WORCESTER, Mass. -- The practice sessions have wrapped up at DCU Center, as have the press conferences for each team involved in Saturday's Northeast Regional games, which begin at 4pm Eastern time.
UMD battles Maine at 7:30 Eastern in the second game. Here are some thoughts, starting with Maine.
Maine coach Tim Whitehead on the health of senior and Hobey Baker finalist Spencer Abbott:
"We just have to wait and see if he can get cleared by the doctor. . . Several people have asked me if he’s going to give it a go, but you don’t give it a go with a head injury. It’s whether or not he has been cleared yet, and he has not been cleared yet. We just have to take it day-by-day. It’s been a week now, and I thought we handled the situation well against BU. We were able to bounce right back after three minutes and get the game-winning goal. . . I think the BU game was almost a microcosm of our season with our team. We’ve handled adversity within the game and off the ice with anything that’s thrown at us, and the boys have handled it very well. So I think we’re prepared and now we’ve had a week to adjust to it as well. So I think if he’s not playing we’ll certainly be ready, and if he is that’s just a bonus."
Whitehead on his team's return to the NCAA Tournament:
"It feels great. It’s not about me as a coach or even our staff. We’re part of it of course. We have to try to guide them and I feel we’ve done a good job of that. But in the end it comes from them, and we just are continuing to encourage them to make sure they take ownership of the team and responsibility and do everything they can do. This particular year we’ve focused very much on staying healthy and we’ve altered our training. We’ve done everything we can possibly do to avoid serious injury. For the most part it’s been as good as it’s been. The last couple years were extremes, but that was important for us and we’ve worked hard to improve our goaltending and that was just time. Last year we had two freshmen and a sophomore and they just needed time to develop. They’ve done a great job, and we just focused on blocking out all the people that call themselves faithful and all that chatter, and just focus on us, focus on the locker room. We believe in each other. Coaches believe in the players, players in the coaches, players in each other and that’s all we can do – focus on that. And the guys have been great. I’m just real happy for them because that’s all they care about – what’s going on with our team, and they did it themselves. Now this is a great opportunity for us, and let’s make the most of it. We’re not just here to enjoy the ride, we’re here to win some hockey games. So we have an opportunity tomorrow to prove that we can play with these teams."
Senior forward Brian Flynn on getting back to the NCAA Tournament (Maine's first since 2007):
"It’s exciting. This is definitely something that we wanted to do before graduating here. And to get it in our senior year, and to be put in the bracket with BC who we just lost to in the (Hockey East) championship, and the (reigning) national champions, they’re a great team. We know we have our hands full and it’s a challenge we’re excited for."
Whitehead on his seniors:
"It’s a great feeling for them. We’re very proud of them. Obviously they’ve persevered through some very tough challenges, last season in particular. We felt we had a team that could get to the tournament the last two years and they never quit. And we’ve been on the doorstep for two years in a row and this is the third year that we’ve been on the bubble, so I’m really happy for them mostly that they’ve found a way to fight through all of that stuff and get to the tournament and have this opportunity. We’re very proud of them."
UMD coach Scott Sandelin on how he prepares his team for this game:
"We tend to try to focus on our team and what we need to do. For us, we have a lot of respect for their program and their team and how hard they're going to work. Getting off to a good start is really critical for us. Obviously, last Friday that didn't happen, and we dug a hole. Playing catchup hockey this time of year is kind of death."
UMD senior captain and Hobey Baker finalist Jack Connolly on what older brother Chris, the captain of Boston University, told him about Maine, a Hockey East rival:
"I picked his brain a little bit about the team. Obviously he’s played them quite a bit. He said they have a lot of speed, but I think we can get after their defense and capitalize on their weaknesses. They’ve been playing pretty good as of late and that’s an aspect of the team you can get after as well. I think we have a lot of speed on our team and will be able to work their team down low and will have to try and get some goals around the crease."
UMD senior defenseman Brady Lamb on his team's success on the road:
"The biggest thing we try and do is make sure our home is a tough place to play. We also like to put pressure on the other teams when we go to their place. Being on the road gives our team more chances to come together and unite a little tighter. We have a lot of fun on the road and I think that transfers to our team chemistry, and we have a lot of guys working for each other out there."
UMD senior center Travis Oleksuk on the season thus far:
"It’s been a long year, (we’ve) played a lot of games out, had a lot of ups and downs like any team has. Right now we’re feeling good about how we’re playing and real excited to get things started on Saturday and looking forward to try and have some success out here."
Sandelin on Connolly:
"Everyone thought he was too small, kind of that stigma I think we’ve heard with a lot of different college players. I think he’s fought that all the way. He’s a good athlete, a good hockey player. It was an easy decision for us. I’ll be honest with you, when we recruited him my biggest fear was that we had to tell him he was going to play two years of junior hockey, and I didn’t think we were going to get him. It took about five minutes for the commitment, and we got him in after one year at Sioux Falls and not two. He went to juniors under the understanding he was going to play two years – and that was my biggest fear, he’d say no, I want to come after one year, and we’re fortunate we got him. As good a hockey player (as) he is, he is a better person. He’s been a great ambassador for our program and our community."
Showing posts with label quotes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label quotes. Show all posts
Friday, March 23, 2012
NCAA Northeast Regional Notes and Quotes: Boston College vs. Air Force
WORCESTER, Mass. -- Greetings from the underbelly of the DCU Center in Worcester. I like the media working area in the basement, and the rink is wonderfully accessible.
The press box doesn't exist. It's a table set over some chairs, with chairs behind it. If this were a WCHA building, it would be the 12th- or 13th-best press box in the league, possibly ahead of Alaska Anchorage.
Doesn't say much about NCAA standards.
Later on, I'll send along some quotes from Maine head coach Tim Whitehead and seniors Brian Flynn and Will O'Neill, along with anything of interest that comes out of UMD's press conference.
For now, here are some nuggets from the earlier press conferences, involving the combatants in Saturday's early game, Boston College and Air Force.
Air Force coach Frank Serratore on the team's underdog status:
"First of all, even though we play in Atlantic Hockey we are the road team. . . Secondly, we are the underdog. I called my brother Tom in Bemidji last night and was chatting with him. And his kids had done the brackets in school – that’s part of the curriculum in Bemidji, Minn., to do the NCAA brackets. My three nephews and nieces filled out their brackets and none of them picked Air Force. I can’t even get my nephews and nieces to pick Air Force in a for fun bracket, so we are the road team and we are the underdog but we are sure happy to be here. We’ve earned our way here for the fifth time in six years, having to win our conference tournament. . . We’ve been here before, we’ve played the top seeds before, we’re looking forward to the game."
Air Force senior defenseman and Hobey Baker finalist Tim Kirby on Boston College:
"From what I’ve seen, and from video, they are a quick team. I mean, they’ve got nine NHL draft picks and I’m sure a bunch of (others) could go play pro after (college) too. We just have to minimize our turnovers and play our game, because they are going to be able to capitalize on mistakes that we make. We just have to play our game, play hard."
Kirby on the matchup:
"I think we can play our game. We’ve been here, maybe the past couple years a few of us were new to it, but this year basically our whole team has been to the NCAA Tournament, and fought the number one seed into overtime, and lost on a goal that maybe we could have had back, but I definitely think we can. We just have to play mistake free."
Serratore on the caliber of teams in this tournament:
"Hey they’re all good. If you don’t want to play the top seed, don’t be the 16th seed, or the 15th or the 14th. You know we play tough opponents. They’re all tough in their own way. All these teams are a little bit. I think I compare Boston College to that Michigan team we played because they’ve got that great speed and they want to impose their will on you in every facet of the game. Even watching their penalty kill, I mean, our penalty killers are instructed if they get possession of the puck in the defensive zone, you ice it 200 feet and get off the ice and we get fresh troops on the ice. They get it and they attack. I guess that’s how you score 11 shorthanded goals. Maybe that’s why we’ve only scored two but it just goes to show you how much confidence and swagger that they have. They’ll attack you even when they’re a man down. That Michigan team had that same element about them."
Serratore on Kirby:
"Tim is kind of, for our program, like our supermodel. I mean he’s got that ability. We don’t get many players that have the talent the skill to lift you out of your seat. At Air Force right now, whenever he touches the puck, our fans have gotten so used to his electric rushes. You know he attacks, his jersey is flapping. And he can break people down one on one. He’s got that ability to lift people out of their seats. Our fans at Air Force, when he grabs the puck in the D-zone they literally start cheering because they anticipate something exciting is going to happen."
Boston College coach Jerry York on Air Force:
"I like their club. I’ve watched them on tape and we watched them in the Ice Breaker earlier, and I think they lost two one-goal games to … North Dakota (and) Michigan (State) . . . very traditional, powerful teams. You think of a service academy, and they’ve almost done what Navy’s done with football with their program. They’re competing on a national level with some outstanding young people. Our admiration goes to the service academy because of what their commitment is. They are committed to an underdog role when they play Miami or Michigan or, last year, Yale. And certainly this year and we know that they’re going to push us to our limits tomorrow. Every year’s different. . . You don’t come into these national tournaments thinking it’s going to be easy – it’s difficult to win them. It’s difficult to get out of your regional and you understand that that’s sports. There’s no guarantees who advances here, and we’ve seen it. We’ve had teams go all the way and win trophies. We’ve also during that stretch won an awful lot of close games. We’ve been beaten by teams on those particular nights are better than us. . . We’re all aware of how hard it is to win, and this region is a very difficult region."
York on Kirby:
"He’s a legitimate All-America candidate. He’s been a backbone of their team for four years – big strong player, logs an awful lot of minutes. We’ve watched tape of him this week, and he’s probably up around 25 minutes a game, and he’s one of their keys to their attack and to the defense."
Boston College senior defenseman Tommy Cross on last year's 8-4 loss to Colorado College in the NCAA Tournament:
"We put that behind us a long time ago. Besides . . . getting asked questions about it, we don’t think about it too much. We’re focused on Air Force. We’re a different team this year and . . . it’s been different. This year has been unique from my other three years here. . . We have a pretty focused team as far as win or lose. Move on and focus on the next one. It’s definitely no different this time. We’re pretty pumped for tomorrow."
Cross on the Boston College program's success:
"The first thing that comes to my mind is just the coaching that we have. That comes from coach York, obviously. But the kids that are in the program, there’s a big trickle-down effect. . . Ben Smith and Matt Lombardi, they learned from guys above them, and we learned from those guys. I think (there are) a lot of constants from year to year, and at the same time each group is different."
York on defenseman and Hobey finalist Brian Dumoulin:
"He was a very good player when he enrolled at our school, and to his credit he’s worked really hard in the weight room. He’s stronger now, each year he gets better at every aspect of his game. So I’ve seen improvement in his puck handling ability, his skating of course, his strength – which is the biggest factor – and I think he’s become more of a team leader. He’s more vocal now than he was when he first came, and he’s a real central part of our team core."
The press box doesn't exist. It's a table set over some chairs, with chairs behind it. If this were a WCHA building, it would be the 12th- or 13th-best press box in the league, possibly ahead of Alaska Anchorage.
Doesn't say much about NCAA standards.
Later on, I'll send along some quotes from Maine head coach Tim Whitehead and seniors Brian Flynn and Will O'Neill, along with anything of interest that comes out of UMD's press conference.
For now, here are some nuggets from the earlier press conferences, involving the combatants in Saturday's early game, Boston College and Air Force.
Air Force coach Frank Serratore on the team's underdog status:
"First of all, even though we play in Atlantic Hockey we are the road team. . . Secondly, we are the underdog. I called my brother Tom in Bemidji last night and was chatting with him. And his kids had done the brackets in school – that’s part of the curriculum in Bemidji, Minn., to do the NCAA brackets. My three nephews and nieces filled out their brackets and none of them picked Air Force. I can’t even get my nephews and nieces to pick Air Force in a for fun bracket, so we are the road team and we are the underdog but we are sure happy to be here. We’ve earned our way here for the fifth time in six years, having to win our conference tournament. . . We’ve been here before, we’ve played the top seeds before, we’re looking forward to the game."
Air Force senior defenseman and Hobey Baker finalist Tim Kirby on Boston College:
"From what I’ve seen, and from video, they are a quick team. I mean, they’ve got nine NHL draft picks and I’m sure a bunch of (others) could go play pro after (college) too. We just have to minimize our turnovers and play our game, because they are going to be able to capitalize on mistakes that we make. We just have to play our game, play hard."
Kirby on the matchup:
"I think we can play our game. We’ve been here, maybe the past couple years a few of us were new to it, but this year basically our whole team has been to the NCAA Tournament, and fought the number one seed into overtime, and lost on a goal that maybe we could have had back, but I definitely think we can. We just have to play mistake free."
Serratore on the caliber of teams in this tournament:
"Hey they’re all good. If you don’t want to play the top seed, don’t be the 16th seed, or the 15th or the 14th. You know we play tough opponents. They’re all tough in their own way. All these teams are a little bit. I think I compare Boston College to that Michigan team we played because they’ve got that great speed and they want to impose their will on you in every facet of the game. Even watching their penalty kill, I mean, our penalty killers are instructed if they get possession of the puck in the defensive zone, you ice it 200 feet and get off the ice and we get fresh troops on the ice. They get it and they attack. I guess that’s how you score 11 shorthanded goals. Maybe that’s why we’ve only scored two but it just goes to show you how much confidence and swagger that they have. They’ll attack you even when they’re a man down. That Michigan team had that same element about them."
Serratore on Kirby:
"Tim is kind of, for our program, like our supermodel. I mean he’s got that ability. We don’t get many players that have the talent the skill to lift you out of your seat. At Air Force right now, whenever he touches the puck, our fans have gotten so used to his electric rushes. You know he attacks, his jersey is flapping. And he can break people down one on one. He’s got that ability to lift people out of their seats. Our fans at Air Force, when he grabs the puck in the D-zone they literally start cheering because they anticipate something exciting is going to happen."
Boston College coach Jerry York on Air Force:
"I like their club. I’ve watched them on tape and we watched them in the Ice Breaker earlier, and I think they lost two one-goal games to … North Dakota (and) Michigan (State) . . . very traditional, powerful teams. You think of a service academy, and they’ve almost done what Navy’s done with football with their program. They’re competing on a national level with some outstanding young people. Our admiration goes to the service academy because of what their commitment is. They are committed to an underdog role when they play Miami or Michigan or, last year, Yale. And certainly this year and we know that they’re going to push us to our limits tomorrow. Every year’s different. . . You don’t come into these national tournaments thinking it’s going to be easy – it’s difficult to win them. It’s difficult to get out of your regional and you understand that that’s sports. There’s no guarantees who advances here, and we’ve seen it. We’ve had teams go all the way and win trophies. We’ve also during that stretch won an awful lot of close games. We’ve been beaten by teams on those particular nights are better than us. . . We’re all aware of how hard it is to win, and this region is a very difficult region."
York on Kirby:
"He’s a legitimate All-America candidate. He’s been a backbone of their team for four years – big strong player, logs an awful lot of minutes. We’ve watched tape of him this week, and he’s probably up around 25 minutes a game, and he’s one of their keys to their attack and to the defense."
Boston College senior defenseman Tommy Cross on last year's 8-4 loss to Colorado College in the NCAA Tournament:
"We put that behind us a long time ago. Besides . . . getting asked questions about it, we don’t think about it too much. We’re focused on Air Force. We’re a different team this year and . . . it’s been different. This year has been unique from my other three years here. . . We have a pretty focused team as far as win or lose. Move on and focus on the next one. It’s definitely no different this time. We’re pretty pumped for tomorrow."
Cross on the Boston College program's success:
"The first thing that comes to my mind is just the coaching that we have. That comes from coach York, obviously. But the kids that are in the program, there’s a big trickle-down effect. . . Ben Smith and Matt Lombardi, they learned from guys above them, and we learned from those guys. I think (there are) a lot of constants from year to year, and at the same time each group is different."
York on defenseman and Hobey finalist Brian Dumoulin:
"He was a very good player when he enrolled at our school, and to his credit he’s worked really hard in the weight room. He’s stronger now, each year he gets better at every aspect of his game. So I’ve seen improvement in his puck handling ability, his skating of course, his strength – which is the biggest factor – and I think he’s become more of a team leader. He’s more vocal now than he was when he first came, and he’s a real central part of our team core."
Monday, November 23, 2009
Jared Boll's Positive Outlook on Life
Former UMD men's hockey recruit Jared Boll is carving out a nice niche for himself in the NHL.
Boll never played a game for the Bulldogs, opting to go major junior after originally committing to UMD. He has become one of the better young fighters in the league, and he gets regular minutes as a forward for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He's logged 166 games in two-plus seasons with Columbus, and he's only 23, so you could argue that he will develop even more as an all-around player, instead of just being a one-dimensional punch-thrower.
Saturday night, Nashville's Wade Belak did the unthinkable. He speared Boll right in the, um, unmentionables.
Belak got a two-minute minor for hooking. Yes, hooking.
Anyway, instead of whining about a suspension (Belak hasn't been suspended yet, though he was benched for the third period of Saturday's game by Predators coach Barry Trotz), Boll has shown a good attitude about the whole thing.
"He caught me in the worst spot," Boll said. "I'm just glad we scored on the power play."
It's the small pleasures, like watching your team score after some guy just tried to render you sterile on the ice.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Favre Gives His Blessing
The day is drawing closer.On Sunday, Packer fans have to choose between their team and the quarterback who ran himself out of town because he couldn't make up his mind (or maybe he wanted out all along).
For most of them, it's not really a difficult choice. After all, these people have been Packer fans forever, and they're not going to cheer for a guy on a rival team just because he's Brett Favre.
If you're still on the fence, trying to decide what to do, please understand that Favre understands. In fact, if you choose to cheer for the Packers, you are doing so with The Great One's blessing.
(Are you curious to see the fans' reaction?)
"I think that's probably more intriguing to everyone else. I think there'll be a mixture of both, understandably so, but as I've said before: 'What I've accomplished there and was a part of, you can't take that away.' You know, it's OK to pull for your team, I guess. But I can't make anyone cheer or boo or whatever.
Straight from the horse's ass -- er, mouth:
It's OK to pull for your team, I guess.
Good deal, Brett. I'll remember that on Sunday. I'm so grateful that the great Brett Favre has given me permission to cheer for the Packers, the team I've rooted for since I was shorter than my seven-year-old is now.
Without his blessing, I'm not sure I could go on.
Whatever, Brett. There will come a day after this season is over, when you're sitting on your tractor, or out on the golf course, or throwing footballs to teenagers, or whatever it is you do when you're not playing football. On this day, you're going to look back and wonder what you did to earn the scorn of so many people in Wisconsin, people who adored you for so many years.
Before all is forgiven (and this will happen, I promise), you're going to feel a tinge of regret over the incredibly dumb things you've said since you first decided to come back in 2008. When you think about those dumb things, "It's OK to pull for your team, I guess" is going to be at or near the top of the list.
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