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Western Michigan University Athletics

Men's Ice Hockey WMU

WMU vs. LSSU Quotes Game 2

Head Coach Jim Culhane:

On the overall effort:

"I think it was a complete 60 minutes where we battled real hard. We really felt we played a complete game. We really had to me some intensity and emotions tonight that were like the playoff series we had with them this spring. Another one goal game, we've played eight games so far and seven of the eight have been one-goal games so it should be a very interesting season. A lot of determination I'm pleased with to get five out of the possible six points this weekend."

On the intensity of the game:

"I thought it was a very intense hockey game. I thought the officiating crew did a great job. I thought both teams showed a lot of respect for each other but I thought there were a lot of big hits in the game, a lot of battle in the game. We want to be extremely disciplined. I'm proud of the team, our team currently and the Lakers are the two least-penalized teams in the CCHA and when you do that, you keep good power-plays off the ice. Our team showed a lot of discipline and we'd like to see a lot of one penalty games."

On Riley Gill's performance:

"Solid. We've come to expect that type of performance from Riley. We really competed and he went down and made some key saves for us and solidified the win."

On Ian Slater's two goals over the weekend:

"A lot of drive, a lot of determination. Ian brings a real workmanlike approach to the game, a real hard-hat, work boots, lunch pail like mentality to the game. With that determination, you like to see guys with that type of will, determination and desire get rewarded with a couple goals and Ian did that this weekend."

On Military Appreciation Night:

"I'm really proud of our university, of our hockey program, of our staff and of our team to put on such an event. I think it means a lot not only to us as an institution, but to give justly deserved recognition to those that serve our country. Without them we wouldn't be doing this. The applause at the beginning of the game was a warm, touching moment for everybody and it's something I feel very strongly about and feel we should do every year."

On facing Ohio State and Miami the next two weekends:

"I think you're going to see more of the same. I like where our team is at. We're making improvements as a group and we know the competitiveness of the CCHA and it's not going to get any easier."

Ian Slater:

On the overall effort:

"Once again, they came out and played us really hard throughout the whole game but we were able to persevere and stick to the game plan. We played an extremely solid game all three periods from Riley on up. It was definitely a hard-fought game."

On two-game scoring streak:

"It must be a full moon. Hopefully I'll keep it going."

On what's ahead:

"Just stick with the game plan. Come back to practice on Monday and make sure we take this momentum to Ohio State and keep it going."

On crashing the net:

"We knew they kicked out quite a few rebounds so we knew we had to go hard and get the puck to the front of the net as much as possible and try to pick up some loose rebounds. We were able to do that quite a bit. I picked up my own rebound on my goal. It was something we try to do as much as possible. Get the puck to the front of the net and good things will happen."

Riley Gill:

On both goalies:

"It was a goalie battle the first two periods. Both goalies played well and we were fortunate enough to get that first one. It was kind of similar to last night, we knew it was tough."

On performance:

"I just tried to stay aggressive and strong in there and our defense did a good job to clear out a lot of the rebounds tonight and I made some big saves there at the end but that's what it takes to win."

"Just have to stay aggressive. There's a lot of bodies in front and you have to stay aggressive and look around as fast as possible an you have to see the puck as best as possible and I was able to do that. We got the job done tonight, we got the clears when we needed them and it was a great first win for us in the conference."

On team improvement:

"We're a young team but I think we've proven ourselves so far this year. We've beat a lot of good teams and this is a big conference win for us. We're going to take this win and look at it as a positive and just move forward throughout the year."

On overall intensity:

"It was a battle out there, especially in the second period. The hits picked up, there were a lot of bodies flying around and it was one of those playoff atmosphere type games. It's the CCHA and a lot of the games are like that so it's fun to be a part of and it's a big win for us."

On what's ahead:

"We got to bear down, we have some good teams ahead of us we're playing. We just got to stick to the basics and stay aggressive and play how we've been doing."


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Players Mentioned

Riley Gill

#30 Riley Gill

G
6' 2"
Freshman
Ian Slater

#14 Ian Slater

F
6' 0"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Riley Gill

#30 Riley Gill

6' 2"
Freshman
G
Ian Slater

#14 Ian Slater

6' 0"
Freshman
F