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NCAA MEN'S FROZEN FOUR

April 5, 2017

Chicago, Illinois

THE MODERATOR: We are welcomed by Minnesota Duluth. Head coach Scott Sandelin, Alex Iafallo, Hunter Miska and Dominic Toninato.

COACH SANDELIN: Hello, everyone. Certainly our team is very excited to be back in the Frozen Four. Certainly excited for our senior group, just their whole program.

Obviously, we're going to face a very talented team tomorrow, like everybody in the tournament, but we're looking forward to that opportunity tomorrow to play against Harvard.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach. We'll take questions for the student-athletes.

Q. Either one of you, how has prep worked differently compared -- this past week compared to regular season? Like anything different you guys did physically, mentally, to prepare for this again?
THE MODERATOR: Dominic, why don't you take that.

DOMINIC TONINATO: No, I think we want to keep it as normal as possible. We want to go through the same routine as we always do. I guess the big difference is trying to catch up on some school. We've been gone a couple weeks now.

That's about it. We want to stay as normal as possible.

Q. Dom, (indiscernible) the past two weeks in the postseason here, the NCAA Tournament regionals, to kind of get back to playing that strong team defense you were playing at the beginning of the year?
DOMINIC TONINATO: We want to be tighter and not give teams so much time in space. When you give teams time in space, they can make it hurt and score some goals. I think that's the biggest thing, is we took away the time in space, and there's a lot more communication back there which helps on switches and who's got who.

We got to stay focused and keep playing that hard defense because, obviously, Harvard is really skilled offensive team.

Q. Hunter, this one's for you. How do you treat this one like any other game and not let the stage get too big?
HUNTER MISKA: Like you just said, I'm going to treat it like any other game. I'm not going to change what I do on a daily basis. Just going to go do my daily routine and play my game.

Q. Al, throughout this whole season, you guys have been there, done that as seniors. This is somewhere you haven't been. So what do you seven seniors say to the guys going in tomorrow night?
ALEX IAFALLO: Just play our game like we've all been saying here, taking every moment. You know, it's a dream to play here, and we're just proud of the boys for getting here.

But just play our game, play hard as we can, and treat every shift like it's our last.

Q. Al, going back to the commitment to team defense that you guys have kind of renewed the past few weeks here, how much have you seen that help you guys offensively?
ALEX IAFALLO: Gives us a lot of momentum. Just a simple blocked shot, getting the puck out to us. Just gives us that chance to score a goal or make good plays. We're going to need it tomorrow.

Q. Dom, having been to a couple regional finals and finally winning one a couple weeks ago, do you have to avoid a sense of kind of satisfaction that you've finally gotten here now? How do you approach that?
DOMINIC TONINATO: Yeah, I mean, Coach preaches that all year to never be satisfied. So I think that helps us moving forward and wanting more and wanting to keep getting better. Obviously, we were on an emotional high there getting to the Frozen Four for the first time with this group of guys.

But we've definitely got to be ready to go and try to get those nerves out right off the start.

Q. Parents and family coming into town, this could kind of be the end of quite a long run for you seniors. What are some of the emotions before you guys take the ice?
THE MODERATOR: Hunter, why don't you take that one. (Laughter).

HUNTER MISKA: It's mixed emotions. It's exciting. It's sad knowing it's the last couple times we'll throw on the Dog sweater. But most importantly, it's exciting. We've got two games here and the chance to win the ultimate prize. That's what a lot of us came back for. So just trying to enjoy every moment of it and have fun with it.

Q. For Dom or Al, either one of you guys, both you guys. Adam Johnson, one of your more versatile teammates that played everywhere but goalie -- unless Scott's going to do that this weekend. No? I'll scratch that for later, then. What stood out to you about Johnson as a winger when playing with you two guys?
ALEX IAFALLO: Really quick feet. Very agile. He makes a lot of juice. Very good hands. He's been great for us. Especially on that power play, the last goal in overtime. Just simple things like that. He's very good at it.

Q. Dom, your dad's been down this road before. Any advice from him on playing in a Frozen Four? Little different than when he was here.
DOMINIC TONINATO: Don't lose the championship? No. I mean, he was fortunate enough to make it to back-to-back. So he just said enjoy it. Obviously, it's tough to get here. Have fun with it and give your all. You don't want any regrets. Hopefully, we can bring home some hardware back to Duluth.

Q. Guys, how did it feel getting out there on the United Center, big ice and everything, today?
DOMINIC TONINATO: It felt really good. It was pretty cool being out there, the big sheet there, and the stands are pretty high up there too.

So it's pretty cool. We've been working hard to get there all year. So it's a pretty good feeling being out there.

THE MODERATOR: Guys, thank you very much. Good luck.

We'll take questions for Coach Sandelin.

Q. Coach, maybe assess what you think this team brings as its biggest challenge for you guys.
COACH SANDELIN: Harvard?

Q. Yeah.
COACH SANDELIN: I think they're very balanced. Obviously, they've got some very talented forwards up front. Their top two lines especially. There's a lot of skill, a lot of deception. They're a puck-possession team. I've been impressed with their poise and composure.

Obviously, when you're a puck-possession team, you like to make plays and not give pucks away, and I think they do a really good job of that coming -- whether it's neutral zone, transition, certainly in the offensive zone.

Obviously, their best lines, their top two lines really play very well together and play well off -- just in small areas.

Their transition game is good. There's not a lot of holes. You know, I think their goaltender has been good. Defensively, they've been strong. They haven't given up a lot of goals, and they can -- one of the top teams, if not the top team, I think, scoring-wise.

But, again, the style they play, we've seen some of that. They do have some similarities to teams we've played. So that's good, as far as going up against that. Again, it's a very solid team that you've got to play a very, very -- hopefully minimize the mistakes, especially with pucks, and certainly, again, hopefully continue to do what we've done and capitalize on our opportunities, because I think we've done a good job of that this year when we get them.

Q. Scott, how much is this Harvard team going to test the commitment to team defense your guys have gotten back to the past few weeks?
COACH SANDELIN: Probably a lot. Again, they're quick. They transition well. They don't give up the puck. They make plays. Their defense gets involved, especially guys like Fox, who's a tremendous player back there, very elusive, smart.

Again, hopefully, we can do -- we're talking about them. Hopefully, we can do the same thing to them. I think, if we do that and they do that, it's going to be a heck of a game. It's going to be back and forth.

Again, it's minimizing -- it's managing your puck. Certainly, turnovers are going to be critical. Mistakes are always big at this time. It could come down to little things. Bad line changes. Watching the tape, I think a couple of their opponents had bad line changes, which led to some goals off rushes. We've got to have good rush coverage, making sure we're doing little things like that, making sure we're not changing at the wrong times. Those are mistakes that we just can't catch up.

So we've got to play like everyone probably talks about, as close to mistake free as you can. Kids are still going to make mistakes, but hopefully we can do that and just play smart, aggressively, and keep it fairly simple and not have those types of mistakes.

Q. When Kaskisuo decided to leave at the end of last season, that was the biggest question mark going into the season, what did you have in goal? Did you know what you had in Miska?
COACH SANDELIN: I knew I had someone who reminded me a lot of Alex Stalock, the way he kind of played. He has a little more unique style. He's very athletic, very competitive. You know, he's a guy that didn't rush it either, as far as he played a lot of games. I know he started late as a goaltender, but he was in no hurry. He wanted to make sure he was prepared by playing -- he played three years of junior plus the development team.

He played on some good teams, too, so he's been in big games. We were certainly hoping. I think he had all the parts to become a good goaltender.

But the biggest thing I think he has is a great demeanor. You kind of heard his comment here about the rink being tall and all that stuff, I mean, that's him. That's him to a T. Nothing really bothers him. He kind of goes about his business and does his job. He's got a great personality, and he's been outstanding for us.

Q. Scott, when you recruited Adam Johnson, did you see a player that you could use everywhere and at any time on the ice?
COACH SANDELIN: Well, I think we knew -- you know, coming out of high school, he played forward. He played everything there. He played defense a lot because sometimes you have to put your best players back there where he could play 40 minutes a night in high school. He's always had the skill. He's always had the speed. He's gotten a little stronger.

You know, I think obviously, we knew he had the ability to play "D" if we ever needed him, but, obviously, he was recruited as a forward. And this year he played wing last year, but Dom and Al, and this year we had to put him at center at the beginning of the year to kind of fill a void until Avery got in there. We moved him to wing again. And now he's back to the middle, and I like him in the middle of the rink because he can control the game. He's a guy that you want with the puck. He's got some dynamics that are dangerous. Hopefully, he continues to play the way he is.

Q. What is it about this team that got them to this point this season?
COACH SANDELIN: It's pretty close group. I know people say that. It's just I think our leaders have been really good. Our core -- not just our captains, but just our upperclassmen, certainly our senior group. They've had some success and kind of wanted to drive to take it another step, which they've done now, but they've been a big part of that.

They've been our best players too. That's always important when your older guys, your key guys are your best players.

But they've -- sometimes I feel like I've never figured them out, and that's sometimes a good thing. I felt that a little bit in '11, when it was just one of those teams that was kind of quirky at times, but they just believed in each other and trusted each other. I think that's grown through the year too. Teams sometimes come together quickly. Sometimes it takes a little while. Some never do. This one came together pretty quickly.

Maybe it was some of those early games that we won, the tight games, it brought them a little closer and believing. Because we've been in a lot of them, so I got to think it's helped a little bit. But I've got to give a lot of credit to our senior group. I think they've been good. Like I said, they've been our hardest workers and our best players too.

Q. Scott, are we going to see Carson Soucy tomorrow? Is he playing?
COACH SANDELIN: You'll see tomorrow.

Q. Scott, there's always a lot made by you guys to have the benefit of that senior, if you will, leadership team, but now you've got two teams virtually with the same level of seniors. In this day and age, it's usually not the case. Is there a factor that comes into that that makes you guys look at what you need to do beyond the obvious?
COACH SANDELIN: No, I think our teams do mirror each other a little bit that way. I think both teams have experience in the tournament, maybe not the Frozen Four, but even last year I remember watching them in the regional playing BC, and I thought they were a good team then when they had BC. A lot of guys have returned. Some are in different roles now. Some guys have stepped up.

I don't know. I think it does come down to those little things. To me, at this time of the year, it's special teams and power play. Theirs is very good. We've got to stay out of the box. Ours has been good. I don't think it's been that good. A save, a critical mistake at a wrong time -- I think it really comes down to that.

I think both teams like to play the game the right way, and hopefully we play just a little bit better. Probably Teddy is saying the same thing.

They do have some difference makers. So do we. Those guys have to be good, and they have to be a factor in the game. Sometimes it's always an unsung person that no one's talking about that gets the job done. You know, we've had some guys step up too this year, probably like they have, that have scored a timely goal or got a game-winning goal or had a big game for you when maybe your top players are nullified.

So pretty even. I think it comes down to just little things, I think for the most part, and I especially that tomorrow.

Q. Coach, you talked in Duluth about you learned from your first two Frozen Fours not to change much for this week. It didn't seem watching this practice that these guys are too tense going into tomorrow night.
COACH SANDELIN: No, they were fired up to play the three puck game at the United Center. We do it every Wednesday. It's a little warmup. I'm debating, should we do it? Should we do it? If I had not done it, they probably wouldn't have had a good practice. They stay in their routine.

This time of the year, there's not a lot of different things you want to be doing. You want to keep them comfortable. You want to keep them confident. That's how they have to approach the game tomorrow. They've got to be confident, and they've got to go in there with the same belief and trust each other and just play the game and play with confidence because they've had a good year.

Everybody's had a good year at this point. So that's what you hope the team can do, and if you do that, hopefully, you're advancing to the next game.

Q. We talk about this, you and I, before the BU game. When you face a bigger goaltender like Madsen, what are the biggest keys to try to get pucks by him?
COACH SANDELIN: First of all, let's get pucks to the net. Again, you've got to attack. We've got to get inside, you know. I think anybody will say that to try and score, but they do a great job defending. They block a lot of shots. They really do a good job inside the dots. So they don't make it easy. When you have those opportunities, you've got to try and get pucks to the net, take pucks to the net, and if you do have shot opportunities, not a lot of them are going to get through because they do a good job blocking shots too. So you might have to look at other ways.

But more shots, better chance you have to score, number one. But you've still got to get inside there and try to create some second and third opportunities on those goaltenders. Most of the time, the good ones are going to stop the ones they see in the first shot. It's the second and third ones. Those are the areas you've got to win. You've got to win those areas inside the dots and around the net and same thing defensively because they have a team that attacks and has that skill. So we've got to do a good job of nullifying their second and third opportunities and let Hunter see the puck and make the first save.

Q. Scott, it's your third time sitting on this stage as a coach. Can you compare them at all? Obviously, winning a title your last time here. Is the feeling similar? Is the buzz in town similar? What's this one like?
COACH SANDELIN: It's great again. It's so hard to get here. '04 was cool because it hadn't happened in UMD in a while, ten years or whatever, something like that, so everyone was excited. I don't think you ever don't get excited about it.

You find out -- like for me, I guess I'm probably more excited for our senior group, our team. But it affects everybody. You know, it's great. Your alumni are excited. The community is excited. It does create a buzz. There's no question. That's fun.

But this is a great opportunity, and every time you get here, you feel pretty lucky to be in the position that we're in. But like I told our guys, you need to really, fully truly enjoy this, you've got to win the first game to experience the whole thing, you know. Because it does suck when you've got to turn around and go home. But hopefully, we can do that.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks.

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