Wisconsin vs. Penn State
February 11, 2017
Madison, Wis. - Kohl Center

Head Coach Tony Granato
On lacking jump to start the third period:
"We were hoping to get some more momentum. This is really the first time all year when we needed it we just couldn't get it, couldn't dig down and find more energy and more life. It's a weekend to learn from. It's a weekend to say Penn State was a better team this weekend. We can't say, 'well we had our chances and coulda, woulda, shoulda.' We didn't have our chances to win games this series. They were good. We weren't good enough. This is the first weekend all year that at the end of it you say we got beat by a better team. I can't say that when we played BC, I can't say that when we played Denver, I can't say that when we played Minnesota, I can't say that when we played Ohio State, I can't say that against any other team. Penn State was a better team. 
 
"We just didn't have the jump and energy. It seems like when we did get a little bit of momentum they found a way to stall it and they scored a big goal, they made a big play. They were the better team. When the game was on the line in all situations, they made the plays. We talked about it coming into this weekend. They were No. 1 for a reason. They ran into a hot goalie the last two weekends. They had tons of chances to score and win those games and didn't. They were on a mission this weekend to get back on track. So give credit to them. We've got to be ready to go next weekend. We're still in pretty good shape in the standings. We can't say oh okay, we can't do it anymore. We've done it all year. We've got a lot of things to look forward to and we'll start Monday when we get back to practice to make sure next week we have that jump that they had this weekend."
 
On what went wrong in the second period:
"It's hard to say. I think it's pretty much the whole series they played smart, they played a better road game than we were able to handle. I think they really did. They were that good pretty much the whole series. Like I said there hasn't been a team come in this building or anywhere we've played on the road that at the end of two games you say well they were the better team. This weekend they were. We get to play them again. We get a chance to turn the tables on them and be the better team because I think we can be but there are some areas in the next few weeks we'll have to improve on." 
 
On getting caught in transition:
"We were pushing it to try and get some things created offensively probably on the aggressive side. When we did turn a puck over they were able to get a stick on a puck and it came back to our end fast. They have good speed obviously. They have some skilled players that made a lot of plays this weekend. It's when you fall behind that you have to chase a little bit and they took advantage of that." 
 
On if Penn State's the best team they have played:
"They sure were this weekend. I though all their lines were dangerous in one way, shape or form in how they played. I though they played as a unit of five all weekend. Even when we got things going they didn't get rattled. They were able to turn the momentum back their way whenever we did get any. They were the best team, in my opinion, that we've played all year."
 
On how the guys will handle the adversity:
"We've done so many things well this year. Certainly I thought we'd match up better this weekend. We didn't and like we have all year we'll look at the next challenge. The challenge is responding and rebounding from a weekend like this. I'm confident that our guys, like they have all year, will come ready on Monday to get ready for this weekend. You've gotta learn from it. Like we talked about after the game, they were a better team for a reason this weekend. We're capable of being a team like that. They did it a lot better than us this weekend."

Sophomore Matt Jurusk
On if the volume of Penn State's offense came to be too much
"I don't think it was a volume thing, I think it was me not being ready to play a full 60 minutes. You know it's uncharacteristic after I've gotten back from that injury for me to let in some of those goals so I take that pretty seriously, work at it here and be ready when it comes game time next week."

On how the team will bounce back from this loss
"I think we just need to reset a little bit mentally. We need to realize some weekends aren't going to go our way and, me personally, I just got to reset my mind and get back to playing the game I was and I think that's going to be a big help for the team as we go into next weekend."

Sophomore Luke Kunin
On how you learn from this weekend's series 
"I think, you know kind of like coach said, we have to learn from it. We just got to want it more. I think from the start of the series to the end, they wanted it more than we did and I think that showed. That's unacceptable for our group and we just got to learn from it and have a good week at practice and focus on our new challenge, Michigan, next week."

On if he expected to get more momentum going into the third period
"Yeah, we were definitely hoping we could carry some momentum in there and come out strong in the third, but it didn't happen so like I said, we just need to learn from it and be better."