Defensively, we were running around a little bit. We spent a little too much time in our zone today. We got away from our game plan. We played down to their level. That's the best way to put it. Then again, it was good enough to win. |
He had never really played high school hockey, and then he was our No. 1 guy, so he was a little rattled, and I'm sure a little nervous. But he's gotten stronger and stronger. |
He usually swallows his rebounds or hands it off to the defense. The other night (against Rampart) he gave up a goal with 50 seconds left in the game, and it went into overtime. In the first shift of overtime, he made a great save, and we went back down and scored. |
He's got a giant upside. He's got all the skill in the world. He's got the power, the will. He's just got to channel it in the right direction. He's a little raw systems-wise. I think he'll be one of the strongest defensemen in the league next year. The sky's the limit. |
He's the first one on the ice and the last one off every time we skate. He wants it so bad - he really wants to improve. |
His skills are top shelf. He's a gifted player. He's got that God-given talent that you can't teach. This year, he took on more of a leadership role. He knew that was expected of him. Obviously, he had his ups and downs, but he's going to learn from what happened to him this year and be in a better position next year. |
I am pleased. There were a lot of good things, but a lot of things we need to work on, too. They've got to play better than that against Cheyenne tomorrow and they know it. Too many penalties, too many stupid penalties from not skating. But overall, you've got to be pleased with the outcome. |
In about half of our games, we've had bad first periods, but not tonight. We came out flying, and that's what we need to do from here on out. |
It was a great hockey game. It was fun for us to watch. There were two evenly matched teams, and it could have gone either way. |
It's huge. Like we said, we started off slow. We knew we were going to have some growing pains, but we're peaking at the right time. We're right where we want to be. We have some momentum and we're playing well. |
It's kind of the same as the beginning of the year. It's a young team with jitters at the beginning of the playoffs. They don't have a lot of experience. But it's good to get that one behind us. |
Nobody expected us to be here from the beginning of the season. We had a heck of a run at the end of the season. |
That's the way kids will think when you are down like that. You try to tell them to take it one shift at a time, one goal at time, but, you know, we didn't get it done. |
The kids know and they are focused. Every game is do or die. We've just got to play better every game. |
There's one team that has separated themselves from the rest of the pack, and that's Cheyenne Mountain. But from the second seed to the 12th, all of those teams are very competitive and can beat anyone. |