2003-04 IHM at Michigan State -- Postgame Quotes
12/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Michigan Head Coach Red Berenson
On the game ... "I thought we had a chance to have a great weekend. Obviously it didn't work out that way. I can tell you there's a big difference between these two teams. Their top line is still a top line in the league. They changed it around a little bit tonight by putting (Adam)Booth out there, but they have three or four players that are tough to stop. You are not going to stop them night after night."
On the goals scored by MSU ... "The first goal we didn't get it out. They shot it over the net, it hit the glass and bounced back. It was kind of a crazy goal to be the winning goal. The other goal we didn't clear it out and give it up at the point. Shot, goal. That was a back-breaker goal. We tried to get one back and just couldn't get it back. The longer the game went on the tougher it was."
On the weekend series ... "You're not happy unless you win both games. I thought some guys played better. Our team played pretty well last night. Tonight we couldn't finish. We needed someone to step up and make the big play, take a big shot. The second-effort goal, if you would. You saw (Mike) Brown with a good chance and (T.J.) Hensick hit a post. You need one of those to go in. Regardless of the lines, it's a matter of guys getting an opportunity and taking advantage of it."
On Michigan's road record ... "I can't feel good about the fact that in home-and-home and in a road series we're a .500 team. That's what we are right now. On the road, we haven't been exceptional; we've won a couple of tough games on the road but we've lost four in our league. We're 2-4 in our league on the road. We're not the team that we were a year ago, or two years ago, on the road."
Junior Forward Dwight Helminen
On the loss ... "We didn't bring the mentality you need to win on the road. On the road you have to bury the chances you get and bear down when you get chances. When you're away from home it's not the prettiest hockey and I don't think we were doing that tonight."
On the team's mindset after the weekend split ... "I think it's back to square one. Going back to last night, I think the guys were pretty positive and feeling like we had a chance to turn it around, and now we've got to go back with a lot of things to work on."
On playing on the road ... "I don't think we've realized what it takes to win on the road. These are tough hockey games. You have to go out there and check, shut down their top lines and bury your chances. None of those were there for us tonight. Also, your special teams has to make a difference in the game."
