On it being Joel Rumpel's third game in a row where he has allowed two or fewer goals, and if he has seen anything different from him or if he is just getting different bounces: "It could be a combination of guys in front of him playing better or him getting some bounces. I didn't think that the goal he let in... there was nothing he could do about that. He stopped all the ones he should of and he stopped most of the ones that he wasn't supposed to, so that was his formula tonight."
On how it feels to be trending upward in so many categories:
"It all falls in line with our second-half goals of wanting to play our best hockey in March. By getting a couple wins in a row, getting our first win on the road, those are all indicators that we're moving in the right direction."
On what he saw from his team do a lot better than he hadn't seen in previous games:
"At home we did a good job at getting the puck in behind them and making them turn and go get it. What was somewhat disappointing was the fact that we didn't end up getting it and playing more in their zone. I have to go look at video, but it's either that we didn't do a good job with our first guy was there or there was no support for them when they got there. But they seemed to get out of their zone way too easy once we got the puck below the dot. So that's something we'll address tomorrow when we chat as a team."
On keeping things simple and playing smart:
"They're hard to play against. Sometimes you look up and they're either in 1-2-2 or they're in a 1-4, or there are four guys standing on their blue line. You're not going to get a lot of 2-on-1s or 3-on-2s. The only 3-on-2 I can remember was at the end of the game when (
Morgan Zulinick) had a pass from (Grant) Besse with about two minutes to go and he shot it wide. That's the only odd-man rush I can recall all game. It's hard to get to through the neutral zone when there are eight guys there, and then to chip it in where you can go and get it. So it was the game that we thought it was going to be. They're hard to play... they're not fun to play against because you don't want to give the puck up and go and get it, you want to keep it. But the way they play you have to do that."
"Chase is one of leaders of the senior class. I don't think we can overstate what a good job they've done keeping the ship together. It's not easy to have the record that we have and not have things pull apart. They've done an excellent job at practice and in the locker room, the coaches are there keeping everyone together. Tonight was a good reward. Coach (Matt) Walsh and all of the defenseman worked this week on faking a shot and then stepping and creating a shooting lane. And that's how he scored his goal. He dropped his shoulder and pulled it. It wasn't a real hard shot but because he changed his shooting lane, the goalie lost it and he created a lane because they block a lot of shots. So two things there, Chase has done a real good job keeping the ship together and he was rewarded tonight on a nice goal by what he did this week in practice."
"We've told him that he's already won the green jacket. It's rest assured that he's got that so he can let that go. He's -26... the green jacket, The Masters.
"At this point it's about what he does game-to-game and tonight he's a plus. So that's a good thing. Sometimes stats are for guys with good stats. All that really matters is your next game."
"Yes. He's in good space with that. It is what it is."
On things getting a little scrambled around Joel Rumpel a few times tonight and him getting help: "Yeah. Everybody collapsed and helped him around the net. He was big in there. We've lost some games in the last seconds so it was good to get that one."
Player Quotes
Chase Drake: On if scoring two goals in a game made you think that this was the year that more goals would keep coming for you: When we're up 2-0, I think definitely we knew they were going to push back, and I don't think anyone on the bench thought about past experiences that we've had where we let in the game tying goal. I think we were all positive, just working on getting that win for each other.
On how it felt to hear the final horn sound on a win, especially given how games have ended in this building this year:
Yeah I think there was a little sigh of relief to be honest. Everyone was pretty excited. Rumps (
Joel Rumpel) was fist pumping and screaming at guys so that's always good. I think we've learned our lessons from the past games, and I think that showed tonight and we shut it down finally.
On if you guys feel like you've made it through a tunnel and things are starting to go your way: Yeah definitely. We've had a tough stretch there and we're picking up momentum now. I think guys are excited to come to the rink. When you win, it always makes everything better, so yeah there's definitely a positive light for us now.
On the approach of Michigan State and what you did well to come out with a win:
The first period especially, we came out hot, which is good for our team and then they had a little pushback and as the first period went on we kind of evened out and things were kind of balanced. We knew going in that in the offensive zone they pack it in and they really help their goalie out and you can barely get shots through. So a big point of emphasis for us was just getting the puck below the dots and last weekend at Ohio State that's where we had success on Saturday night too and we came away with a win. We can't afford to turn the puck over because teams look to transition on us, so it's big for us to continue just to get the puck when we get it to the blue line, to get it below the dots and to get to work
Kevin Schulze:
On if the locker room feels like you guys are moving in the right direction: Yeah definitely, we've had--well, last week's practice wasn't great--but, in the locker room you can sense we're upbeat, we're battling against each other and in the games it shows.
On how Joel Rumpel and the defense's solid play creates a formula for success: Yeah definitely. Every game, Rumps (
Joel Rumpel) gives us a chance to win. He's played great all year. Sometimes you'd like to have them back, but you can't blame him on that when he stands on his head for four fifths of the game, four fifths of the year, but when he's back there he gives us a chance to win.
