2003 East Regional
NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship
Press Conference Quotes
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Friday, March 28, 2003

Press Conference Audio

Head Coach Troy Jutting:

Opening statement
"I would agree that the mood of the team is very good right now. You only get a few chances to challenge yourself against the best, and playing Cornell, the #1 seed, we should get a chance to challenge ourselves immediately in the first game."

Regarding contrast in styles
"The Cornell team is as good as it gets defensively. We have been able to score goals and hope to continue to do so."

"What they do well is win the one-on-one battles, they're a good club. They are good at tying up the lanes. They do not led you come off the wall and get opportunities. And then they've got that goaltender (David LeNeveu). When you do get your opportunities, you have to capitalize. We're going to play our style of hockey. It's what got us here. We like to get up and down the rink and open it up. The kids love to play that style, the fans love to watch it, and I love to coach it. We like to move the puck quick and move our feet, creating our scoring chances with out speed."

"We are going to approach the game like any other game. It is a little different because it's one-and-done in that if you don't win, you're done. It's helped because we've played nine games already this season against the #1 seeds in this tournament, and I believe almost 17 games against teams in this tournament. So we'll approach it much the way as we did in those games."

On playing in front of WCHA crowds during the season
"One of the nice things about our league - and I'm not real familiar with the East - is that we have pretty big time environments. We play in front of 11-12,000 people on a regular basis. It will be very similar to our league games, playing in buildings like Mariucci, Engelstad, and Denver."

Senior Captain B.J. Abel:
"The mood has been great. We're pleased to be here. The team's attitude has been great. We're confident we can do some damage with the other teams here."

"Cornell's defense is one of their best aspects. The biggest challenge will be getting goals. We need to get guys in front and get as many shots as possible. Their goalies one of the best in the country right now and we're looking forward to facing him."

"[Our experience here has] been great so far. Providence is a great city. We've been here once before. The team's focused on tomorrow's game. But the town's been great. We're staying at a great hotel. We've been very happy so far."

On playing in front of big crowds in the WCHA all year "I think it's really going to help us. IN respect to Cornell, every other weekend we're playing a number one team in the country. We're used to the environment we'll probably see tomorrow."

Sophomore Grant Stevenson:
"I'm excited to be here. We've worked hard all year to be here and we want to do as well we can."

On facing the strong Cornell defense:
"They have a very strong defense. We have to try to capitalize on our chances and make sure that we get quality shots on goal."

Is this just "another game":
"Our approach is the same as any other game. It has been one of our goals to be here and now we have to make sure that we are ready."

On the competition
"We have played in front of these type of crowds before and now we just have to play our game."