Pregame Chat With Coach McConnell - Week Six

Photo By: MJB Images

STEEL: John Lethemon has played very well this season.  Can you talk about his play last Friday against Cedar Rapids?

Photo By: MJB Images

McConnell: Johnny had a great game last week.  He was strong, square to the puck and didn’t give out too many second opportunities.  The goal he gave up in the second period was a shot that kind of bounced off his pad and we didn’t pick up a guy coming in late.  Cedar Rapids’ defenseman came up in the rush and put the puck in the back of the net. 

Johnny has been really good, and we are really proud of how he has adjusted from high school hockey in Michigan to the USHL.  We are excited that we have two goaltenders that can play at a high level.  Johnny has given us an opportunity to go out and win when he is out there, just like Cale [Morris] does.

STEEL: Ben Blacker also had a great game with 40 saves and only allowed the one goal late in the third.  How do you plan to get through their defense on Friday, including converting on the power play?

McConnell: Ben played outstanding, and I thought their whole team played well.  We put up 40 shots and most of them were first chances.  If you look at our goal that we scored with 52 seconds left in regulation, it was a second chance opportunity we received.  We were able to get to the net with our stick on the ice and put it upstairs on Blacker.

It’s something we have to get to a little more to start the game and penetrate their defense.  We have to get behind their defense, get our stick on the ice and want to develop a junkyard dog mentality when we get around the net. 

With the three and three this weekend we are facing three good goaltenders. We are excited to play three games this weekend and are looking forward to the opportunity to gain six points.