UNO Hockey Coach Mike Gabinet, freshman defenseman Jason Smallidge, and sophomore defenseman Nate Knoepke answered media questions as part of the “Omaha Athletics Weekly Media Availability” on Jan. 22, 2019.
Gabinet & Co. fielded questions regarding the UNO Hockey team’s split against North Dakota on Jan. 18-19 at Baxter Arena, and the upcoming series at Minnesota-Duluth on Jan. 25-26.
If you would like to watch the hockey news conference (starting at the 24:40 mark), you can do so here.
THOUGHTS ON THE UPCOMING SERIES AT UMD...
GABINET: “Looking forward to heading up to Duluth here this weekend. Nice to get a big win for us on Saturday night [against North Dakota]. Keeps some of that momentum going. Playing a very good Minnesota-Duluth team that just came off a sweep.”
GABINET: “We know the type of team they’re gonna be, but looking forward to the opportunity here to keep improving.”
ON MAKING STRIDES AS A TEAM SINCE THE ST. CLOUD SERIES IN DECEMBER...
GABINET: “It’s been fun to watch the guys continue to grow and to continue to improve. First and foremost, I think Evan Weninger has probably been our best player in the second half here, and he’s been giving us a chance to win hockey games every single night. We were talking about — as a coaching staff the other day — just watching the team grow and get better, and it’s noticeable in practice. Watching the puck skills improve. Watching their confidence improve and execution improve. That’s really rewarding as a coaching staff to see players getting better, individually and collectively. And now we need to keep taking steps in the right direction here against Duluth.”
THOUGHTS ON THE NEW MEMBERS OF THE TEAM’S DEFENSIVE CORPS THIS YEAR, AND THEIR EVOLUTION AS A UNIT THIS SEASON...
GABINET: “First off, a lot of credit goes to our assistant coaches Dave Noel-Bernier and Paul Jerrard — who I don’t think will ever say ‘no’ to extra work or helping guys get better. It’s a real special group to belong to. For me, I consider almost all those guys ‘freshmen,’ with Nate Knoepke and Smallidge and John Schuldt and then Lawson McDonald, who only played in seven games last year. Nate played in one [when he was with Minnesota in 2017-18]. And then the other guys obviously being freshmen.”
GABINET: “You’re seeing them get better. You’re seeing them make better plays with the puck. You’re seeing them have a little more confidence with themselves. You see them take some small steps forward. Then you’re also seeing some rookie mistakes as well, which is part of the process, and part of getting better.”
GABINET: “So it just is nice to see those guys maybe make a mistake, and then correct it, and learn from it, and be better the next time out. And that’s all we’re asking for, is that we’re constantly getting better, and those guys are constantly improving. A lot of credit goes to their work ethic, and their attention to detail, and them being coachable and being excited to learn and improve. When you put that combination in with a hard-working coaching staff, guys get better. So it’s been fun to watch their growth.”
ON GETTING POINT PRODUCTION OUT OF THE D-CORPS AS OF LATE (FIVE POINTS IN THE JAN. 19 NORTH DAKOTA GAME)...
GABINET: “It’s been a huge focus for us. It’s been a huge focus for us to keep helping that skill development, and keep doing those drills that allow us to create some offense from the back end. If you look at the top teams in the league or in the country, they probably all have got four or five defensemen contributing offensively on a regular basis. So, that’s something we’ve got to keep helping our guys get better at, because it is so important how teams are so structured defensively, and it is tough to create offense. Sometimes you’re playing almost three against five if they’re really collapsing their D-zone structure. To have that ability to go low-to-high with the puck and to create offense from blue line to blue line, or jumping down the wall, it’s very, very important to create five-on-five offensive production. As you can see, [we had] no power play goals on Saturday, and [we're] still able to get four goals. A big reason for that is because it came from our back end.”
GABINET: “So it’s something we’ve got to continue to take strides on, continue to help those guys get the confidence to be offensive back there, and to contribute. They’ve done a great job at doing that, and it’s a huge ability to help us win hockey games.”
WHEN YOU LOOK AT DEVELOPMENT AT THIS POINT IN THE SEASON — ESPECIALLY AFTER PLAYERS STRUGGLED EARLY — HOW DO YOU KEEP THAT MOMENTUM GOING AS A COACH, WHEN THIS GROUP HAS SEEN BOTH SIDES OF SUCCESS?
GABINET: “To me, one of the traits that’s not that common today is resilience, and grit. To me, the way to learn that is through experience and facing adversity. For me, often your most growth comes from adversity, and to kind of welcome it, rather than be scared of it. And we chose to welcome it.”
GABINET: “If there’s one thing I’ve learned this year, it’s ‘today matters.’ If you look too far in the future, you’re gonna miss a lot of stuff, and you’re gonna give yourself way too much stress and anxiety over what’s to come, when not focusing on how you are getting better today. So I really applaud the group for believing in that.”
GABINET: “You know, we gave up two goals against Denver in 118 minutes (out of 120). And to walk away with no points, it can be extremely detrimental if you’re not mentally tough, and you don’t have that resiliency. I think our group is building that — along with our staff. It’s something that’s gonna serve us really well in the future. And so we’ve just gotta keep on growing from that.”
GABINET: “And if you face adversity — like you did on Friday night or in Denver — and you respond and you keep with the process, then good things are gonna come eventually for you. That’s something I’m really proud of this group for, and it’s a life lesson, as well as a hockey lesson, that they’re learning. And it’s gonna serve them well in the future.”
THE PAST FOUR GAMES — AGAINST TOUGH COMPETITION — WERE ALL WINNABLE. HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL GOING INTO DULUTH?
GABINET: “To me that’s just ‘one day at a time.’ As simple as it sounds, it’s very hard to do. It’s hard not to get caught up in the media, or their schedule, or what they’re saying. So it’s very, very difficult to make sure you’re focused on the task at hand. It’s not easy to do. As much as people say, ‘hey, just one day at a time,’ it’s easy to say it, it’s a lot more difficult to do it.”
GABINET: “So it’s been a real great tribute to the team to be able to focus on that, and just take one step at a time. And again, our schedule is daunting, and it’s not gonna get any easier, but we’re getting better. So we’ve just gotta keep that process going forward.”
WHAT’S THE EXCITEMENT LEVEL FOR YOU AND THE TEAM (GETTING READY TO PLAY THE DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPIONS), COMING OFF SOME SUCCESS?
GABINET: “Do you see ‘obstacle,’ or do you see ‘opportunity’? We see opportunity. You know, you gotta team that didn’t get a goal scored against them against [what was previously] the 20th ranked team in the country. We’ve got an opportunity to take them on in their own building. So, an opportunity to put a chink in their armor here, and keep developing, and keep taking steps, and that’s all we’re focused on.”
WHY IS UMD SO SUCCESSFUL AT LIMITING GOALS AGAINST?
GABINET: “The biggest thing is they’ve had some success now for quite a number of years. I was talking to Trev about it the other day that they were struggling back in the day when I was playing. It’s the same staff, but all of the sudden now that staff has been there for seven years, eight years, and they get rolling a little bit. And now they’re kind of just constantly reloading every year. They seem to lose guys and then they just (like last year) have a great freshman class, and they’ve got multiple guys on the World Junior team. So, obviously they have that talent level there that’s a big, big part of the game nowadays. But then they also have the compete, and the structure that allows themselves for success.”
GABINET: “So, you put all those things together and you’re a top-ranked team in the country. So they’re doing a lot of good things right, up there.”
HOW MUCH OF WHAT DULUTH AND ST. CLOUD HAVE BEEN DOING THE PAST COUPLE YEARS COULD SERVE AS A MODEL FOR OTHER PROGRAMS — BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT DOING IT WITH FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICKS AND MORE OF A “TEAM” ATMOSPHERE WITH ROSTER DEPTH?”
GABINET: “Well, first off, they do have a couple first rounders and second rounders, but you’re right, that’s just part of the equation. You can’t be all made up of first and second rounders and have success. You’ve got to have that team concept. You have to have those guys that are foundational pieces to your program that stay for three/four years, and help contribute that culture. And then when you sprinkle in a couple of the first rounders — Poehling with St. Cloud or [round] two for Perunovich, or all these top players they got there — then you’re doing something special.”
GABINET: “And that comes with time, that comes with having success, that comes with doing things the right way, that comes with building your culture. So it’s really important that you do things the right way, and I think both those programs are great examples of doing things the right way consistently, having a staff that’s been together for a long time.”
GABINET: “I remember [former St. Cloud State Coach Bob] Motzko — when he won coach of the year last year with St. Cloud — had a nice speech, and he kind of said, ‘We weren’t even here the year before.’ And how much it takes to do it. They’ve had a staff doing it that long and they can still have a down year. And how competitive it is. So, it’s a testament to those guys doing things consistently up there, and really good programs to strive to be like.”
ON CONFIDENCE HELPING IN THE UPCOMING SERIES AT DULUTH...
GABINET: “I believe confidence is earned. I believe you earn your confidence every day in how you choose your attitude and how you prepare. Are you doing something today that’s going to reward you tomorrow. Did you do something today that’s prepares you for tomorrow. I think the more our guys do that — the more our guys buy into it — I find our guys are starting to enjoy the process, enjoy the grind a little bit, enjoy the compete of how hard you’ve gotta train and prepare to face an opponent like Denver or Duluth or North Dakota.“
WHAT’S THE MOOD OF THE TEAM AFTER THE SPLIT AGAINST NORTH DAKOTA?
GABINET: “I think optimistic. I think optimistic, and energy has been good. And I think we’re really buying in to focusing on ourselves, and preparing to do things the right way, and earning what we get. So, again, who knows what’s gonna happen this weekend, but what we know is how we prepare here on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday, on Thursday, and our mindset, and our approach to our attention to detail and our execution level. So that’s what we’re focused heading into the weekend here, and we’ll see what happens.”
PLAYER PERSPECTIVES ON WHAT THEY’VE BEEN THROUGH ON THE DEFENSIVE SIDE OF THINGS KNOWING THE SLATE OF GAMES THEY WERE GOING TO PLAY IN JANUARY...
SMALLIDGE: “Defense is definitely a huge part of the game. We always try to focus on defense [as a team]. You can’t play offense until you defend your end and get it out. So, we just try to keep it simple. Everyone has to buy in defensively. We get the puck out to the forwards and hopefully they can do their job.”
KNOEPKE: “I think defense is kind of the main part of the game — for our team at least. Because our captain — Morelli — always says, ‘worry about the D-zone and the offensive zone will take care of itself.’ Because we’ve got tons of skill up front. We just need to bear down in our own zone and we’ll end up taking care of the offensive zone.”
HOW DID THE TEAM RESET AFTER THE HOLIDAY BREAK?
KNOEPKE: “Coach Gabinet — during the first half — was kind of stressing ‘no one’s coming to save us.’ It’s this team. We’ve got to figure out a way to come out on top.”
KNOEPKE: “We’ve been winning some games, but still had some tough losses. But I think we’re playing some of our best hockey of the year. I just think we just need to bear down a little more and worry about those little chances that we give up, and eliminate those.”
SMALLIDGE: “Like Nate said, I think we’re playing some of our best hockey right now. The last four games have been one goal games. It’s pretty close — especially with great teams like Denver and North Dakota. So it’s pretty cool to see that we’re coming together as a team.”
ON THE FACT THAT THE NEWCOMERS ON THE TEAM HADN’T PLAYED TOGETHER BEFORE... THERE ARE NEW PAIRINGS ON THE BLUE LINE...
SMALLIDGE: “You never know who you’re going to play with. I’m partnered with Jones-y and Nate’s partnered with Stewart. So, it was kind of funny, because coming into summer, we came here for some schooling and everything. I was skating with Jones-y and we just kind of had some good chemistry. It’s pretty cool to see that we’re partners now.”
SMALLIDGE: “Nate and I go out on the kill together. Just building that chemistry with each player is pretty huge, because that makes it easier to play with everyone.”
KNOEPKE: “Before the season starts — when we’re practicing — everyone is kind of all around partnered with everyone on a different day. So I think that’s kind of getting you familiar with everyone. And then really trying to figure out — as the season goes on — who are the main pairings that have the most chemistry.”
ON THE CONFIDENCE OF THE D-CORPS...
KNOEPKE: “I think our confidence is definitely a lot higher than it was at the start of the year. One of the things about the start of the year is when we’d go down by one or two goals, I feel like we’d kind of feel defeated already, and kind of just give up and hope the game would end up being over.”
SMALLIDGE: “Coach talks about having a good attitude 24/7. If we miss a pass, or the puck bounces the wrong way, he says to not shrug your shoulders. In this second half, we’ve really eliminated that, I think. We’re just trying to be positive and help each other out.”
ON THE EXCITEMENT LEVEL TO PLAY DULUTH...
SMALLIDGE: “We’re definitely excited. We’re just taking it day-by-day. Working hard in practice. Doing workouts. Just trying to get better every day so we can perform at our highest level.”
KNOEPKE: “Coming into break, I was back home with my grandparents, and they noticed the schedule where we play the last three national champions in a row. I think that’s pretty exciting just to show that we competed with Denver, we split with North Dakota, and we can go right into Duluth and I think we’ll be just fine.”
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