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NCAA MEN'S FROZEN FOURApril 4, 2012Rick BennettTroy GrosenickNolan Julseth-WhiteJeremy WelshTAMPA, FLORIDA MODERATOR: We welcome Union College to the podium. We're joined by head coach Rick Bennett, Nolan Julseth‑White, Jeremy Welsh, and Troy Grosenick. Coach, an opening statement. COACH BENNETT: I'd just like to say, everyone, appreciate you coming out. Our student‑athletes here are very excited to get going. It's been a nice ride so far. And we're reallyfortunate enough to be here. MODERATOR: Questions for the student‑athletes. Q. It's been 22years since an ACC team got to the Final and another 23 since a team won it from this league. Do you guys feel that kind of pressure trying to become the first team since 1989 to make the championship? JEREMY WELSH: We don't feel any pressure at all. We don't think too much about that or read too much of the articles. I think that's more of the media making a big deal out of it. But we don't really worry about that. We know what we have in the room, and we know who we are. So we're just here to play our game. NOLAN JULSETH‑WHITE: Like he said, we're just worried about what we're doing right now. We're focused on practicing today and gearing up and getting ready for the puck drop tomorrow. TROY GROSENICK: The same as those guys said. We're not trying to carry the weight of our whole league. We're just looking to go out and do what we do and stick to our process. That's what's got us here. And hopefully that will continue to bring us success. Q. There's been so much media attention around you guys. How have you guys been able to handle all the media attention from outside of just the Albany area, and what have been some of the crazier things you guys have had to answer or ask or do with this media barrage that you guys have been under? TROY GROSENICK: We just take it one at a time. I mean, we're not focused on it. Just kind of comes with the territory. So we realize that. So we just take it one interview at a time and know it's not our main focus. Our main focus is working hard at practice and hopefully that will carry over to the ice. NOLAN JULSETH‑WHITE: Three weeks ago we were loading the bus and a reporter asked me what are my expectations for the game tonight, and the game was in about two days away. So that's probably the most bizarre question I think I've had thus far. JEREMY WELSH: Nothing in particular. It's been exciting, and lots of people around town and support staff and professors sending their support. But nothing too funny, really. Q. I was wondering if you guys could talk a little bit about the transfer from one coach to another. It seems like it's been a pretty seamless change to go from Nate to Rick and just wondered if you guys could talk about the impact he's had on your season. TROY GROSENICK: I mean, we obviously are all familiar with Coach Bennett. He recruited us here. We knew that the transition was going to be seamless. Just from him being around us and us being around him, he definitely has a good pulse of the locker room. And so the best thing that Coach Bennett did is he kept the things that Coach Leaman had put in place that had started to grow the program. And then he built on that and he brought a little bit of his own flavor in. And it's been real successful and real enjoyable for all of us. NOLAN JULSETH‑WHITE: I think Troy nailed it on the head there. Coach Bennett recruited us all. He's known us all coming in. And he had just as much to do with the success prior to Coach Leaman's departure as anybody. So the transition was seamless, as he said. Like Troy said, he's got a great pulse on the team right now and he's doing a great job. JEREMY WELSH: Similar culture. Obviously different personalities and different approaches to the game a little bit. I think we're a little more loose out there. Practices are a little more lighthearted and guys are a little more excitable out there. So just change of personality is the big thing. Q. You've beenabout business, has been kind of your team approach to the Playoffs and to the NCAAs, but have you had a chance to step outside it, either take in what you've done or take in where you are, in Tampa Bay or anywhere else, along the way? TROY GROSENICK: I mean, I think we celebrated our successes, obviously, when we won the ECAC Playoffs, and obviously last weekend in Bridgeport, but we kind of celebrated that one night with the guys on the way back on the bus. And the following Monday it was back to work. And we've accomplished some things. But we haven't accomplished our main goal of the year. And we know that there's still work left to be done, so until we finish what we set out to do, it's all business, like you said. NOLAN JULSETH‑WHITE: Yeah, back to ECACs and then Bridgeport, we enjoyed it the following Sunday, and then, like Troy said, we were back to work Monday and focus on the task at hand. We're proud of what we accomplished, but our job's not over yet. We've still got another trophy to throw in this year. And as far as taking a step back, maybe pinching ourselves and realizing where we're at, I think when we stepped foot off the plane, it was a great reception by the local community, and that was pretty cool. And then, like I said, we had a great practice today and it's back to business and getting ready for tomorrow. Q. For both of the captains, Nolan and Jeremy, having been through this and gotten these guys to this point, and all the fanfare, and you talked about enjoying this experience, has it been more difficult to make sure that everybody kept their emotions kind of under wraps for maybe the last day and a half maybe getting down here? JEREMY WELSH: The amazing thing about this team is we haven't had to step in and settle guys down or try to change the personality of the team at any point in the year. We've never had a players‑only meeting or anything we've really addressed. It's kind of more organic personality that we have as a team. Everyone's pretty poised and low‑key. Things didn't change last week at practice at all. The intensity picked up a little bit, but you kind of got to let the personality of the team run. Everyone's loosy‑goosy, but when we show up for game day we're ready to go. Just the players, the chemistry we have is just great. NOLAN JULSETH‑WHITE: Yeah, Welshy nailed that one too. Not much to say after that. But it's‑‑ my job is pretty easy. I have a great support with Kelly and Jeremy, and then it filters all the way down to the upperclassmen. And ten freshmen coming in. Very mature group for their age, believe it or not. Shayne, five years younger than me, my roommate, one of the more mature guys on the team, and I think he's doing a great job. Like Jeremy said, we haven't had to step in too much this year and just stuck with the process. Q. You've been looking at plenty of tape, I'm sure, of Ferris State. Tell me what's the one thing that most impresses you about them? COACH BENNETT: Well, I'll start it off. I have to say their defensive zone coverage is something that we haven't seen before in the fact that they swarm you and you really have to move that puck right away on a first touch. And you have to talk. And what I really mean by that is if you go in the corner and two guys are on you, your teammate has to talk to you to know where you are to move that puck, because if you don't you're going to be throwing it to someone, and it's not going to be in the Union colors. TROY GROSENICK: Yes, they do zones, pretty high pressure, and definitely something that's‑‑ something we haven't seen. So obviously it's gotten‑‑ brought them success. So that's where the‑‑ it's brought them success, but at the same time we're trying to not focus too much on what our opponents do and we have to focus on what we do. And if we do that, hopefully we'll continue our success. NOLAN JULSETH‑WHITE: Yeah, that's what stood out the most for me, I guess, was how they swarm our forwards or the forwards and their D zone. That just means the points are open a little bit more and maybe I'll pop my first one. JEREMY WELSH: They play good honest hockey, good team defense, balanced scoring, limited turnovers and good goalie, much like us. So a lot of respect for the program and how they play. Q. Nolan, you talked a little bit about Shayne. What have you seen‑‑ what does he bring to the team and what have you seen from him in terms of development this year? NOLAN JULSETH‑WHITE: Shayne, he brings a lot of energy. That young love for the game, he brings to every practice, every game, just rooming with him on the road all year, he's matured into quite the young hockey player. When he's stepped on, he's very quiet. And once you get him talking, now he doesn't stop. But, no, he's definitely matured a great amount since the season's gone on and had a great impact on the D end. Q. Jeremy and Nolan, you talked about good goalie. Could you talk about the impact Troy has made, how he's stepped in. And, also, can you not say how important‑‑ how important is it, how much of a calming presence is it to have a guy like that to be playing in front of a guy like that? JEREMY WELSH: Any good teams that go deep in the playoffs have a terrific goalie. Obviously Grosenick is one of those. I think the biggest attribute Grosenick brings is his battle, his compete level. We're pretty good at team defense. He's a good first‑shot goalie, but I think his best asset is the way he battles for rebounds and those backdoor plays. Maybe he'll give up one or two of those, a lucky bounce backdoor, and he's there to save it. Most goalies can't make those saves. So he battles every day in practice, works his tail off. I think that's the biggest thing. Q. Jeremy, in social media, a lot of people were tweeting right after the Regionals were done that Union‑Ferris State was the JV match and the BC‑Minnesota game was the varsity. What do you think of that? What do you tell those people that this is not a JV game going on tomorrow at 4:30? JEREMY WELSH: I wouldn't tell them anything. I really wouldn't bat an eye at it. Don't really read that stuff. Doesn't really matter what other people think. We're here at the national championship. Just two wins on the line for every team that's here. So we're all in the same boat. Q. Nolan, when you look back and you look at the factors that made you choose Union and the small school in Schenectady, New York, Union wasn't what it was back then. It wasn't what it is now. So what made you decide that this was the place that you wanted to be, and just talk a little bit about the progression of getting to this point. NOLAN JULSETH‑WHITE: Back to the recruiting done by Coach Bennett and actually Coach Riga back then had a huge impact. They came all the way out West and they promoted Union College. To be honest with you, I didn't know much about it. But as soon as I stepped foot on campus, I knew this is where I wanted to be. Great community to be around, the campus community. And just fell in love with it right away. And as for the process that's got us here in my four years, it's been an uphill grind, personally, from the start. And we're proud of, like I said, what we've accomplished so far this year, but our job's not over yet. And we're here right now and that's all we're focused on. Q. Troy, can you talk about the matchup, I know you're not going to face him, but Taylor Nelson at the other end and does that make you want to perform even better against another top goaltender in the country? TROY GROSENICK: Well, obviously Nelson's a great goalie. Watched him on tape quite a bit. And he's had great success this year. For me, I think I just have to focus on myself. I can't worry about too much who I'm playing against, otherwise my head's in a scramble and I won't perform like I want to or need to. So I just kind of treat every game the same and that doesn't really matter who we're playing. We could be playing a (indiscernible) team or we could be playing Vancouver, and I'd try to prepare the same way, and that's all it really comes down to. Q. Nolan and Jeremy, can you think of what was your toughest game‑‑ your toughest in‑game challenge this year, who was it against, and how do you feel you responded, what you learned and what that might mean this weekend? NOLAN JULSETH‑WHITE: As a team? I think we go back to the Quinnipiac‑Princeton series on the road. I think it was a good learning experience for us, that three‑goal lead in the third period against Princeton especially, tying both games that weekend. I think we took a lot away from that weekend, when it comes down to preparation and the process throughout the game. And I think just from that moment on we built off that. We didn't reap on it, sulk on it too much, we just learned from it and moved on. And I think that really turned this team in the right direction. JEREMY WELSH: I can't think of a specific in‑game moment or anything. I think our trip out to Colorado and Denver we got swept. I think that's only the second time all year we got swept. It was kind of a changing point in the season. I think our record since then has been pretty good. We're generally a program that peaks in the second half. That was kind of a turning point. We were there, we just didn't really do the little things to win. We came out‑‑ it was a confidence, we knew we could beat them and play with those teams, but we didn't execute the little things. So from then on we kind of figured out those little things add up. When you're in those big games against those good teams, that's what matters. Q. First for Jeremy and then for the other two guys, Jeremy, just from a interesting standpoint, what do you think about the five‑story mural of you outside on the building, and, guys, how much grief have you been giving him? JEREMY WELSH: I mean, it was pretty neat to see, I guess. Today we were driving in and I looked up to check it out, and the guys got on me about looking up at it. I said: You know what, guys? It's not every day I see myself on the side of a building. So just take it for what it is. It's a neat experience. That's about it. NOLAN JULSETH‑WHITE: This morning I actually woke up and looked out the window of our hotel and saw this beautiful sunrise, and then, wham, there's Jeremy Welsh. I'm like, oh, my gosh, living with him all summer and dealing with him all year, you think you could get away from him for just five minutes. But it's great to see it up there and well deserved and happy for him. TROY GROSENICK: Not only was he on the building, but he was probably the first thing I saw when we landed and I stepped off the plane and they had one of him out there, too. So it's definitely well deserved and we couldn't be happier for a guy like Welshy, but we'll still be busting his chops. MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach. Q. Rick, can you just describe the tone of today's practice? Did it feel like the last practice before the most important game you guys have played? COACH BENNETT: No, not really. It was just a regular practice that we usually have the day before a game. The guys were loose again, executed the drills, how we wanted it. A couple times their puck jumped over a few sticks here and there, but for the most part they were pretty relaxed today. Q. Do you think that the weight of this ECAC not having a championship team make it since 1989 and a team not making the Finals since 1990, does that weigh on this team at all? COACH BENNETT: It hasn't been brought up at all. We haven't focused on that one bit. We were pretty familiar with about the last team to get here, it was 2003, Cornell. So it's an honor within itself. And it would be another‑‑ honestly, we're just focused on tomorrow. That's been our focus the whole time. Q. Did you notice anything in particular that stood out about the ice, the boards, the arena, that you made note of as far as planning goes? COACH BENNETT: Jeremy Welsh's picture, I guess. I do have to throw my two cents in on that one, too, because if you see that picture, he's got to get his hands off his hips to catch passes. So the guys will know what I'm talking about. But I think after about 25 minutes, the ice was a little bit choppy through the neutral zone. So the puck was jumping a little bit. But we've been to a couple of things here in the past three weeks, and the ice has been fairly good. So it's one of those things you gotta get used to a different building right away; you don't have time to try and get used to the ice surface. So hopefully we'll adapt tomorrow. Q. Hockey players are very schedule‑oriented. They like to do the same thing all the time, very structured. How nice is it to get back on the ice, get back to the work that you guys are here for to actually play hockey? All of this aside, all the fun stuff aside, but to get back to playing hockey and get back on the ice again? COACH BENNETT: Oh it's great‑‑ we are creatures of habit. And so are coaches. So it's good to get out there, and I know you had an hour. The guys know what they were supposed to do, and I think that's why they're a bit looser, because they know what's coming, and obviously having‑‑ which I thought talking to the coaching staff was going to be a little bit of an issue with people in the stands, because it isn't‑‑ we don't have that many stands at our practices, as you guys know, at home. But I thought they handled it real well. And kind of get over the nerves a bit, so when you get out there tomorrow morning, they're going to go out, have a little skate and the coaches are going to play the non‑dressers and we're going to give it to them and go from there. Q. Two questions. One is could you detail the progress that Jeremy made this season. And the other, it's interesting that both yourself and Ferris have sort of had the David/Goliath thing going through the tournament. Now it's two smaller schools that haven't been here before and meeting each other, how different is that for you? COACH BENNETT: As far as Jeremy, to answer your question, I think he's come along tremendously. I think his goal scoring has made‑‑ he seems to be hitting the net a lot more, and he hits the net a lot more in practice. So I think it really starts in practice. He really has a focus to score goals. And there's a difference. There's the people who like to score goals and the people who love to score goals. And I think he really loves to score goals by the way he shoots it. Because he puts everything he has into those shots, and he's actually, as I said this before, he's killing our stick budget. But you know what, Jeremy, you keep breaking and scoring and we'll keep buying. That's been our philosophy. But he's a force. He's a huge reason why we're here. I'm not going to say he's the only reason. But he's a big reason. That old JV question. I would certainly like to see Ferris State and Union varsity teams, they must be pretty good since we're JV. It's along the same lines, and it is a workman‑like approach for both teams. That's how we both kind of have gotten here. We have to stay disciplined to our systems, because if we get away from them, it could be a long night. So I just have to say it's two teams that pride themselves in working hard. Q. Same question I asked Nolan. Can you talk about Shayne Gostisbehere and his development this year? COACH BENNETT: I think Shayne started out as a young 18‑yearolder, going through a little bit of the curve coming right from prep school, which is not always easy to make that transition. And the more playing time he got, the better he's gotten. And I think having Nolan Julseth‑White as his roommate and having Greg Coburn as his partner all year long, so he's kind of familiar with that which helps him. So he feels really comfortable around those guys.  And I can't say enough about those two for helping him along. And I think Jason Tapp and Joe Dumais have done an excellent job working with the defense this year. I think the D were very happy when they heard I was going to the forwards. So that's been a nice transition there. Q. To follow up on the JV question. What do you tell those people in the social media about what they're going to see tomorrow, because obviously it's not going to be a JV game? COACH BENNETT: No, I'm not going to make predictions on how we're going to play, because I don't have a crystal ball. And hopefully we can play the same way that we played against Lowell the last game. You're only as good as your last game. Hopefully we can be even better than that. And we don't want to be complacent. We want to come out harder, and we've allowed two goals versus Lowell. So obviously there's a couple of things we need to correct. And hopefully we're just ready to go. It's not a big secret. I just think the team that comes out tomorrow who isn't nervous, obviously has the goaltender going, and have your specialty teams, that's going to be key. MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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