Re: Red Berenson: America's Sorest Loser
I have to say, as a neutral fan (WCHA vs. state pride) that I was a little shocked to see Red quoted after the game, "We were the better team tonight. We just didn't try hard enough." I thought either he was misquoted ("they" were the better team?), or he's just a jerk.
Not sure who quoted Red, but they were incorrect, here is the entrire post game transcipt, not once does he say that "we were the better team tonight". In fact, he says Duluth was the better team. Here is the URL as well:
http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=70610
THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Michigan Head Coach Red Berenson and student-athletes Ben Winnett, Shawn Hunwick and Carl Hagelin and Louie Caporusso. We'll start with an opening statement from Coach Berenson.
COACH BERENSON: Tough loss. I think looking at the big picture, St. Paul did a great job in hosting this, and the University of Minnesota. Everything was first-class. This is a great hockey environment, and great attendance and great crowd. These players had a chance to play in a real special event, and I think obviously Minnesota-Duluth is a proud champion. They should. Be, it's the first time they've won a national championship and good for them.
They were the better team. Even though the game ended in overtime, it was a tough - I didn't think our team really got to play their best hockey this weekend, for one reason or another. I don't know what it was.
But it's a tough loss. Shawn Hunwick was terrific. He gave us a chance and it wasn't to be. The overtimes, you never know what happens.
We couldn't get a player off the ice. We got two forwards out there, we couldn't change. You know how you have to change ends in the overtime. And we couldn't get the puck out of our zone, and it ends up costing us a game.
THE MODERATOR: Questions for the players.
Q. Shawn, did you get a look at that last shot at all?
SHAWN HUNWICK: Yeah, I think the guy was behind the net. Threw a backdoor kind of. I didn't get over and across in time. I need to see the replay again. It happened so fast. I'm not sure really what happened.
Q. Shawn, again, a tough loss. You talked about how good the defense played against North Dakota. What was different tonight, not that they didn't play as good but was it more difficult for you to see shots tonight? What did Duluth do anything different, if at all?
SHAWN HUNWICK: I thought we had a strong defensive effort, faceoff goal, and a power play. Where Johnny makes a good play and the puck goes right back to the guy, a little bit of bad luck and there at the end in overtime, anything can happen. But it was a strong defensive effort.
And we gave up 37 shots. But I thought the team played really well.
Q. Carl, what happened and what was the explanation on that goal that was waved off in the first period?
CARL HAGELIN: I think the ref said he blew the whistle before I hit the puck. That was the explanation.
Q. Carl, just after that goal was waved off, what was the mentality like on the bench? Were you guys deflated at all, or not really?
CARL HAGELIN: No, not really. I felt since I was on the icy kind of felt like they weren't going to allow that goal. I kind of heard a whistle right when I touched the puck.
So we tried to just keep going. That's what we've been doing all year. And it came down to overtime.
Q. Louie, your coach just said didn't think the team played its best hockey could you expound on that, what didn't go so well this weekend and through the season?
LOUIE CAPORUSSO: We all know Michigan hockey, we don't let up, usually we're the more dominant team. We take pride in the cycle keeping the puck in their zone and putting pressure on them. I don't think we had that for a sustained amount of time this weekend. But I think on the other hand we played well defensively, everyone filing out to the net, branching out.
So just for whatever reason didn't click this weekend, but hopefully these guys will get it next time.
Q. Can you guys talk a little bit about the challenges of being shorthanded for as long as you were and how that impacted really trying to get sort of any offensive flow?
CARL HAGELIN: You know, you never want to kill nine or ten penalties in a game.
But today we had to do it. And obviously some guys get more tired than others. It's tough like Louie said, got some pressure. I think we did a good job, only allowed one goal and they had a really good power play. So obviously some of us got a bit tired by playing too much P.K.
LOUIE CAPORUSSO: I agree with Carl. With the power play that powerful you don't want to go in the box 9 times. We didn't expect to do it this weekend. But we did. I was really proud of our P.K., so that's good.
Q. Louie, you had a 2 on 1 there with about seven minutes left in the game. Slow developing play. Could you talk about that?
LOUIE CAPORUSSO: It was a P.K. rush, I think it was, and Carl made an unbelievable play. He made a great block where I think he just disrupted defensemen and ended up with the puck. I knew at one point he was going to pass. When he branched out he was going to pass I squared up and got ready for it and he did a great job getting it through. And when I had got it, the goalie already had double-pad jammed it. So I tried to shoot it as hard as I could. And I stopped - made a good stop.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. Questions for Coach.
Q. With UMD's ability to accumulate so much offensive zone time so early in the game how much of an effect did it have on your players' ability to generate and sustain an offensive attack later on?
COACH BERENSON: I don't think it affected the game later on, but we got that early goal that was called back, and then we took a couple of penalties, and they got the offensive - you get offensive momentum just by having the puck in the other team's zone. They're killing a penalty and that's kind of what happened.
They've got a great power play, and it was all we could do to keep them off the board. But I think penalties had a big part in the whole game.
Just too many penalties. Were they good penalties? I can't tell you what I really think. I mean, you can't talk about refereeing and penalties but when one team gets nine and the other four, it doesn't add up.
We just thought we were on our heels a lot because of penalties.
Q. You've been on the other side of this winning in overtime. Could you address the feeling of being on the other side?
COACH BERENSON: Ask their coach. They'll remember it the rest of his life. He doesn't know it now. It takes a while to sink in. You're so focused on the game. The players they're part of instant gratification. I think for coaches it takes a while for the whole thing to sink in. Good for Minnesota-Duluth. It's been a long time coming for them, and they've got a good coaching staff and they've got a good team. They're a better team than we thought they were during the year.
They kind of slipped under the radar all year, after they dropped out of No. 1. But they're the real deal, and they're a good team. I just wish we could have given them a better game.
Q. Could you talk about the struggles to get the puck out of your zone. Was it their fore-check, guys being too key with the puck? Obviously that's what led to the game-winning goal today.
COACH BERENSON: I thought we turned the puck over too often. Maybe we were a little jittery. We made some good plays but too many turnovers. Way too many turnovers starting in the first period. Whether we were not as confident or not as patient with the puck as we should have been, and that's one of the tell-tale signs that we weren't having as good a game as we needed to.
Q. Could you talk about your penalty kill tonight. It seemed it was pretty aggressive. It didn't allow them to skate and freelance as much as they like to do?
COACH BERENSON: Our assistant coach Billy Powers looks over the penalty killing. I thought he did an incredible job developing our team for the power play. As good as a power play team we've seen all year. We were dialed in. Of course Shawn had to make a couple of saves but for the most part we did a good job. You can't kill nine penalties.
Like we said before the game, if they get three, if we can kill three penalties, that should be it. We're not out there to take penalties. So every time a player falls down it shouldn't be a penalty not in NCAA championship hockey. But I thought our penalty killing was outstanding, our defensemen and our forwards and our goalie.
Q. You got goals from your third and fourth lines, Duluth got a goal from a kid who didn't score all season. What do you think it is about this tournament that brings out those moments from these players?
COACH BERENSON: I think the top players just about neutralize each other throughout the game, and it's an unsuspected or unsung hero that ends up scoring a goal, it might be a flukey goal like Rohrkemper's goal was a flukey goal, but it was a huge goal. Our top players when they got their chances you saw Caporusso on that 2-on-1 that's the game. Nobody is surprised if Louie scores because he's a clutch scorer but it wasn't to be tonight. It's a one-shot game. Comes down to one shot. Doesn't have to be a good shot.
Q. Coach, eight or ten penalties came from underclassmen, how much do you think inexperience played in tonight?
COACH BERENSON: That's a good question. I don't know that the underclassmen deliberately took the penalties or they were out of position. I know on Clare's penalty it was right at the whistle. He pushed the guy he didn't hit him but he pushed him. And there was a real fall.
And it was a penalty. And he called it a penalty. On another night that wouldn't have been a penalty. So I don't know if the referees, I'm sure they don't know the underclassmen from the juniors or seniors.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
