By Scott McLaughlin/DFP Staff
Head coach Mike Schafer
Opening statement
It was a great event. We got off to a good start. Obviously, I’m disappointed in the fact that it ended up being a tie. But I’m proud of our guys. They battled tonight and we got the lead, but we couldn’t hold on. BU made it 3-3 and really kept at it in the third period. We hit a couple posts and crossbars in overtime, but like I said, BU did a good job of keeping their game and scoring on the 6-on-4 to tie it up.
On coming out strong in overtime after giving up the tying goal in the final minute of regulation
When they made it 3-2, we stopped making plays. Then they make it 3-3. I think we had to kill of three penalties in the third period. Once we got back to even strength, we got back to making some plays. We had a couple good offensive opportunities, and we had a couple other odd-man rushes where we just didn’t get it to the open guy. Sometimes that happens. You’re right where you want, but I think we started protecting the lead and sitting back a little bit too much. You tell your guys that they have to start risking, start making plays. We just didn’t take care of the puck. A turnover led right to one of their goals. I thought we came out in overtime and had a couple real good offensive opportunities to win the game.
On what he told his guys before BU’s 6-on-3
We’ve seen their 5-on-3 [on film], and we knew that they like to get it to 25, who can really shoot the one-timer. We tried to take that away and force him to kind of pack it, and force them to go through a lot of guys . . . Our guys did a great job of that, but it’s unfortunate that they wound up tying the game up.
On how you go about defending a 6-on-3
I think you have to take away the middle of the ice surface. And we talked to our goaltender about how he has to stay deep in his net and not come out too much and give them the opportunity to go back door. It’s very similar to the 5-on-3, except they had one extra guy, Chiasson, who they put high in the slot. They did a tremendous job. They made some huge blocks on their one-timers. Like I said, it’s just unfortunate that one ended up squeaking through.
On whether he can remember anyone being on a run like Blake Gallagher (9 goals in 9 games)
It’s been a while. Matt Moulson, who plays for the Islanders, was probably the last guy to go on this kind of run. He scored a lot of goals. It’s good to see Blake going. He’s playing on the power play, he’s finding open spots, and guys are getting pucks to him. He continues to stay hot, and I hope he does this for the rest of the year.
On what the refs told him after BU’s tying goal
Well, we didn’t even know there were TV timeouts when we entered the game. I don’t know how that came about. I didn’t know we were doing TV. But when there’s a TV game, there’s supposed to be instant replay. So, I don’t know why there wasn’t visual replay of the goal. I saw it on video [after the game]. Ben had it. Who knows what showed in behind him, but I do know that Ben had it for a second. He was a little disappointed. He thought he had control of the puck, and then it squirted loose.
On whether or not rumors of a possible shootout had any credibility
Wouldn’t surprise me. I didn’t know we had TV. I didn’t know we didn’t have replay. It wouldn’t have surprised me if we had a shootout.
On whether the tie was a point won, a point lost or a point earned
A point lost. Our guys are pretty disappointed. They had the lead. When the score was 3-3, I was really happy with how we played, but we wanted to win the game. That’s a good characteristic for a hockey team to have –– wanting to win. It’s great to see how they came out after BU tied it, but it’s still disappointing.
On how big it was for his team to answer right after BU’s shorthanded goal
Yeah, it was. Ben would probably like to have that one back. It was a good shot. The kid, Warsofsky, can really shoot the puck, but it squeaked through him. But then we come right back down to make it a two-goal lead again. Our power play has done that for us this year.
On the crowd and atmosphere
It’s a great environment. Our university has great support from our alumni in the metropolitan area. It’s a great experience for the kids, something they’ll never forget. Even as a coach, you don’t get this opportunity very often, with this many Cornell alumni supporting the game. It’s a tremendous event for college hockey. As a Cornell alum, I’m very, very proud to see the way our alumni come out and support us down here in New York City. It’s very exciting, and I’m very grateful that they support us the way they do.
Senior goalie Ben Scrivens
On BU’s tying goal
It’s one of those ones where he kind of just feathered it in on net. I thought I had it there, but obviously it came loose behind me between my legs. The ref had a better view of it than I did, so he made the decision on the ice. It’s one of those things you have to live with whether you like it or not.
On Cornell’s 27 blocked shots
Obviously, our team prides itself on blocking shots. I can personally attest to how many bruises and stuff our d-men and our forwards have after games just from the sheer number of shots they block. It’s definitely something we pride ourselves on as a team. It makes my job a lot easier when guys are sacrificing their bodies to block those shots.
On BU’s second goal
The second goal was a 2-on-1. The guy made a move to his backhand or his forehand, I can’t remember which, and tried to feather it through. Brendon Nash did what we do in practice, what we do in games, where you just try to get your stick back around and block the pass. It’s one of those bang-bang plays. If we do that 100 times in practice, that doesn’t happen, but it happened one time in the game. Those things are part of hockey.
Senior forward Colin Greening
On how this game differed from the first Red Hot Hockey
First off, to play any game at MSG is an honor in itself. Two years ago, we didn’t have the greatest start, and we couldn’t really get back in the game from there. Obviously, tonight’s game was a nailbiter from start to finish. In the third period, they came back. That overtime period was pretty exciting. There were a couple posts, a couple crossbars. It’s really exciting to play in those games because you never know which way it’s gonna go.
On Cornell’s power play
BU did a really good job of stopping us from entering the zone. When we were able to set up in the BU zone, we were very successful. Not to say that we weren’t successful tonight, but we struggled to get pucks in. But I guess that’s why on the power play, you get two minutes, right? All it takes is one time to get it down and get a chance to execute. For example, Blake Gallagher’s goal, we were tired and we were kind of broken down, and we may not have set up for a minute-fifty, but those last 10 seconds can sometimes bring a power play back to life.
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