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NCAA MEN'S FROZEN FOURApril 5, 2012Paul CareyTommy CrossParker MilnerJerry YorkTAMPA, FLORIDA Boston College – 6 MODERATOR: We welcome the Boston College Eagles to the podium. We're joined by head coach Jerry York, Paul Carey, Tommy Cross, and Parker Milner. We'll take an opening statement from Coach York, and then we'll have questions for the players. So, Coach, it's all yours. COACH YORK: The game itself, when I looked at the game and watched it from the bench area, I thought Parker Milner made some very timely saves early in the game where I thought Minnesota was pressing. They had the puck. They had some excellent opportunities to score, and not just one, but multiple times, and Parker, he was just big in the net. He was very confident and really fueled us to stay in the game. I thought that when we did have a chance, especially in the second period, we were very opportunistic, we have a scoring chance whether it was a 2‑and‑1 or power play, we really took advantage of that situation. The goal that made it 4‑1 in the third period, I thought all of a sudden the energy level was changing, we had to bounce back right after that, I think it was by Paul, and that was a key, key goal. So I think, looking at the game, timely saves by our goaltender, opportunistic scoring, and then that bounceback goal were the keys to bring us to a Saturday night game. Very excited about the possibility of winning a national championship. It's something we looked forward to at the start of the year and it will be right in front of us. Again, the end of what Donny was talking about, and they did, they accomplished for themselves an awful lot of ‑‑ very, very positive things this year, and that's a very, very fine hockey team that we defeated. So I thought they played well and they were an excellent team, but it feels good to have practice tomorrow. MODERATOR: Questions for the student‑athletes. Q. Parker, will you describe that save at the end of the first period there and did you think you'd be able to get to it? PARKER MILNER: I think Bjugstad came out of the corner a little bit and got a little space and made a really nice pass over. And then I was lucky to get a good push across and lucky they didn't roof it on me. So I got a pad on it. Q. Paul, can you talk about did you think going into this game‑‑ the team scored six goals. Did you expect anything going? PAUL CAREY: No, I didn't think we'd score six. I didn't really set a number. We just thought we'd come out on top. I thought that our puck management is what led to that. And guys just kept fighting all night. Minnesota kept coming at us, but we just kept pushing. Q. Paul and Tommy, Coach talked about how you guys were optimistic tonight. There were a number of times in the game where they would have a good chance and you would stop that and come down to the other end and score. Can you talk about what it is in the makeup of this team and the players that allows you to do that? PAUL CAREY: I think it's our attention to detail, and we really focus on puck management. And the few changes that we do give up, and Milsy's there to help us out back there. And I think our transition game is really good right now, and we did a great job of getting it up the ice and taking advantage of those chances. TOMMY CROSS: I just echo that. Our forwards are really‑‑ their transition game is impressive. They get the puck and they go. And we really work on limiting the other team's chances and not making‑‑ not turning it into a turnover game. And at times tonight that happened, and that's something that we'll try and fix defensively. But offensively we took advantage of those. Q. Tom, can you comment on you and Patch and Dumoulin held over from the 2010 team, but you guys are not only winning and haven't lost since January 21, but you're winning convincingly. From a player's perspective, how or why is this happening as, not easy, but certainly as convincingly as it is? TOMMY CROSS: Paul already mentioned it, but it's the little things and just doing the simple play over and over again. I think we're trying to get rid of‑‑ early in the season we tried to get away from trying to win the game in one shift. It's not how it works. And ten good shifts in a row is better than one great shift and one bad shift. So I think that's our focus, and you mentioned some guys that are back from 2010, but there's plenty of other guys, Eddie Shea jumps out in my mind and some forwards too. So we're just trying to keep getting better and do a lot of little things right over and over again. Q. Did you feel like you broke their will sort of at the end of that second period when you guys got‑‑ Parker makes the save, and then you come down and score, I think it was 18seconds later, and then you get the other goal, two goals in the last 2:15 in the period. Could you sort of feel the air come out of them a little bit? TOMMY CROSS: Maybe a little bit. But at the same time they kept coming. There were some chances they had in the first that were great scoring chances, and they got a few in the second and third. So I think the one goal that Coach alluded to after we gave up one to make it 4‑1, our go‑ahead goal by Paul to make it 5‑1 was huge. Four‑goal lead is certainly a lot better than a three‑goal lead. Q. Tommy, you guys up until this game have really held teams to comparatively few chances. This team got a lot more chances against you tonight than was typical. Can you mention what gave you guys difficulty with covering them? And obviously Parker had to bail you out, but what was the difference that made it so they got as many good chances as they did tonight? TOMMY CROSS: They're a really good hockey team. They've got some really good players. Their top two lines, they got some of the most skilled players we played all year. If you mismanage the puck at times against good players like that, they'll create chances. Even if you're in the right spots. But I thought we did a good job of keeping things to the outside for the most part. And when they did penetrate and get inside us, Parker was there to make some big saves. And the same thing happened with Duluth. We gave them a couple good chances, and Air Force as well. Our defense is working to keeping the outside, but we're certainly not perfect. When they get inside, Parker has been huge. Q. Does it matter at all to you guys who you're playing for a national title? PARKER MILNER:: No. All the teams at this point are really good. And so we know that. And we're going to focus on ourselves. We feel really confident with the group we have. I think our veteran D corps has been huge from Tommy and Sheasy down to MacLeod, and then the forwards are really buying in, too. So we're going to work on ourselves. We'll take a look at what the other team does and their personnel and whatnot. But I think the biggest concern is how we play and how we manage the puck. Q. Parker, we've all talked about the change since midseason and the win streak, but you seem to be playing even especially better this tournament. Has it felt different? Today's goal was the first you've allowed in the tournament, but still a great showing. Has it felt any different overall? PARKER MILNER:: I don't think it feels any different. It definitely feels good to be winning games in this tournament. I think the difference is looking at this game in particular, aside from a few chances in the first, I don't think they got very much, at least from my perspective. If I give up a rebound it's right to the corner. The shots are from the outside. So I don't feel a change. But I do think that we're getting better each game. And I think that's a huge positive. MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach. Q. Just comment on the quality of the primary assists you got. Looked like some of those goals were really well set up. COACH YORK: I think we played with a lot of intelligence. Our players, they move pucks. They see openings, and just like a good basketball team would hit the open man for a shot, I think we have a capability of doing that. But not just one or two players. We've got about a whole bunch of players that can make plays. That's why we're here going to the national championship game. A lot of good players. It's no secret there, boy. Q. Obviously you've got a heck of a team. It seemed like no matter what Minnesota threw at you, you really didn't have any trouble keeping them at bay. Is this one‑‑ obviously you have another game to play. And this could all change. But it seems like the way you've been playing up until now and through tonight, this has got to be one of your great teams? COACH YORK: I thought they had a lot of good chances. I thought it was a much closer game than the score indicated. Like I said, Parker made some really good saves. So they created a lot of good chances, and, like Tommy said, good teams are going to do that to you. I have a lot of respect for the Gophers. That makes the victory even better when you know you've beaten a very good hockey team. But we'll have to wait until after the season finishes. We have another game to see how this team stacks up against some other teams we've had. But certainly it's the most surprised I've been with the team. Starting the year I wasn't quite sure where we were going to take this group of guys, and they really have matured and became a real‑‑ they've become a real good team. And I think that's a great tribute to the leadership and the captains of our team. Q. You mentioned some of Parker's saves, but it did seem a lot of those saves energized the team, particularly the one late in the second, the next shift you guys came back and scored. Could you talk about that? COACH YORK: That was an excellent save. I haven't watched it on video. But looked like it was for sure‑‑ a goal by the Gophers. It moved right across, had a great chance to score. And all of a sudden the left pad flashed out. But he's improved an awful lot. And I don't think you can be a top‑end team unless you've got a remarkable goaltender. I think that's so essential to being the type of club we'd like to be. And Parker, he's become Schneider, Muse, Clemmensen. His March and April have just been outstanding. Look at his stats and save percentage. He's going to be ranked right up with those players. Q. Can you talk about the penalty kill tonight, really limiting Minnesota's chances while they had the power plays? COACH YORK: Especially the very first power play Minnesota had, I thought we really did an excellent job in that respect. And that helped us as the game went on. But there weren't a lot of power plays, but I thought we were effective killing them, especially that very first one, because they moved the puck pretty well. It looked like it was chalkin' out there it was moving so quickly, and they do a nice job there. Q. Do you think this is the best your team has played all season? COACH YORK: You know, we've had some pretty good games. So it's hard to‑‑ you take a look at the film. But I think it's the most important one we've had all year, without any question. Because where it sends us, it sends us now to play in the national championship game. And we always talk to our team about the very best practice is the one between the semifinal game and the national championship game. So we have a lot of practices during the year. But that's a special one. And Ferris and ourselves are both going to get a chance to have that very best practice you can. Q. Jerry, you mentioned how in this game they maybe had a few more good chances than you would have liked. COACH YORK: Clearly. Q. Could you talk about even when they're getting the good chances you're still getting the results you want in terms of holding a No.1 offensive team in the country to only a single goal? COACH YORK: I thought Brian Dumoulin played an outstanding game tonight. And he limited their‑‑ in tight situations he won a lot of loose‑puck battles there. He's a big‑time factor in the game. So you put Dumoulin with Parker, those are two key areas for us to‑‑ but it's hard to‑‑ it's hard to win. And our kids deserve a lot of credit for winning and advancing, and they're a resilient group. They know we didn't play maybe as well as we could during some parts of the game, so they'll work on that and we'll tackle that tomorrow. MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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