to experience the whole thing, you've got to win that Thursday game. And you know what? They did, so they get to experience that and they get to play in the last game of the year. And there's nothing better than that. That's what you work for all year. And we probably had the longest season because we started on the first day of official practice, even though we had the break in the middle. So it's been well worth it, and I hope they enjoy the hell out of it. Because it's something they'll never forget. And it's great for your younger players to understand how hard it is to get to this point. So hopefully those are all good things for your program moving forward. Q. How do you prepare for a guy like Henrik Borgström, not having seen him earlier in the season? COACH SANDELIN: I've seen enough of him certainly on tape, as all of you have. Great players are going to make great plays. Obviously you can sit here and say the politically thing, we have to take time and space away, you got to bump him, you got to try and play hard on him. But he's still got to make plays. Great with the puck. He's got the length and you watch him on the power play where he's really dangerous. You're going to give up some things. But you just gotta be aware and you gotta take as much time and space away, just like any good player. You do your best. Sometimes you've got to respect those guys a little bit, because if you're too aggressive, they can make you look really stupid. So you've got to be a little bit smart with angles and different things. Reminds me about playing against Jack Eichel a couple of years ago. Just because they have a little more length versus the shorter guys, but they're hard to defend. So gotta go into it and try to do the best job you can and try and limit those opportunities. But you gotta go in knowing that great players are going to find ways to make plays at some point, just hope they don't make too many of them. Q. Can you take us through the evolution of Dom and Al as linemates, what you saw when they got paired together in Fargo and how you've seen them grow over the years here in Duluth? COACH SANDELIN: Number one, they had a lot of success together in Fargo. So when you're bringing them both in at the same time, I'm not going to screw that up, you just keep playing them together. And at times I've thought is one helping the other or hurting the other, maybe they're too comfortable, and we've tried that, as you've seen moving Al maybe to a different line. But we always seem to go back to those two because of their chemistry. And I think they love playing together. I think they both complement each other very well. So been pretty easy. And we've just had to find a right winger for those guys. But if you look at them, again, I've said this a number of times, they've been awesome for us this year. I think they've both had great years. I think they both have played at a very high level consistently. Al's numbers speak for that. Dom certainly, maybe didn't start the year offensively the way he wanted, but he was doing a lot of other things and he still does that. They're different players. That's why they complement each other. But it's been pretty easy -- we'll certainly miss those guys. I'll probably be calling their name a lot next year, and they're not going to be here. But it's been fun to watch them grow together, and I hope they feel the same way; that they've each helped each other out a little bit through their four years. Q. You mentioned a right winger on that line, and right now it's Joey Anderson. How has he helped him along with the impact he's made on his own, but how has he helped them improve and make that line better? COACH SANDELIN: I think just the way he plays. Again, number one, he's a great 200-foot player. But he's got offensive ability. And I think early in the year, when he maybe wasn't scoring and contributing, he had a bunch of assists I think before he scored his first goal. But once he got that, I think he gained some more confidence. You see his puck-battle level. Obviously the play he made last night was a great play on the winning goal, but he's got a heavy stick. He wins a lot of puck battles. He's always in the right spot. He's very reliable on the defensive side of the puck. And he's contributing offensively like I had hoped he would and why we recruited him. He's a good offensive player, too, that has played with some elite players in more of a defensive role. But I think just him going on that line and just using his abilities has been a great complement, because just the way that he thinks the game and is his is responsibilities on the defensive side of the puck. But we tried it and, like I said, the only time he wasn't with them was when he was with the World Junior team. We put Adam back up there. And I thought he's been very consistent for a freshman. Very consistent, which is not easy to do. Q. Joey, Dom, and Al, where do you feel they do the most damage? Where do they make the most impact for your team? Is it on the offensive end or is it what those three have been able to do defensively as well when matched up with other team's top lines? COACH SANDELIN: I think it's both. It's not an easy thing game in/game out to ask players who do have offensive ability to play against other teams' best players. I know Dom relishes those games. I can go back to that's where we thought maybe before maybe not this year but where maybe Al needs to be, maybe we need to find another type of player up there. But Al's grown into that, too. But I think offensively, if you look at their numbers, they've been probably more helpful there, because I think they can grind it down low. I think they've got the dynamics of Al's speed, and Dom's a heavy, gritty player that likes to get into the tough areas, and Joey kind of is just a little bit of the same. So, again, like I said, they complement -- I would say on the offensive side, but it's nice defensively to know that they all have great defensive responsibilities, too. Q. What does it say about the growth and maturation of your younger guys that at the end of that game last night you had two freshmen and a sophomore on the ice? COACH SANDELIN: That I trust them. But, again, that grows over the year. I mean, certainly Souc is a guy we're proud to have out there as well, but Nicky was out there and Joey. That line, I'm not going to break up that line. I do have options. We've had Carson. Kuhlman would probably be my next option. But that line's got great chemistry together. They've been in those situations before. So I didn't have any problem with who was on the ice, except for [indiscernible]. Q. When you originally recruited Dom and Al, did you see two guys, two kids that could eventually be linemates that would gel really well together, or was it in Fargo that you saw the potential of those two together? COACH SANDELIN: No, obviously they played different teams. I mean, Dom I obviously saw playing in high school, Duluth East. And Al I saw at one of Fargo's summer camps, a kid I think he played Junior B in Buffalo, and right away I went to watch Austin Farley at the camp because I hadn't seen him. And Al was there and he caught my eye. I didn't really notice -- they were different, recruited differently, but once they got to Fargo and played together, that's kind of where it started. Like I said, sometimes you can mess it up, just let them start the year. It's kind of nice, be great if you could have the whole line come in that played junior hockey together you don't have to worry about it. But two-thirds is pretty good. And like I said, we always seem to gravitate back to those guys, and it's been that way for pretty much the four years. MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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