The top ranked Gopher Hockey team held their weekly press conference at Mariucci Arena this afternoon. Head Coach Don Lucia met with the media, as did Nate Condon and Mike Reilly. The team takes on Notre Dame this weekend in South Bend, Indiana following a bye weekend.
Head Coach Don Lucia:
Regarding Notre Dame… “Playing for the first time a true road game. I mean, even though we were at Bemidji, we had a lot of Gopher fans. That certainly won’t be the case this weekend. I’m assuming they’ll have a great crowd this weekend. The football team is on the road, and we’re ranked number one, so they can hype it up a pretty good. It’ll be a good test for our guys. The environment, against a Senior, big, strong physical team, and how we react to all that. They’re a veteran team. This is a group of Seniors that went to the Frozen Four as Freshmen. There’s about eight or nine of them. Big strong D corp, led by the Seniors. Summerhays is a veteran in nets. He’s a Senior. Up front they’ve got a good skill level. A big strong team that’s going to clog up the neutral zone and play a very structured game. They’re very disciplined, don’t give up a lot of shots, and pride themselves on being a good defensive team. It will be a really good test for us. I think they’ve won ten straight at home going back to last spring. With our young team, every weekends a little bit new and different. This weekend will present a whole new host of issues as far as being on the road, in a different cult environment to play in, against a good veteran team. They’re not a team that gives up many. Even last year, I think we only had mid-twenties (shots), and that’s playing on a big rink. They do a good job of being in the proper positioning, and they’ll block shots. We have to try to play at the quickest pace we possibly can, and try to generate some plays through the neutral zone. They do a good job in the neutral zone. They’re not going to give you a lot of two on ones, or odd man rushes. You’re going to have to find a way to grind it out”
Regarding how the bye week will affect them… “Last week was good for us. We had a couple of guys who wouldn’t have been able to play last weekend. They’re back close to one hundred percent now, so that extra time actually came at a good time in out schedule. You never know, sometimes you’d rather have a break later on, just more than anything just depends on the health of our team. This has allowed us to get healthy. How quickly will it take us to jump back in. This week we spent time every day working on our special teams play. That’s something we have to get better at. We only have the four power play goals right now, and more often than not, when you don’t win specialty battles, you don’t win games. It’s going to be a work in progress. We have some young guys. We have to find out whether we have the right people in the right spots yet. We have to shoot the puck more than we have, and get more reps”
Regarding the new Notre Dame rink… “I’ve seen two games there going back to the year they opened up. A few weeks back, they played Michigan Tech, and I went down for that game. In Hockey or any sport, facilities play a big part. That was the one missing ingredient that they had in their program there. If you look around campus, the ice rink didn’t really fit with everything else they had on campus. Fortunately for them, they had a good run when Jeff got there, and were able to transform it. And you had a big donation from the Compton family to build a great facility. I’m looking forward to going back down there. Last time Minnesota and Notre Dame played, it was in the late seventies, when I was playing down there. I think it’s good for us to go back, another BCS school to play, and a good program. It will be a good test. More than anything I’m looking forward to playing a good quality opponent“
Regarding playing against Mario… “You know it’s different. You’re concentrating on your own team, but there’s times you get a glimpse of your own son out there. You notice him at times, but you don’t get caught up into it that much. You’re just so involved and concentrating on your own team more than anything else. No family reunions, it’s a business trip. I’ll talk to him tonight, and I’m sure I’ll talk to him on Thursday, but probably not on Friday or Saturday. We try to keep the relationship more father/son, not a coaching situation. I want to try to be there for support as much as I possibly can. There are times that I’ll watch a game and give him some pointers, but I’m not going to spend a lot of time critiquing his game. He’s got good coaches. That’s there job. My job, my wife’s job, and the whole family’s job is to help him grow as a person during his collegiate career. We know he’s in good hands, and in a good spot. There’s part of me that wishes he was here, and I had a chance to coach him. But the other side is there’s contentment knowing that I get to be his Dad in this situation too, and not have to try and critique his game every night”
Regarding the health of the team… “Health wise, we are good. We had a couple of guys that couldn’t have played last weekend. We’ve got a couple of guys that are still a little bumped and bruised, but everybody is available to play this week”
Regarding the status of Gabe Guertler… “We haven’t made a determination of whether he will play or not this weekend, but he will be going on the trip”
Nate Condon:
Regarding his health after getting injured in the BC game… “I’m feeling great. That was mostly a bruise. I stayed down because I got the wind knocked out of me. A couple of days off never hurts. I didn’t even know they guy was so close to me, to be honest with you. I thought I had a clean breakaway, and then he came out of nowhere, so I think that’s why I fell so hard”
Regarding the importance of playing top teams like Notre Dame… “I think the older guys are more aware of it. I think the younger guys are more worried about just showing up and playing every day. I think with the pairwise, and how things work, the upperclassmen have figured out how all that works. Really, you don’t have to beat good teams to play at the end of the season, and have home ice. It’s nothing new for anyone”
Regarding Notre Dame… “We’ve had really good games against them, and they’ve got really talented players. I know every time you play them, it’s something you look forward to, and one of those games you always have marked on the schedule at the beginning of the year. We’re relaxed, I think. A bye week always helps. They guys just kind of hang out and have fun for a while. It gives you time to rest. We’ve got a couple of injuries, guys nicked up here and there. Gives you time to recover, and bring back that fresh lineup that you need going into a big weekend like Notre Dame. I’ve actually been there before, because my older brother played there. I went and actually toured the locker room. It’s pretty cool actually, to bring hockey to Notre Dame, the big football powerhouse. Going to a new rink like that’ll be fun”
Regarding playing against Mario Lucia… “I don’t think it really affects us, as much as it affects him (Coach Lucia). It might be a little bit strange for him. He dealt, obviously, playing with Tony (Lucia). I think it’s just a game for us, and won’t be any different from any other”
Regarding the bye week hurting their momentum… “I think our teams still got momentum. We haven’t lost yet, and a lot of the younger guys are really finding their games. So I think momentum has kept building, but the off week was nice”
Regarding the play of the Freshmen… “It’s been a nice surprise. Anytime you can get guys like Kloos, Hudson and Cammaratta to get the offensive production they’ve had, and we’ve got a lot of guys that are stepping in and playing big roles defensively too. So, it’s surprising, but it’s a surprise we’ll take right now”
Mike Reilly:
Regarding the bye week… “We had a lot of momentum, but I think it’s good for us to regroup and stay fresh going into a big weekend like this against a team like Notre Dame. It was a great week off for us, and got some stuff done in practice, and we’re looking forward to Friday”
Regarding Notre Dame… “We’re looking forward to this weekend. I think they got us circled on their calendar, and we do too. We’ve been looking forward to this weekend since the start of the season. Last year’s game was after winter break. I think they had almost a month off before they played that game against us. They’re definitely ready for us. The week off for us was good, to get refreshed. Coming into this weekend, I think we’re feeling good about ourselves, and looking forward to the challenge”
Regarding playing against Mario Lucia… “I was his roommate in Penticton. We keep in touch, and all. I only wish him the best. It’s going to be fun playing against him, and competing against him, after being his roommate and being on his team up in Canada. It’s going to be a fun experience. He’s big, and he’s got a great shot with a quick release. He can find that dead spot and really hurt you if you leave him alone. You gotta get on him, and don’t allow him to get space like that. He’s really smart with the puck and he’s a big body, so he’s tough to handle in the corners. I’m looking forward to see what he can do against us”
Head Coach Don Lucia:
Regarding Notre Dame… “Playing for the first time a true road game. I mean, even though we were at Bemidji, we had a lot of Gopher fans. That certainly won’t be the case this weekend. I’m assuming they’ll have a great crowd this weekend. The football team is on the road, and we’re ranked number one, so they can hype it up a pretty good. It’ll be a good test for our guys. The environment, against a Senior, big, strong physical team, and how we react to all that. They’re a veteran team. This is a group of Seniors that went to the Frozen Four as Freshmen. There’s about eight or nine of them. Big strong D corp, led by the Seniors. Summerhays is a veteran in nets. He’s a Senior. Up front they’ve got a good skill level. A big strong team that’s going to clog up the neutral zone and play a very structured game. They’re very disciplined, don’t give up a lot of shots, and pride themselves on being a good defensive team. It will be a really good test for us. I think they’ve won ten straight at home going back to last spring. With our young team, every weekends a little bit new and different. This weekend will present a whole new host of issues as far as being on the road, in a different cult environment to play in, against a good veteran team. They’re not a team that gives up many. Even last year, I think we only had mid-twenties (shots), and that’s playing on a big rink. They do a good job of being in the proper positioning, and they’ll block shots. We have to try to play at the quickest pace we possibly can, and try to generate some plays through the neutral zone. They do a good job in the neutral zone. They’re not going to give you a lot of two on ones, or odd man rushes. You’re going to have to find a way to grind it out”
Regarding how the bye week will affect them… “Last week was good for us. We had a couple of guys who wouldn’t have been able to play last weekend. They’re back close to one hundred percent now, so that extra time actually came at a good time in out schedule. You never know, sometimes you’d rather have a break later on, just more than anything just depends on the health of our team. This has allowed us to get healthy. How quickly will it take us to jump back in. This week we spent time every day working on our special teams play. That’s something we have to get better at. We only have the four power play goals right now, and more often than not, when you don’t win specialty battles, you don’t win games. It’s going to be a work in progress. We have some young guys. We have to find out whether we have the right people in the right spots yet. We have to shoot the puck more than we have, and get more reps”
Regarding the new Notre Dame rink… “I’ve seen two games there going back to the year they opened up. A few weeks back, they played Michigan Tech, and I went down for that game. In Hockey or any sport, facilities play a big part. That was the one missing ingredient that they had in their program there. If you look around campus, the ice rink didn’t really fit with everything else they had on campus. Fortunately for them, they had a good run when Jeff got there, and were able to transform it. And you had a big donation from the Compton family to build a great facility. I’m looking forward to going back down there. Last time Minnesota and Notre Dame played, it was in the late seventies, when I was playing down there. I think it’s good for us to go back, another BCS school to play, and a good program. It will be a good test. More than anything I’m looking forward to playing a good quality opponent“
Regarding playing against Mario… “You know it’s different. You’re concentrating on your own team, but there’s times you get a glimpse of your own son out there. You notice him at times, but you don’t get caught up into it that much. You’re just so involved and concentrating on your own team more than anything else. No family reunions, it’s a business trip. I’ll talk to him tonight, and I’m sure I’ll talk to him on Thursday, but probably not on Friday or Saturday. We try to keep the relationship more father/son, not a coaching situation. I want to try to be there for support as much as I possibly can. There are times that I’ll watch a game and give him some pointers, but I’m not going to spend a lot of time critiquing his game. He’s got good coaches. That’s there job. My job, my wife’s job, and the whole family’s job is to help him grow as a person during his collegiate career. We know he’s in good hands, and in a good spot. There’s part of me that wishes he was here, and I had a chance to coach him. But the other side is there’s contentment knowing that I get to be his Dad in this situation too, and not have to try and critique his game every night”
Regarding the health of the team… “Health wise, we are good. We had a couple of guys that couldn’t have played last weekend. We’ve got a couple of guys that are still a little bumped and bruised, but everybody is available to play this week”
Regarding the status of Gabe Guertler… “We haven’t made a determination of whether he will play or not this weekend, but he will be going on the trip”
Nate Condon:
Regarding his health after getting injured in the BC game… “I’m feeling great. That was mostly a bruise. I stayed down because I got the wind knocked out of me. A couple of days off never hurts. I didn’t even know they guy was so close to me, to be honest with you. I thought I had a clean breakaway, and then he came out of nowhere, so I think that’s why I fell so hard”
Regarding the importance of playing top teams like Notre Dame… “I think the older guys are more aware of it. I think the younger guys are more worried about just showing up and playing every day. I think with the pairwise, and how things work, the upperclassmen have figured out how all that works. Really, you don’t have to beat good teams to play at the end of the season, and have home ice. It’s nothing new for anyone”
Regarding Notre Dame… “We’ve had really good games against them, and they’ve got really talented players. I know every time you play them, it’s something you look forward to, and one of those games you always have marked on the schedule at the beginning of the year. We’re relaxed, I think. A bye week always helps. They guys just kind of hang out and have fun for a while. It gives you time to rest. We’ve got a couple of injuries, guys nicked up here and there. Gives you time to recover, and bring back that fresh lineup that you need going into a big weekend like Notre Dame. I’ve actually been there before, because my older brother played there. I went and actually toured the locker room. It’s pretty cool actually, to bring hockey to Notre Dame, the big football powerhouse. Going to a new rink like that’ll be fun”
Regarding playing against Mario Lucia… “I don’t think it really affects us, as much as it affects him (Coach Lucia). It might be a little bit strange for him. He dealt, obviously, playing with Tony (Lucia). I think it’s just a game for us, and won’t be any different from any other”
Regarding the bye week hurting their momentum… “I think our teams still got momentum. We haven’t lost yet, and a lot of the younger guys are really finding their games. So I think momentum has kept building, but the off week was nice”
Regarding the play of the Freshmen… “It’s been a nice surprise. Anytime you can get guys like Kloos, Hudson and Cammaratta to get the offensive production they’ve had, and we’ve got a lot of guys that are stepping in and playing big roles defensively too. So, it’s surprising, but it’s a surprise we’ll take right now”
Mike Reilly:
Regarding the bye week… “We had a lot of momentum, but I think it’s good for us to regroup and stay fresh going into a big weekend like this against a team like Notre Dame. It was a great week off for us, and got some stuff done in practice, and we’re looking forward to Friday”
Regarding Notre Dame… “We’re looking forward to this weekend. I think they got us circled on their calendar, and we do too. We’ve been looking forward to this weekend since the start of the season. Last year’s game was after winter break. I think they had almost a month off before they played that game against us. They’re definitely ready for us. The week off for us was good, to get refreshed. Coming into this weekend, I think we’re feeling good about ourselves, and looking forward to the challenge”
Regarding playing against Mario Lucia… “I was his roommate in Penticton. We keep in touch, and all. I only wish him the best. It’s going to be fun playing against him, and competing against him, after being his roommate and being on his team up in Canada. It’s going to be a fun experience. He’s big, and he’s got a great shot with a quick release. He can find that dead spot and really hurt you if you leave him alone. You gotta get on him, and don’t allow him to get space like that. He’s really smart with the puck and he’s a big body, so he’s tough to handle in the corners. I’m looking forward to see what he can do against us”