GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- After winning six games in nine days, the talk of this afternoon's weekly media day for the University of North Dakota centered on how they are resting and preparing for a match-up against Yale in the NCAA Northeast Regional on Saturday.
"I think anyone would be lying if they said they weren't tired," junior Brad Malone said, adding that practices are kept a bit shorter and his teammates are more selective in the extra workouts they do during the week. "When the puck drops, there's no fatigue. It's do whatever it takes and sacrifice the body for each other. Fatigue is not going to be a factor come Saturday."
Another benefit for the Fighting Sioux is playing in a Regional that starts on Saturday, compared to Friday, giving UND an extra day to prepare.
"It comes back to having fun," head coach Dave Hakstol said. "Guys worked hard and emptied the tank this weekend, but they had a lot of fun doing it. So a couple days of rest and recuperation, and that energy will be back."
The play of junior Evan Trupp, who was named the WCHA Final Five Most Valuable Player last weekend, also took center stage. Trupp had six points (3 g, 3 a) and nearly connected on a highlight-reel goal, lifting and spinning the puck to himself on the blade of his stick. For Hakstol and the rest of the team, that's something they see every day in practice.
"We've seen him do some pretty spectacular things," Hakstol said. "He's scored some highlight-reel goals. He's made some highlight-reel plays. Saturday in the second period, he almost made another one."
But for Trupp, it was just nice to get his linemates Malone and Matt Frattin off his back a little bit.
"Those guys have been giving me a lot of crap," Trupp said. "Obviously the monkey is off my back, and they've eased up on me a little bit and I can give it back to them every once and a while."
The Fighting Sioux play Yale at 4 p.m. CT. That game can be seen on Fox Sports Net North or ESPN360.com.
To watch the press conferences, click the icons in the Related Links box.
