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NCAA MEN'S FROZEN FOURApril 4, 2012Chad BillinsBob DanielsJordie JohnstonTaylor NelsonTAMPA, FLORIDA MODERATOR: We are joined by the Ferris State Bulldogs. We're joined today by head coach Bob Daniels, Taylor Nelson, Jordie Johnston, and Chad Billins. Opening statement, Coach. COACH DANIELS: Just wanted to start by thanking the organizing committee. It was quite a reception we had at the airport. Certainly we weren't expecting a reggae band and youth hockey team or two to meet us there. So that was great. And really made us feel welcome and special for the upcoming tournament. I'd also like to thank the Tampa Times Forum here for great ice conditions. Everything's perfect, the locker room and just overall the presentation. I know there's a lot of people that put a lot of effort into this, and we're very appreciative. I'm looking forward to the games‑‑ and I am looking forward to the games. It's been a lot of fun. But the two‑week buildup, seems like it's time to play. As we look forward to playing against Union, I think it could be an interesting match of two teams that are very, very similar. I think we're both very structured in our approach to the games. I think both teams play a really strong unit‑of‑five team game on the ice, and I would anticipate that this would be a very, very close contest. One goal, maybe an overtime type of game. My other thoughts on the weekend overall on the Finals here, all four teams‑‑ I said this in the Regional‑‑ that I felt all four teams going into the Regional had a great chance of winning. I think all four teams here, this weekend here, are going to have a great chance of winning, and I can make a strong case for any of the four. And I certainly feel the same again for ourselves. I can make a strong case for us being the champion as well. So look forward to playing the games and very appreciative of all the efforts that people have put on behind the scenes to make this such a special event for the players, coaches, and families. Q. Jordie, you guys have a strong penalty kill; Union has a great power play. What's going to be the key to stopping their power play? JORDIE JOHNSTON: Just sticking to our plan on the P.K. We're really good in getting into the shot lane.  So that's going to be key. And really just not getting to the point where we run around, not getting stressed out out there, and just making smart, easy plays. That's been our success all year. If we keep doing it, we should have some success. Q. I know you guys have talked about how you've kept your team sort of on an even keel. Throughout the season you don't get too high or too low. Chad, how have you kept the team sort of even coming into this particular week? CHAD BILLINS: I think we've prepared the same way we've prepared all year with practices and things like that. We know who we're playing, obviously Union, so we watch video and stuff like that. I don't think‑‑ obviously this is a great event‑‑ but when you sit back and think about it, we're coming here to play hockey. So it's great to see all the hoopla and the excitement around this event, but I think we still have to prepare the same way that we have all year. Q. Taylor, can you explain the difference on the campus of Ferris State, what this has done for the University of Ferris State as well as the state of Michigan? TAYLOR NELSON: Well, first off, I'd like to say it's big for the program. The fact that we were able to make it here for the first time ever in school history is huge. The'02‑'03 team, we talk about that quite often, and they really helped pave the way for success. And you hear Coach talk about how recruiting has‑‑ we're recruited for the next couple of years here, but really the players that have come in here and formed this team that we have today, the'02‑'03 team, it really helped out in that regard because of their success, and people want to be a part of a program that's successful. But as far as on campus and in town, I mean, our fans have been great all year, as you know, Dom. It's just great the fact that everyone is pitching in. And we have three busloads coming down to Tampa to watch us play, which is awesome. I hope they get here safely, because we want them here to help blow the roof off this place. Q. Taylor, a lot of people were suggesting on Twitter after the games ended, Regionals ended, that this Union‑Ferris State would be like the junior varsity game and BC‑Minnesota would be the varsity. What do you tell those people, that this is not a JV game? TAYLOR NELSON: I think that's silly. First off, we're in the Frozen Four, last time I checked. And it's a pretty big accomplishment for both teams. Both teams deserve to be here. We've both had great seasons, two great hockey teams, teams that pride themselves in defense first. And you look at Union, I think they're first in the nation in goals against the game, top 5 in the country in goals for, their power plays 30percent, tops in the nation. That's not a team to joke around about. I think we show the utmost respect for that team, just as we hope we feel we deserve the respect that we need. And we're here. We're here playing for the championship. The junior varsity thing, I just find that kind of funny. Q. Can you talk about knowing that this is going to be your last weekend of hockey and what this means to the seniors to go out on a positive note? JORDIE JOHNSTON: I think for anyone they always want their last game in college to be special. Obviously you want to end with a win. And what better place to end your career at the Frozen Four. Obviously that's what everyone tries to do. So we've got quite an opportunity right now to make this obviously probably one of the best or the best moment we've had in college. That's our goal, is to go out and get the win on Thursday and hopefully find some success on Saturday. So that's what we're here to do. If we do, I'm sure it will be our highlight in our college careers. Q. If Bob Daniels and Jordie could address this question, I just think it's interesting that all the way through the tournament you've been the smaller school. Now you're actually the larger school. You're seven times larger than Union. Talk about that difference and not being in that sort of David/Goliath situation. COACH DANIELS: Well, I spoke with a past professor at Ferris State University earlier in the week, and he had an interesting take on small school versus big school. He said say you end up running into a Minnesota in the Finals, let's just take that, he said they have a school of 40,000. The nice thing is you're only playing 20 of their student‑athletes, you don't have to play all 40,000. So size of school I don't think makes much of a difference. Certainly I'm sure Union feels the same way when we're a school of 12,000 students, we've got a very robust university. But when you take the ice, I don't think it really matters in regards to size. I think what really truly matters is if you look‑‑ this may be one of the best Frozen Fours from the standpoint that all four programs that are here won their conference championships. And they won the regular season championship. And that means over a long haul these were the best four teams in the country, and I think they're all deserving to be here. I certainly know we're deserving to be here. And regardless of the size of the school, everyone has earned their way here. Again, it's interesting to have a Frozen Four with teams representing four different conferences and those being the champions of those four conferences. I can't think of a better tournament. JORDIE JOHNSTON: I just think it will be nice. Hopefully both teams don't get too confused not being the underdog in the game. It will be a little different. But, no, I think once you get to this point all that stuff just goes out the window. You've got 20 guys on the ice and that's all that matters when it comes down to it. And I'm sure they're very confident in their 20 guys, and we're the same way. So we're going to have a great game, and hopefully it's in our favor. Q. Taylor, can you talk about your play in the Midwest Regional and what allowed you to have success there? And also talk about how the defense has played in the postseason and being able to block shots and not get a lot of shots on net. TAYLOR NELSON: You know, we've had the opportunity to talk quite a bit about this. And it seemed to be a common theme all season long for us. Going into the Regional we had 460 blocked shots, and people kept talking about our willingness to sacrifice our body and put ourselves in the line for the guy next to you. And I think that's the big part of the success that was attributable to us winning the regional. I mean, our penalty kill in both those games was phenomenal. Guys putting their bodies on the line. They understand the ramifications of a lost game; it's over. The season's done. And this group of guys is such a tight‑knit group of guys and we don't want this to end yet. We want to keep going. Q. Two of the best goaltenders in the country right now: you versus Grosenick and Union. Can you talk about the battle that it's going to be between you guys tomorrow on the ice? TAYLOR NELSON: It's going to be a great game. I'm really excited to play. At the same time, the good thing about it is we have to compete against one another, right? And our main job is to keep that puck out of the net. And both guys are willing to do that. I know I am, and he sure as heck is, too. We want to keep the ball rolling for our teams. And the good thing is I don't have to line up against him in the faceoff circle or on a breakaway in that regard. So we just have to keep the pucks out of the net. That's the main goal. Stop the little black thing. Q. Chad, just wondering what you think of having a Frozen Four in Florida and do you feel a bit like a goodwill ambassador trying to show the good parts of the college game here? CHAD BILLINS: Yeah, it's really exciting to be in Florida down here. The weather and just the people down here. I mean, we weren't expecting the arrival we had with the youth hockey teams walking through the tunnel with their hockey sticks. You do feel kind of like an ambassador to younger hockey or youth hockey. We're excited to be down here. And with the weather and things like that, I couldn't ask for a better place to play. Q. Jordie and Taylor, Ferris State primarily has a roster of Detroit‑area guys. You came all the way from Saskatchewan. Talk about how that came about. JORDIE JOHNSTON: In my instance I gotta give a lot of credit to all the coaching staff. They were really aggressive, I guess is a good word, in terms of recruiting. They really made me feel welcome or wanted, I guess. And that was huge. And obviously I visited and saw the town, and it's got that homey feel that a bigger place might not have that I really enjoyed. And I just saw‑‑ even at the time I came in, I saw how close the guys were, and that's obviously something I really wanted. And I kind of also liked the underdog kind of feel of the school. So I just loved everything about it. It was a perfect fit for me, and I was excited right from the get‑go. TAYLOR NELSON: For me as well. Visiting campus and just seeing what the town had to offer. And the other players, I mean, coming in there was ‑‑ I had known that Jordie Johnston and Mike Trebish, they were already‑‑ they were both from Saskatchewan and they were going to be playing for Ferris State. Justin Menke was already on the team as a freshman, and he's from Saskatchewan. And knowing that I was going to have some familiar faces there to play amongst was a big perk. I had the opportunity to play two years in Humboldt, which is a small town in Saskatchewan. Played junior hockey there. And coming to visit and see that Big Rapids was much of the same thing, with that small‑town feel, but a family, a family that loves their hockey and supports their Bulldogs in every sport was a huge reason why I decided to come to Ferris State. Q. Taylor, we can kind of sit and laugh and joke about maybe a small school bias now, but was that something that you guys really felt in the tournament, was it a motivator or something you rolled your eyes at and are like whatever? TAYLOR NELSON: We've heard about that since we came. And we talk about committing to Ferris State for that reason. But when you start to play games, you're right, it does get completely thrown out the window. You stop thinking about small school versus big school. Obviously when you play teams like Michigan and Michigan State, Ohio State, it's nice to beat those teams for that reason. But when you keep hearing small school and lack of numbers and whatnot, it just kind of‑‑ like you said, roll your eyes at it. MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach. Q. Coach, most of us back in the Albany area, probably like you guys in Big Rapids, don't know a whole lot about Ferris State, just like you maybe didn't know much about Union. As someone who has been there for a long time, what's special to you about the school and the community as a whole? COACH DANIELS: Sure. In speaking for myself, I do know quite a bit about Union just from the standpoint of being a college hockey junkie myself. And we've played out at Union before, and I was very‑‑ I still am today very good friends with Nate Leaman. So I know quite a bit about the university. And we've played nonconference over the years quite a bit. About Ferris State, though, I think just hearing you talk about small school, I guess we're a small school in some people's minds, but I keep going back‑‑ I know 25 or 23years ago when I started at Ferris, I want to say enrollment was right around 6‑ or 7,000, and right now within the university system we're at 14,000. So it's not a small school. But it has retained that small‑school feel, meaning that our faculty are very engaged. The town itself is small, 15,000 people. And that's counting the outlying farms. But the faculty live in that community. So the interaction among students, faculty members, the administration all being contained in a small community is a wonderful interaction, yet we've got 180 majors at Ferris State. So it's an interesting thing. I hear small school, but I've watched the school grow, and I don't know if that label can hold anymore. Although it has retained that small school feeling. Q. I'll ask you the same question I asked you about Taylor about the whole JV‑varsity thing. Obviously social media people have those opinions, but your thoughts about that, this is not really a JV game, is it? COACH DANIELS: No. And I think this is what makes college hockey great. Look at Minnesota Duluth, they're a Division II school with Division I hockey. They won the national championship. I think hockey affords a unique opportunity for schools that are DivisionI across the board to be successful. The Davids, if you will, of the world. It's a unique sport. You dress 20, 21 players, and each player is on the ice for a 30‑, 45‑second shift and you have to continually rotate those players. You may have a star or two on the team, but it truly takes a team to win at this level. And I think because of that, if you can formulate and manufacture a team and put it together, anybody could be successful. And that's what makes college hockey so great. And I know an earlier question was do you feel like ambassadors. And I think, yes, it's great that we have the Frozen Four here in Tampa, and the more we could spread the gospel, if you will, of college hockey, the more people find out about it, the more they're going to love it. And I can see the sport continuing to grow. It seems very healthy at the time with now Penn State joining the ranks, and I can see nothing but positive moving it around and exposing college hockey throughout the United States. And I think one of the big positives is any school can be successful at it because it is a unique sport. Q. I talked to you earlier, but for everybody else here, your a Penrose winner, National Coach of the Year for Division I hockey. Want to get your thoughts what this means to you for everyone else. COACH DANIELS: I'm honored by the award. I'm certainly humbled. I look at the other finalists and people that weren't finalists coaches in college hockey, I'm not sure I'm really deserving of it. But I feel that of all the awards‑‑ there's a lot of individual awards that come out this time of year, the All‑American teams, the Player of the Year, the Hobey, the Hockey Humanitarian, but the Coach of the Year is unique in it represents a team accomplishment. There's no coach that's deserving of winning individually the award. I think it's an award bestowed upon the coaching staff, the players, the administration. It's truly‑‑ the fans. It truly is a team award. And yet it's given to one individual. And, like I say, I'm humbled by it and haven't had a lot of time to absorb that but gladly accept it on behalf of the players and coaching staff and administration of Ferris State. Q. Have you talked to the players at all about the magnitude of this game; you guys haven't been to the Frozen Four before, and talk to them about how to deal with the idea of playing in front of a lot more people than you're used to and things like that? COACH DANIELS: To an extent. It's the people, the number of fans I don't think will have a bearing whatsoever. Like a lot of the schools here, throughout the course of their careers, they've played in front of large crowds and boisterous crowds, certainly in college hockey. What we did talk a lot about would be all the outside distractions, and they're there. And I think the key for us is to really allow the student‑athletes to enjoy the experience that they've earned up to this point, and then I think sometime along the way there's got to be a trigger mechanism there for the team to say, okay, now that's done and it's all hockey. And for us it's going to start with a team meal tonight and then from that point on after the reception and you have the team meal, from that moment on we would like to make it like any other trip as best we can, and have it all focused on performance‑based. And I'm so confident that our players will do that. They haven't let us down all year. And you could never guarantee victory. None of the four teams here can. But what I can guarantee is our players will give their best effort and that I'm sure of. Q. You said earlier it's easy to make a case why you would win it. What would be the case to you winning it and could you say a word or two about the two teams in the other game, why BC and Minnesota are here? COACH DANIELS: Sure. Certainly for us, I think we can gain confidence from the fact that we did win the CCHA regular season championship. And I think coming through a conference like this year was very strong. I know all conferences feel that way. But certainly if you look at the number of teams ranked throughout the season, the fact that we were ranked No.1 for a couple of weeks in the year gives us confidence that we can play in any environment with any teams. And I think if you are looking specifically on the ice, our goaltending and then our strong team defense leads me to believe if you've got those two components, I think you have an opportunity to win and certainly we have those components. In regards to BC, I think they are 16‑, 17‑game unbeaten streak. The fact that they're four lines deep of tremendous scoring. They a play a game that I think is probably similar to the University of Michigan's game where it's up tempo. And, again, they're league champions as well as playoff champions. So I can make a strong case for them. Then, finally, Minnesota the same boat; they're league champions coming out of one of the most difficult conferences. I think they're time‑tested. Stubbed their toe a little bit in the conference playoffs, but that is to be expected. They came through an unbelievably difficult, I felt, region with both Western Michigan being there and North Dakota, and they came through and won that region, which I thought of the regions that might have been the toughest region to come out of. Q. Can you talk about Eric Alexander and Aaron Schmit and the physical play and the role that sets a tone in a game like this? COACH DANIELS: Sure. The interesting thing about Aaron Schmit is he came to us as a defenseman and played probably two years of defense for us and was more like I guess a physical presence there, but really‑‑ I gotta be careful how I say it‑‑ but was nothing special, just another garden‑variety big defenseman that could play physical. We got to a point where we thought we could use a little more size up front. So just on a whim we moved Aaron Schmit to wing. Almost from day one he looked great up there. All of a sudden he gave us some physical size and physical presence at the forward position. His ability to hang on to the puck low in the offensive zone and then also to be strong on loose pucks, come up on loose pucks, made him valuable from the standpoint we felt he could play and complement a variety of lines. We could put him on the first line and help that line out. And we could put him on the fourth line, and because of his past experience on defense we knew he would be very reliably defensively. That worked out well. Eric Alexander is more of a true forward, power forward. He's not‑‑ he would be in basketball more of a scorer than a playmaker or a setup guy, and he is for us. He's just big, strong, and he's got the ability to score and he's got terrific shot and release. And he's interesting in that as I watch him, I can see him emerging next year as one of our leading scorers. But both of them can play a physical brand. We're going to need them against Union. They're big, they're strong, and they use their bodies exceedingly well. I've had a chance to watch them on tape. And they're a team that positionally is‑‑ it's going to be hard to beat if you can't muscle your way to the front of the net. So we're going to need some of our big guys against Union to provide that muscle and provide that strength around their goal, because, if we don't, we're going to find ourselves on the perimeter of the ice the entire night. Q. Can you fill us in on where your hometown is and what first attracted you to Ferris 20years ago? COACH DANIELS: My hometown is Livonia, Michigan. I grew up in the Detroit area. Big fan of all the sports teams there. And then along the way I was a graduate assistant at Miami of Ohio where Steve Cady and Bill Davidge‑‑ I was fortunate enough to work for them with their DivisionI team. Back then they only had the budget to have one assistant coach, so they hired a graduate assistant to work as a second assistant. From there I was at Illinois Chicago for a couple of years. When the job opened, there was an assistant coaching position that opened at Ferris, and growing up in Michigan, loving the state of Michigan, it was a great opportunity, we thought, my wife and I, to move back to the state. Also as a kid growing up we spent a lot of time up at Houghton Lake and that area. I love the area and I enjoying fishing and the outdoors. When the opening came, I thought, hey, this would be a perfect opportunity. And then throughout the years at Miami and UIC I visited Ferris when we played there, and I always liked the campus and the community. And I just always thought this would be a great place to work. And when the opening came, I was fortunate enough to get the job. MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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