Head Coach Andy Murray

On the game overall…

“We need to finish our chances. In the second period we probably had four or five chances right in front of the net and we just couldn't put it by the goalie. Scoring has been a bit of a problem for us but it wasn't a matter of lacking scoring chances. We had 14 shots in that second period and we had one power play the whole hockey game until the last 1:40 of the game. It was a back-and-forth battle tonight, but the score does not reflect the tightness of the game. We had a five minute major penalty in the third period, which from our position we disagree with the feeling that it should have been a two minute minor. They did not have a shot on their power play for about the first three minutes and then found a way to get a big goal. We're disappointed but obviously we know St. Cloud is a very good team and we'll come back tomorrow night. If we get the kind of opportunities tomorrow that we did tonight we will finish. Our guys worked extremely hard and were playing a veteran-laden team. I continue to tell our guys that if we work hard and keep battling those pucks that aren't going in right now will go in.”

On the five minute major penalty…

“We have a perspective from our team and the referees are the ones on the ice and they made the call. They felt it was a dangerous hit and we did not necessarily feel that way. That's what they called and that was what we had to deal with.”

On third period performance…

“That goal stung us a little bit. We came out dominating chance-wise in the second period and we go to the third and in the first shift we get a five minute major thrown at us. That was difficult to handle and we may have even been a bit flat. We were working so hard and yet we weren't getting our reward. We have to continue to work that way and hope that we get our just reward. We pulled our goalie at that time because we felt we needed to get a goal. We had two or three great chances with the goalie pulled out of there, which would have made it a 3-2 hockey game. There are a lot of people who would say you shouldn't pull your goalie until the last minute but usually the game just ends then. Our players' job is to keep playing and our players job is to keep playing.”

Nolan LaPorte, Senior, Forward

On third period performance…

“I thought we came out with energy and had them on their heels for a bit. Obviously it was a great battle from both sides the entire game. In the third I thought we had them on their heels and we were pushing but there was an unfortunate penalty and there was nothing we could do but try killing it.”

On killing the major…

“If we would have killed the whole thing we would have had all the momentum in the world. It's just unfortunate that they got a good bounce and were able to bury one.”

On offensive opportunities…

“It's tough. That's what we work on in practice is burying those chances and tomorrow we're going to have to bear down on those and bury them.”