University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota vs. St Cloud State Quotes
1/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Minnesota Head Coach Don Lucia
Opening Statement
"This kind of sums up our season. I thought we came out and played a great third period. We had a number of chances but we turn it over in the last two minutes and they made the play and the right guys had the puck. Both goalies played well. Alex gave us a chance and their goalie played very well, enough to keep us from scoring."
On turnovers
"I thought we turned we turned the puck over way too much. Maybe that’s from the fact we haven’t played a higher ranked team since we played North Dakota in December. In these past games, we could get a little more time and space to make plays. The good thing is we gave ourselves a shot in the third period but again one goal in the game was all it took to win."
On end of the game
"I think (the Gophers) had a chance here at the end. Their goalie made some good saves and they’re all starting to develop chemistry with each other. I thought in the third period they started to blend more as the game went on."
On mid-season struggles
"We had some guys that struggled and that’s gonna happen. We play a long season and there are nights that are going to be better for certain individuals than for others. That’s all part of it. If one of the top guys struggles, someone has to step up and take the pressure off."
Minnesota senior forward Mike Howe
On turnovers
"We’ve got to take care of the puck a little bit better, especially when we get into these tougher conference matchups. Every team in this league has some guys that can hurt you when you turn the puck over. Every little thing is magnified in big games like that. I thought that was demonstrated tonight when I thought we dominated the third period but we give away a couple turnovers and that’s the ballgame."
On Kangas’ performance
"It was really good to see Alex (Kangas) play well tonight. We’ve been kind of back and forth on who we want to be our starter and who should be playing in the big game. Alex took a step forward tonight and that was good to see."
On coming out in the third
"It’s good to see us come out with a jump in the third. That’s kind of been our crutch this year and I thought we played well in the third and were starting to build. But then again we need to start executing when the game is on the line and tonight we didn’t do that. Hopefully we can come back from here tonight and take better care of the puck.”
