|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NCAA MEN'S FROZEN FOURApril 7, 2018Scott SandelinJared ThomasBlake YoungKarson KuhlmanSt. Paul, Minnesota Minnesota Duluth - 2, Notre Dame - 1 MODERATOR: We're joined by Minnesota Duluth. Opening comment from Coach Sandelin. COACH SANDELIN: First off, again, I want to congratulate Jeff and Notre Dame. Again, they had an outstanding season. Obviously we used the same MO the last three games to win three games in a row. But couldn't be more proud of our team, the way these guys battled and grew and grew together. And obviously it's a special championship for the program. I mean, I was fortunate to be part of the first one but this one is just as special. They never get old. And I'm extremely happy for these three guys here that get to go out on a really, really good note and it's pretty remarkable what they've done to be up here as national champions. They deserve all the credit, especially our leaders. Q. Coach, can you share with me a little bit about going into the year, the five freshmen you had and the D pairs and how much of a concern that was for you and how redemptive it is to have them win? COACH SANDELIN: Well, pairs, we just had obviously lost a big chunk of our back end and had five incoming freshmen, and we recruited them for a reason because they're talented players and -- but I'm not going to sit here and lie; we had a question mark, and who is going to jump up and be our goalie? And how are those guys going to do? We felt the forward group was pretty good. We were replacing scoring but we had some good depth, so we felt pretty good about that. But the job that young group back there did, obviously, I think it really started to move forward when Shep grabbed the net and played the way he did and gave our whole team confidence. And tonight you saw a couple of the saves he made. But you get goaltending, everybody feels better. But we were talking about how excited we are to see where this young D corps is going to be in one or two years, after this year or next year. So they've got some work to do, but it's a pretty special group. Q. Karson, can you talk about the play that Jade made in the neutral zone that kind of set up your goal? And for all three of you guys, can you talk about what having a guy like Jade Miller and some of the other depth guys on your team, and how they've kind of helped to get to this point, and what they've meant? KARSON KUHLMAN: Obviously those guys have been playing great all year. That's one thing that we knew coming into the season that we'd have was real good depth up front. Obviously any single night lines 1 through 4 could score and all six D can put the puck in the net. And Shep could probably score if he came out, too. But it was a good play. I think Jader got a stick on a puck and I was able to turn in transition quick and sneak one by his glove. JARED THOMAS: I think we have a bunch of unsung heroes on our team. There's a guy sitting down there. He's came such a long way since his freshman year. We had so many guys like that on our team, playing third, fourth line. And we're never afraid when they were on the ice. We knew that they were going to do their job. And we trusted everyone in our locker room, whether the guys were playing or even the guys that weren't in the lineup. If we needed them we knew that they'd be ready to step right in. And I think that goes unnoticed sometimes, those depth guys. So I'm so happy for our group and especially for those guys that don't get a lot of recognition. Q. Can you talk about the third period defense and what you guys brought? I think it was the last seven minutes of the game, I don't think you allowed a shot on goal. The clock said 20 shots so long trying to protect that lead? BLAKE YOUNG: I think it shows their mentality coming into the third period with the lead. Guys are buying into the systems. We talked during the locker room that both getting pucks deep and making them play defense for that 20 minutes, and I think you saw that, a perfect example maintaining pucks down low. And when they did have offensive time, it was one and done, it was no second chances. And I think the guys stepped up huge tonight and played their balls off. (Laughter). Q. Karson, speaking of depth, you scored that goal on the fourth line filling in when Roth got hurt. How much had you played with those guys before tonight? KARSON KUHLMAN: That was the first shift. But I think that just goes to show how much depth we have, how much trust we have in those other two guys when Roth went down. Obviously in the national championship game you gotta include everybody, all four lines have to contribute there, and it was a good, hard play and couldn't be happier for those guys. Q. Your coach mentioned the same MO the last three games have been very similar. Did that give you confidence knowing that you could play in these close games, these 2-1 games? JARED THOMAS: I think we've had this conversation before. I don't know what it is, we couldn't find that third goal the last three games, but our team did a great job. There was never a panic. There was never any doubt in our room. If we needed to win the game 2-1, we would win the game 2-1. You saw it in our third period play there. We kind of really shut them down there towards the end of the third period. And that's just how we like winning games, I guess, is 2-1, close games, get the lead early and hold on. Anytime you're in a game like this against a team like Notre Dame, you knew they're going to push. And we just needed to weather the storm a bit and stick to our game plan, which we did, and fortunate enough to come away with a win. Q. Blake, from Saskatchewan. Obviously a tough time for a lot of people back home, the tragic accident. Just wondering how much have you thought about it the last 24 hours? BLAKE YOUNG: I found out with my mom last night. It's tough because Saskatchewan is such a tight knit group of people, small communities, everyone knows everyone. Your heart aches when you hear news like that. I was fortunate enough to play with some of those guys on that team. So just not knowing was a struggle. It was definitely on my mind all of last night and all of today. And just told myself to go out there and lay it on the line for those guys who can't anymore. Q. Did you feel like destiny that you end up facing Notre Dame in the title game after they kind of helped you get in the tournament? And what was the mentality heading into that and just talk about that run you guys made? KARSON KUHLMAN: I think so. Obviously one day you think you owe them a little bit, like a thank you, and the next day you're playing them in the national title game. But at the same time we knew what our group had. I think barely making it in was kind of a wake-up call for our group. And then from there we just took it one game at a time. It's four wins to win a national title, and that's what we did. Q. Jared, you talk about unsung heroes, but when you were in high school you were a sung hero. You had great scoring touch, came in here with great scoring touch. You worked hard, I mean, for four years without scoring. You did all the other things well. Was it tough to keep that mentality up? Because you stuck with it, stuck with it and your coach stuck with you. And you end up shooting the winning goal. JARED THOMAS: Yeah, it's kind of come full circle. Obviously there were some ups and downs throughout my career here, but, I mean, I would trade this feeling for no goals. I mean, it's unbelievable. I mean, I can't even put into words. I just became a more well-rounded hockey player, I feel, in my career here. I don't feel like I lost my scoring touch or anything like that. It's just college hockey is a hard game. And we're fortunate to have some pretty good depth on our teams throughout the years. And we always had the guys that were going to score, and that just wasn't my role. And this year I came into the year and knew that I needed to step up in the scoring department. And just try to play with that confidence and make plays like I know I can. And it just so happened to find a couple of pucks go into the net for me this year. And all in all, to end a college career as a national championship, I wouldn't trade that for the world. And doing it alongside these guys is even that more special. Q. What did you see in that game -- what did you see on the goal? JARED THOMAS: On the goal there, just got in on the forecheck, kind of disrupted the play. And Kars got in there for the second man quick and popped the puck loose. And I just took it and saw the seam in the net. Just kind of threw a surprise shot at his feet. And I think it ended up banking it off him and going into the net and found a hole. So we just wanted to get pucks on this guy from everywhere, and that was just fortunate for me to find a little hole there and have it sneak in. Q. Jared and Karson, the beginning of the second period you're up 2-0 and you have almost four uninterrupted minutes of power play time. You have a great power play. Was there a sense of anticipation on the bench that here we can maybe blow this out and maybe not make it such a tight game? And then it turns out you can't capitalize and they get it back and it's a tight game all over again. KARSON KUHLMAN: Yeah, I think something that we've focused on all year is not so much scoring on the power play, creating momentum off it. Whether that's getting pucks to the net, scrums around the net, bodies at the net. Obviously you would have liked to see one go in, to find that third one there, but at the same time we had a couple of good looks. And give them credit; they killed, blocked shots, did all the little things in that four-minute span there. JARED THOMAS: Yeah, obviously the big thing is momentum there. Four minutes of power play is four less minutes for them to attack us. They had a lot of good looks there. They did well on the kill. Their goalie made some saves. And it's not like we weren't getting any chances, and they kept us down in our own zone or anything like that. But we obviously would have liked to have seen one go in and give us that three-goal lead. But, I mean, we were proud with our effort, on the power play at least, and trying to get some momentum and some pressure on them. Q. Karson, after a season of some ups and downs, especially at the end of your NCHC season, how does it feel right now to have gone through these four games and then add the cherry on top of MOP? KARSON KUHLMAN: It's special. I couldn't be more proud of that group of guys in there. Roller coaster first half took a lot away from it as teaching moments, especially for our younger guys, and we kind of anticipated that. In the second half, went on a little run. And I think coming down to Xcel for the NCHC Tournament there was a good wake-up call for us. We got a taste of what playoff hockey was like. Got punched in the nose a little there and was fortunate enough to make the tournament. And obviously ran with our opportunity. Q. Karson, during the second period Notre Dame seemed to get some speed through the neutral zone. Did you change your focus in your forecheck to kind of tighten things up there? KARSON KUHLMAN: We tweaked a few things. Obviously we didn't want to get on our heels. I think that's one thing with the two-goal lead that a lot of teams have a tendency to do -- kind of get on their heels a bit. We want to stay on our toes and pressure them a little bit. Give them credit; they've got good players and that's what good players do. They find teams and create speed and make plays in the neutral zone. And, yeah, they were able to get a few off the rush, but I thought for the most part we weathered it pretty well. MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach. Q. Similar to what I asked the players, did you have the feeling with the four minutes of power play time at the beginning of the second period that you really had a chance to put the game, if not out of the way, you really had a chance to seize control of it? Was there any sense of frustration that here we go again? It's going to be another one-goal game after all. COACH SANDELIN: Yeah, we talked about it. Just to have a sense of urgency. Sometimes you get a short power play at the end of the first period. We had a good first period and obviously we had momentum, and sometimes you lose a little of that in between. I don't think we lost a lot of it. But Karson said, they did a good job killing, too. We got some looks, but when you don't score on those and you take a couple yourself, I mean, it was kind of like the Ohio State game where we killed one, but sometimes you can't kill the other one. But you can lose some momentum there a little bit and the game -- but we haven't been able to find that third goal for whatever reason. I mean, I was hoping tonight it would be that. But we just kind of stayed with it. I thought their second period they got some momentum off the kills. I thought they stepped up their physical game. I thought we didn't take care of the puck as well as we did in the first period. And I think that led to their speed in the neutral zone and some of their transition. I thought we regrouped in the third period and played a smart third period. Q. Obviously when you played here three weeks ago it didn't go your way; you end up sweating it out and snuck into the tournament. And just what were you guys able to do so well that you weren't able to do three weeks ago and get you here to the top? COACH SANDELIN: I think when we were here three weeks ago we played two pretty good teams. Denver is one of the best teams, if not one of the top teams, all year. And we lost a 3-1 game to them with an empty net goal. And we took two stupid penalties at the end of the game that never gave us a chance. The next night we played a North Dakota team that was fighting for their lives as we were, but they were the more desperate team. They were also a team we had beaten eight times in a row. I knew what was coming. We didn't respond very well because at that time our power play didn't give us any momentum. And kind of our bench went, bleh, and they capitalized and they won a hockey game, and we left here thinking -- I was disappointed not so much in the losses, but I was disappointed how we finished those games. We were shorthanded for both of the end of those games and we never gave ourselves a chance. I think that's what I was most disappointed with. We talked about it after selection show on Sunday. This group reset and refocused. And I think they took advantage of an opportunity. When we won in '11, lost to Bemidji State in the Thursday play-in game, took three days off and got in and won four straight. Sometimes that's all it takes. I couldn't be more excited for this group and more proud of this group for regrouping and doing what they've done. Q. What is Roth's injury, and why did you decide to plug Karson into his spot? COACH SANDELIN: I know it's a lower body. I know it's in a boot. I haven't got to the final. But you're down to 11 forwards, and I just like to -- obviously Karson, the way he was playing, I mean that was kind of the first shift of those guys. And we were kind of, both teams were kind of running four lines to start. And I was going to start with Karson and move some other left wings around, could have been Blake, could have been Riley. And then they went out there, and you guys all saw how Karson was moving in the first period. And he said he was fine to go. And I just told him to keep shifts short because he was going to play obviously with Jared and then Swanes too. So it paid off. Those guys made a big play. Obviously it was a big goal for us to get the lead. Q. Talk about kind of when you first saw Jade Miller and what you liked about his game and how he's developed as a player to get him to this point tonight. COACH SANDELIN: Honestly, I didn't see him. My assistant saw him. We were looking for a player later in the year. We had talked to him a little bit during the year and then those guys continued to watch him, and it was just a good fit. He's put up numbers in Junior. I think he didn't play as much as the game went on. Neither did -- we really didn't play a fourth line. Neither were they, unfortunately. But that line together, when Kobe and Jade and Billy have played together, they've been really good for us. They all have really good chemistry. They can make plays. They bring energy. And he's had a really good year, considering last year was a little bit up and down for him. He was in, he was out. But he's learned how to be a much more consistent player and obviously has good offensive ability, and that line played a key role for us this year. Q. Just describe Karson Kuhlman a little bit as a player and what he did here in the playoffs for you guys. COACH SANDELIN: Not just here, it was all year. You know what, I think I've said it every year, and Duluth reporters know I said, if I could have 25 guys like him, my job would be really easy. He's a special kid. Again, he does everything right. He's disciplined. It's just fun. Some kids you've got to tell 15 times to do something. And he's one time and he does it. I think this year's been fun because our relationship as a captain and a coaching staff grew. We had a lot of talks early in the year. It was fun to see him kind of mature into the leader he was this year. Because, again, I said it the other day, there certainly was some frustrating times for everybody. But we found a way together to get through it and he was a big part of that. And I know Jared wasn't wearing a letter and he stepped up his play. Blake Young, those guys that were seniors, played outstanding. So it doesn't mean you have to be wearing a letter. But I can't say enough about Karson. He's a great kid. He's been an outstanding captain for us and I was so excited to hear he was most valuable player of this tournament because he certainly deserved it. Q. What was the atmosphere like? COACH SANDELIN: It was awesome. It was awesome. I like playing here. This is great. (Laughter). Q. Cale Morris has had a great season. And you guys managed to get to him early. What was the mindset going in and how did you guys execute? COACH SANDELIN: Again, he doesn't give out a lot of rebounds. Obviously I think -- I don't know if Karson's first goal was off their defenseman's stick, good shot, I couldn't tell but -- getting pucks and getting traffic and trying to get them inside the dots, trying to make it a little bit harder because he's not going to give up much if he sees pucks and certainly not going to give up rebounds. I think Jared kind of caught him by surprise. They did the same thing to Shep. They almost scored on -- some of those surprise shots are good shots. But we knew it was going to be tough. That's why it's great to see the first one go in because, you know what, that might be all you need. And he's certainly capable with the type of goalie he is and the year he's had to not give up any more. But we found a way to get an extra one, and that ended up being the game-winner. Q. How important is it to have some seniors on this year's team, and is it the consistent play that they bring that separates them from younger players? COACH SANDELIN: Well, yeah, I mean nice to have the young players bring a lot of energy and that obviously they're talented young players, too. But like I said before, we were -- our youngest position was obviously the back end. And I was pretty comfortable with our forwards. But these guys played last year too. And they've been to the NCAA Tournament and they were in the championship game last year. And I'm not going to lie: I wanted them to share that with our guys, and hopefully it helped a little bit. But experience means a lot. And just because you've been there last year doesn't mean everything. But it certainly helps. And I think it's nice for those guys to be able to bounce things off the guys that haven't been here and just kind of get them focused on what it's like. And, again, I mean we tried to let them enjoy the experience. Let them enjoy the experience. We're not an overly structured team with meetings and different stuff. So they enjoyed each other. And I think it showed in practices. I think it showed in the game, how they cared about each other and they won for each other. Q. Want to ask about your leading goal scorer for the season, Riley Tufte, he didn't really get much points in the Frozen Four, the tournament in general. How well did he still contribute and how well did the team really kind of pick up the slack where teams are trying to key on him? COACH SANDELIN: Obviously, with him and Peter and Joey, you're going to see, like they saw tonight, they saw Wade and Gilbert, two of their shut-down defensemen, physical. I think Riley had a good year for us. He had a really good first half. I think he had eight or nine goals in the first half, and same thing in the second half. He's growing as a player. But his game has taken steps. And we're looking forward to where he could be next year. But he was a big contributor. And it's not easy. It's not easy going against everybody's best line and best defensemen. I think he's learned from that, too, but there's other ways to contribute and I thought he had a really good year for us. MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|