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AMP ENERGY NHL WINTER CLASSICJanuary 1, 2008Brian CampbellRyan MillerORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK Q. Ryan, can you take us through the shootout goal, what you saw with Crosby coming in? RYAN MILLER: I lost the puck, I felt like, he just kind of threw it back in. I was going for a tip check on him and he was trying to get around me. Same thing with Letang, I thought he was going to stop, just the break in where that snow was. But that's the conditions everybody had to deal with. I made two poor reads after sticking with Christensen. Q. Brian, this is kind of like the NHL dream match-up, Crosby versus Miller and came down to that at the end; was that going through your mind on the final shot? BRIAN CAMPBELL: I like chasing Sidney. I've seen a lot of him the last few years, so, you know, I really want to stop him obviously. But I thought I made a good play to stay with him. I didn't think he made quite the play he wanted to, but it worked out for him. Q. Ryan, did Letang's move, was that just a phenomenal play, the snow, to be able to pull that -- I didn't think there would be any way in that snow -- RYAN MILLER: They were going along the mindset that they were shooting, all three of them. Christensen almost pulled it back, got a little too close. And Letang, I really thought he would be a shooter today. Q. This game was so many things; it was one thing to the players, and it was a sales job for the league, and different for the fans. Do you think that all things being said that it accomplished everything that they wanted? BRIAN CAMPBELL: Yeah, I think so. You know, I'd like to see a few more goals but obviously conditions were tough out there. But I think when you see not a fan left through the whole game. That's pretty remarkable and something that the league, I'm sure, can see. You know, Orchard Park, New York is a pretty special place in the hearts of a lot of hockey fans and hopefully we can sell it more and more to the nation. Q. How different is it to score in front of 71,000 instead of 19,000? BRIAN CAMPBELL: They are not as close to you, so this is kind of weird. I think you gave up an early one there and you probably know it was going to be a low-scoring game. It's a nice feeling. Just got to shoot as many pucks as you can but obviously Timmy made a great play on that goal. So you know, I just had to find a way to put it on the net and hopefully it goes in. Q. Ryan, tell us how weather affected the flow of the game. RYAN MILLER: Obviously blowing a couple times at night and it was a little different. I think the fans did a great job, though. I took time to look around and I wanted to take in the whole experience and everybody seemed to be, you know, either standing up or dancing or swaying and chanting. It was a pretty cool experience, so I think that -- didn't affect the fans. For us, for me it was a little weird at first. First period was obviously not the best conditions. I thought it improved as the game went. Pucks were coming out of little snow banks and they hit a cross bar early where I just had no idea he could get it up out of that kind of area. You know, it was interesting, but as it kind of moved on, you got kind of used to it. I would just take time to relax my eyes so that I could focus hard coming down the ice. Q. How did you stay warm? When you would have to stop for five or six minutes, how did you stay warm? RYAN MILLER: My feet were actually pretty good and everything else was fine. I was actually pretty warm most of the night from a body temperature standpoint. I had little heaters underneath the foot pads on my skates. Well, not heaters, but you know what I mean, the hunting thing, the hunting version. So I felt pretty good. It was just being stagnant for long periods waiting for the ice or waiting for the crew to come out and fix the ice, a couple potholes developed, that made for a long night. But I thought the fans really stuck with it and made it a great experience. Q. Brian, were there some things that you just had to abandon? BRIAN CAMPBELL: Yeah, I think you couldn't stick -- you kind of had to push a lot more with the puck later on in the periods? Q. Did you try to spin? BRIAN CAMPBELL. No, I wasn't going to attempt that. Yeah, I would have killed myself if I tried to spin out there. No, I think, alluding to what Ryan was saying in the question before, you go there and sit and the first shift was kind of tough to stay focused. I know I had some of my bad shifts when we waited and went back out. You had to change our game a lot and I think, you know, the guys did have a lot more chip and pucks and banging as hard as you can to get it out because it's probably not going to go for icing, so you'll be fine that way. Both teams did a pretty good job adapting to it. It was interesting at times. Q. Ryan, did you and Sidney speak at all after the game, and if so, what was said? RYAN MILLER: I didn't talk to Sidney after it all. I didn't really see any of the guys, just went off to different locker rooms, somebody got him after. But I thought the whole team did a great job and played hard and I was proud of our guys adapting after the first period. We took some penalties early, and it was hard to kill in those conditions. It was hard to get the puck down the ice, even when you had control in that first period. You know, we came out and had a great second period where I don't think they really had a shot. I mean, they might have given them one, I don't remember really touching one. So great second period by us and that kind of set up for an exciting finish. I thought both teams hit cross bars and posts and had good chances, some big hits out there. I thought it was an entertaining hockey game from my point of view. I love the fact that the fans are standing up and chanting with all the music and getting really into it. It was a cool experience, because everybody was so into it and so dialed in to watching a hockey game. Say it again, they are all standing again and really it's kind of a party atmosphere, everyone in different sections interacting and laughing and having a good time. That's what we feel hockey is all about; celebrate the sport, come out and have some fun and watch, have a good time. I think that was accomplished. Q. How does this game compare to the Michigan State game in 2001? BRIAN CAMPBELL: For me it was very different. I was a lot more nervous for that one. This one was just, go out and enjoy it and have a good time. Obviously disappointed with the shootout, but overall, I thought it was a great experience. I got to -- I came into this, I decided I was going to pay attention more to the crowd where more at Michigan State I was focused on the hockey. I wanted to take everything in this time. I feel like I've played enough games now where I can pay attention to other things and still focus on the puck. Back in college, I didn't want to get too caught up in the emotion of it. This one was a lot of fun to just be a part of. End of FastScripts |
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