ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Michigan hockey squad played shorthanded and mislaid to Minnesota connected Thursday nighttime astatine Yost Ice Arena, but the crippled and its effect took a deserved backseat to the ongoing aesculapian issues wrong the program.
Six U-M players missed the crippled owed to illness, portion of a suspected adenovirus outbreak. One of the six — defenseman Steven Holtz — was hospitalized this week successful the intensive-care portion astatine Michigan Medicine, according to a Facebook station from his mother. The Wolverines didn't signifier connected Tuesday owed to illness and connected Thursday dressed a backup goaltender arsenic a winger.
After the game, Michigan manager Brandon Naurato met with media and discussed the affectional week. Here's what helium said:
Michigan hockey manager Brandon Naurato on preparing for and playing this game:
Yeah, it's been an highly affectional week. We didn’t speech astir hockey excessively overmuch this week. It's been thing but worrying and reasoning astir our teammates and their intelligence wellness and their carnal health. We’ve got a large radical of kids, and guys are inactive warring the fight.
On however the squad responded to the off-ice situation:
I'm highly arrogant of however our guys responded. It's difficult. We're not making excuses with the numbers. They wanted to play and they came retired present and they worked their butts off. We’ll look astatine a mates things. They scored a mates of powerfulness play goals and past immoderate different things happened, but highly arrogant of our guys and however they responded tonight.
On the challenges helium faced arsenic a manager starring into Thursday's game:
It puts things successful perspective. That's benignant of what we went done this week, that we each emotion the crippled a batch and what the crippled gives you back, too. The biggest happening that it gives you is the relationships and the emotion you person for your teammates and your brothers who you’re warring with each night. To person aggregate players retired that we miss successful the locker country and you privation to combat for — I thought the guys stepped up well, but it's been an highly affectional week. We've not spent a batch of clip connected hockey.
On whether determination was a treatment to postpone the game:
Yeah. It's not my decision, though. That's the aesculapian professionals.
I'll accidental 1 thing: Brian Brewster, Darryl Conway. The Michigan aesculapian team, Michigan Hospital. I can't ideate if this was a inferior oregon insignificant pro squad without the resources that we person astatine Michigan. That's wherefore they're the leaders and best. Everyone’s pulled unneurotic and done an unbelievable occupation to instrumentality attraction of these kids.
That's not a plug. It's real. They saved immoderate guys. It’s a large deal.
On if helium was scared for his players:
Yeah, large time. Yeah. Without getting into detail, the archetypal telephone telephone I got, I anticipation I ne'er get again.
On if the Big Ten was progressive successful postponing vs. playing the game:
I don't privation to speech retired of turn. I don't deliberation so. I deliberation it's much CDC and the medical.
On the deed connected Eric Ciccolini, which injured the Michigan forward:
I thought it was an highly unsafe hit. We're already abbreviated manned. I anticipation Cicc’s okay. Hope Cicc is okay. He didn't play a displacement aft that — oregon really tried to play 1 displacement and past helium was done. So we'll spot wherever he's astatine tomorrow, if his carnal wellness is okay.
But I thought it was highly dirty. I thought it should person been a DQ. I'm not a referee. It's a blindsight hit, you can't support yourself, and it's acold capable distant from the boards that it's adjacent scarier than being close up astatine the boards. That's the aforesaid subordinate that scored their 4th goal.
On if Michigan volition beryllium capable to play connected Friday if Ciccolini is hurt:
I’m not definite however that works. We’d beryllium astatine 9 [forwards] and six [defensemen].
On his comments that the Michigan players wanted to play:
We didn't speech astir playing that much. They wanted to play for their teammates. It's not their decision, but if they were capable to, past that's what they were going to do. The aesculapian professionals felt that we had capable players to play.
On the team's emotions aft the game:
I deliberation it's upsetting that you're successful the crippled going into the 3rd and past everything that happened then. But truly arrogant of these guys for however they battled.
It's hard playing. It’s 1 happening to play with 9 and six against different squad that has 9 and six. The crippled would beryllium wholly different. But it is what it is. We decided to play. It is what it is.
Just privation to marque definite these guys are healthy. That's the biggest thing. It's not astir wins and losses. It puts things successful position of what matters.
">247Sports
English (US)