Q. Jay, I was wondering what you've seen from Devin Kaplan this year and his growth?
JAY PANDOLFO: I think he's come a long way this year. I think he's starting to figure out the way he needs to play to be effective. He's a power forward-type player. He's very good at attacking the net. He's got to make sure he's good below the goal line, separating, being able to protect pucks and getting to the net.
He's done a much better job at that. So he's trending in the right direction right now for us for sure.
Q. Last week you said to get over the hump of the semifinal you'll have to do the little things. What little things did you guys do last night to produce the victory?
JAY PANDOLFO: I thought we had a pretty good game plan going in. I thought we had a pretty good understanding of how Penn State was going to play. And we felt like we could expose them in some areas. I thought for the most part, in the first two period, we did.
I thought we got away from it a little bit in the third. We knew they were going to push. Anytime you try to end a team's season, it's going to be difficult.
They started getting pucks into our zone and started funneling everything to our net. Ended up capitalizing scoring off one of those plays, and it gave them a little bit of life.
But, overall, I thought our team bought into the way we needed to play to beat Penn State. It could have been, I think, a little more than 2-0 -- their goalie made some pretty good saves. We had some pretty good chances. And they had a couple of chances; they had a breakaway shorthanded and our goalie played very well for us.
Q. How do you long do you let you guys celebrate last night before you turn the page?
RYAN GREENE: You have to turn the page quick for sure, especially yesterday after the game you try to enjoy the moment with the guys. And obviously it's a huge accomplishment in itself to be playing in the national championship game.
But we're definitely not satisfied as a group. And we know that there's one more game to go and we need to get the job done.
JACK HARVEY: Basically the same exact thing. You just try to enjoy the moment while it's there, and now we're focused forward and we're excited for the opportunity ahead of us.
Q. How did you guys do going to sleep last night? What time did you shut it down?
JACK HARVEY: It wasn't too easy.
RYAN GREENE: 1:30, maybe 1:00.
JACK HARVEY: A little bit later than we probably hoped.
Q. If there's a perfect game for you guys to play tomorrow to end up with a trophy, can you describe it for us? What does it look like, you guys play the game you want to play to win that game?
RYAN GREENE: I think we definitely need to use our speed and our skating. We're a really skilled team, a lot of fast players. So I think when we're able to be good in transition and we're making plays in the offensive zone, I think that's tough to contain. And I think that's when we're at our best.
And obviously Western's a heavier team, a more structured team. So I think if we can blend that skill and speed game within a structured and physical game as well, similar to Cornell, I think we'll get a good result.
Q. Jay, I know you spent so much of the week looking at Penn State. Probably not a lot of prescout coming into Western coming into last night. How much have you seen from them and what you think of their game? Is there a team in the league that kind of plays the way they do that you think maybe has prepared you guys for this match-up tomorrow?
JAY PANDOLFO: I obviously watched that whole game last night. We had a lot of time sitting there waiting for our game to start.
They've had a terrific season. They're a really good team. They're a heavy team. They play with structure. They want to get pucks behind you, play below the goal line. They have some bigger bodies. They'll get to your net.
Hockey East obviously had a great year as a league. Some really good teams. A lot of different styles of teams.
I don't know if there's one -- UMass Amherst, maybe is a little bit similar, where they're heavy on pucks, they get to your net, they do a good job of keeping you away from their net. So I think they're a team that reminds me a little bit of Western.
But Western plays a pro-style game. They're above the puck. They put pucks behind you. They do a really good job.
We haven't looked at them yet as a group. We have a long day today. Probably look at some stuff later tonight. Then we have enough time tomorrow.
But this time of year, it's really about making sure we're playing our game and it's about winning your battles. It's about all the little things that go into winning hockey games. That's what you need to do if you want to come out on top.
Q. You both played in the USHL. How did that help you in your college hockey career?
JACK HARVEY: Yeah, USHL was huge for me. I obviously spent three years in Chicago. I would say it's one of my favorite times.
But, yeah, I think it prepared me for college hockey because taking that next jump from U-16, U-15 to USHL was huge for me. It's a completely different game.
And then taking that step to college is another step. But I think you're more prepared for it. I think the USHL does a great job of preparing young guys, young players to make that next jump. I think that's just the biggest thing is preparing guys.
Q. You played Green Bay. Does that mean you're a Packers fan now?
RYAN GREENE: Yeah, kind of. Like not really.
Q. How was your experience at Green Bay?
RYAN GREENE: It was good. Loved Green Bay -- the organization, the coaches, the area. It was all really good. Similar to what Harvey said, I think it's a really good developmental league.
Making the jump from USHL to college I felt very ready. And I felt like a lot of guys I played against in USHL were making the jump with me. So it helps seeing guys you've been playing with a couple years make the jump with you. But, yeah, overall I loved my time.
Q. Ryan, you probably could have signed after last season. So what does it mean to be back at this stage, especially having taken it a step further?
RYAN GREENE: It was an option, but I felt like the best thing for me was to come back and play another year. Obviously losing those two Frozen Four games back-to-back years leaves a little bit of a sour taste in your mouth. You want to come back and have another kick at the can.
But, like you said, the fact we were able to get over the hump and win that semifinal game and now we're playing for a national championship, it's the best possible scenario. So really excited.
Q. Obviously there was a ton of buy-in after that UConn game especially. What is it that you hear from Coach that kind of makes you guys want to buy in specifically?
JACK HARVEY: We all just want to buy in for each other. Obviously we listen to Coach, and obviously he's got all the great stuff from his time playing here. And it's a lot of motivation and everything.
But I think our biggest thing is just loving each other, loving everyone in the room and loving the program. I think it's huge for us. And I think that contributes a lot to the buy-in that we've seen these last couple of games and the outcomes that we've been able to produce. I think that's just been huge for our group.
Q. Who plays the music in the room, who is in charge?
RYAN GREENE: Jack or Devin, one of the two.
Q. What kind of jam?
RYAN GREENE: Like EDM or rap music before games unless Eisy wants a song request. It's usually country. But mostly EDM music.
Q. Coach, 30 years ago, if you can believe it, you guys won the national championship. The final game was a little bit anticlimactic watching it as a fan. Do you remember going through that? You guys had a big lead. Were you nervous, just want to get the game over with? Do you remember what that was like?
JAY PANDOLFO: It's a long time ago, but the thing I remember most, yeah, I think it was a 6-2 final, if I'm not mistaken. Something around there. So it wasn't like it was a tight game. I think they came back and made it close at least in the third, if I'm not mistaken, then we kind of pulled away.
The best memory for me from that championship was, it was in Providence, it was the bus ride home. It was so much fun with your teammates, guys you spend so much time with day in and day out, your best friends. The bus ride was something I'll never forget. That's what you get at this level.
It's different from the pro level. I've been fortunate to win there as well. But it's a different experience when you have guys, your peers are all the same age. You spend so much time together away from the rink, at the rink.
So it's a really special moment and something I'll never forget. It's one of the memories I have even more so than like the celebration on the ice, was just that bus ride back to Boston after winning the national championship.
Q. To put it a different way, I know there's a big gap between the feeling of winning that last game and losing that last game. Can you put that into words, how big that is and what the difference is, just knowing you've accomplished something versus knowing you were that close?
JAY PANDOLFO: I don't really know how to put it into words. There's nothing better than winning. And there's nothing worse than losing. I've been on both sides of it.
When you lose, you think of everything that maybe you could have done different to help find a way to win a game.
When you win, you are just so excited, right? Just the feelings are so much different. I don't really know how to put it into words, to be quite honest with you.
Q. Jay, were there any things last night that you feel your team needs to do better for tomorrow?
JAY PANDOLFO: There's always things that you're looking for your team to do better at some points. Yeah, I just thought there were times when we didn't manage the puck very well. And that's for us when we do get ourselves in trouble.
When we manage it well, making the right decisions with the puck in certain areas of the ice, we're really good. I thought we got away from it a little bit at times last night. That's where we have issues as a team.
There's going to be mistakes. That's different for me. There's going to be physical mistakes that happen. But it's the mental ones that are going to cost you. We've just got to make sure tomorrow that we're really limiting our turnovers, especially against a team that will take advantage of it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports