Northeast Regional Finals - Coach and Player Quotes
Finals: Notre Dame 3, Lowell 2
Post Game Quotes - Notre Dame
Notre Dame Head Coach Jeff Jackson Opening Statement:
"We're obviously thrilled to have the opportunity to go to our backyard hosting the Frozen Four. It's nice that we're gonna show up. It was a great game; Lowell is a tremendous team. I said it last night; they're the best team we've played this year. I think that playing them two weeks ago helped us tonight, just knowing the way we have to play. People had a chance over the last two days, actually starting midway through last night in the second period, they've had a chance to see the team I've been watching for the past eight weeks. It kind of dissipated in our performance at the Boston Garden. Obviously this is a thrilling moment for me, having a chance to get back to the Frozen Four, especially with this group of guys."
Coach Jackson on being the last Hockey East team standing:
"I said it at the banquet many times until the final minute of the final game we play, we are proud members of Hockey East so we'll be happy to represent them at the Frozen Four."
Coach Jackson on going from down 2-0 to winning the Northeast Regional:
"Every time I go through one of these things I have a certain feeling just knowing the temperament of our team, knowing their mindset coming into Saturday night. I was concerned about their confidence a little bit going into that game Saturday night but I thought that we still had a chance to come back. We needed that next goal no question, and then we started playing and my confidence went way up and today. I had that feeling that I've had in the past that we're ready, that our guys are dialed in, ready to play and do what they need to do to be successful.
Coach Jackson on double shifting Anders Bjork:
I laughed at you when you said that because I turned around and said to him that "you weren't being double shifted, you were just taking two shifts for one." Anders has a tendency to stay on the ice a little longer but let's face facts, for what they've accomplished considering the fact we're missing two second line players, you never talk about that especially when you're losing. But our bench is a little shorter right now and hopefully it will be better in two weeks. But I've said this about Cal Peterson too, if you got horses you play them."
Sophomore Forward Andrew Oglevie, on his game-winning overtime goal, and on playing with Anders Bjork:
"To be honest I don't really remember what happened. I remember Anders had the puck on his stick, and I was just standing in the slot and I hoped he'd pass it. He did and I just hit it as hard as I could and luckily for us it went in."
"I think everyone in the locker room knows that Anders is probably one of the most special players in college hockey. Being able to play with him is an honor for me and I'm sure most in the locker room. Playing with him, fun things happen offensively... he's fast! He's got great vision, and he's always in attack mode. So it's really fun to play with Anders. I love him!"
Junior forward Anders Bjork on maintaining energy to handle double-shifting and his persperctive of the game winning goal:
"We have a great strength program at Notre Dame, so all of us are in good shape. I was just trying to get out there and do my best, do the little things right and help our team win. There's a lot of guys that did the same thing and stepped up. It was a fun game to be a part of, and fun to see all of the players making good plays and everyone contributing."
"I remember getting the puck and I know Andrew Oglevie was open for about 15 seconds there, it felt like, so I finally gave it to him and he put it in like he always seems to do. I'm just glad that he was in the right spot."
Cal Petersen, junior goaltender and captain on choosing to attend Notre Dame:
"I think the most special thing is I found a real home with Notre Dame and it far exceeded my expectations. I'm just really happy for everybody in the locker room, coaching staff, and all of Irish hockey to finally be rewarded for doing things right, and I think we pride ourselves on doing that. Sometimes teams that do things right don't always get rewarded. The guys in the locker room have really stepped up in crucial moments and for us to get rewarded like this, going to Chicago, and being an underdog is something really special. I know regardless of however it goes I think this is going to be a special memory for everybody."
Post Game Quotes - Lowell
Lowell Head Coach Norm Bazin Opening Statement:
"Start off by congratulating our opponent on moving onto the Frozen Four. This one for us stings. I felt that the group inside that locker room was good enough to be the best team at the end of the year. They certainly got the OT goal and we find ourselves on the outside looking in, but it was a good hockey game. I thought it was back and forth. If I had to change anything I felt that we went into too much of a lull with seven minutes to go and started playing defense hockey only and when we don't attack we're not as good. It was the difference in the hockey game."
Coach Bazin on what Notre Dame did differently from the Hockey East Tourney to the NCAA Tourney:
"I think when you guys watch a game and when we as coaches watch a game are two different games a lot of times. The score indicated 5-1 in the semi-final and certainly it was. At the same time it was a lot closer than the score indicated. It doesn't surprise me. They're a very good hockey club. They finished I think one point out of the regular season title. There's a lot of great hockey clubs in Hockey East and that parity is second to none, but what they did tonight we'll have to go to video and watch how they differed from last week. I thought we had enough opportunities. I thought we passed up on a few shots early in the game. We tried to get way too cute and that came back to bite us. We need to put some more shots on net and even around the net to capitalize. I didn't think we sustained as much offensive zone time as we did in the semi-final. So those are all things we'll have to watch in the summer and get better at."
Coach Bazin on the powerplay:
"There's no question that when you score on your special teams it's very good. That makes a difference. It is the difference maker and it was no different than it was yesterday. I think we had two on the power play. I thought they let the kids play today. They put the whistles away and you're definitely plugging away for a few calls here and there, but overall you get three power plays, you have to try to convert on one and we didn't convert."
Coach Bazin on the Lowell senior class:
"It's a great group of kids. I think this year I told them inside the locker room I did feel we were good enough to advance. At the same time they won four trophies. They won the regular season. They won the playoff championship. They won the alumni cup. They won a post-Christmas tournament. More importantly than that they helped strengthen the culture of success and to continue and they had a hell of legacy. These kids did a great job. Over their four year careers they had 11 trophies and that's a heck of a testament to the type of character there is in that class. They're all going to graduate on time and three of them are over 3.5 students. You can't ask for better kids.."
East Regional Finals - Coach and Player Quotes
Finals: Harvard 3, Air Force 2
Post Game Quotes - Harvard
Harvard Head Coach Ted Donato Opening Statement:
"I thought it was a tremendous hockey game. Air Force kept coming and coming, I want to congratulate them on an excellent game and an excellent season. I think coach Serratore does an amazing job. I think both teams played well enough to win tonight so we're happy to move on and very proud of our guys and want to give Air Force their due credit because they played great as well."
Coach Donato on advancing to the Frozen Four:
"I think it's great, this is our third consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament so I think our guys want it more. I think the Frozen Four is something our group aspired to and now that we've accomplished that our sights are set on continuing and continuing to win. It's a great group and during the second and third period, just listening to the talk within the team, just their attitude and yes, Air Force scored two quick goals and turned the game that looked like it was in a good spot for us but I liked our response, we came out in the third and managed the puck pretty well. I thought Starrett made some big saves to keep us off the board on the power play and otherwise. It's tough, we know this time of year there's tough games but from a larger perspective, I think our guys had an incredible experience this weekend. It's so difficult to make it to the NCAA tournament that as a coach you just want them to have a great experience. All the people involved here with the NCAA and Providence, Brown University and the Dunkin' Donuts Center, I think really gave our guys an incredible experience and one they'll remember. Hopefully we'll have another one like that for our players as we look forward."
Coach Donato on the success this weekend as opposed to past years:
"I think our team has a little more balance and we have a number of guys that are capable of stepping up so we have more depth up front. You can't deny the fact that our goaltender is exceptional, it's hard to advance without great goaltending and we got it all weekend. I think our defense has done a great job and our special teams. The things that you need to advance, special teams, goaltending and balance and to be able to handle adversity. I thought we played hard, Air Force is a tough team to play against, very well coached. I don't think we got a single outnumbered rush all night, and they blocked shots and when you do get a shot through, Starrett has been great all year. It was a tough battle out there, as we expected, and we're just happy to move on. I think our group has been forged by the failures over the last couple years and we have a great group of seniors that had the courage to set the bar really high and continue to go after it."
Harvard forward Alex Kerfoot on his favorite moment and advancing to the Frozen Four:
"I think the best moment of this weekend happened 10 minutes ago or 20 minutes ago. Winning the trip, it's everything involved and coming to the NCAA tournament is pretty special and it makes it a lot more memorable when you can win and I think that is what we'll remember in the years to come. I think looking forward to Chicago it's going to be the same thing."
Harvard Forward Devin Tringale, on advancing to the Frozen Four:
"It's a great feeling, it's something that we've worked a long time for. We've put lot of hours in and for us to get that win tonight and advance to the Frozen Four, it's unbelievable. The sentiment in the locker room was enjoy this, this is good but we're not done yet."
"I think everyone in the locker room knows that Anders is probably one of the most special players in college hockey. Being able to play with him is an honor for me and I'm sure most in the locker room. Playing with him, fun things happen offensively... he's fast! He's got great vision, and he's always in attack mode. So it's really fun to play with Anders. I love him!"
Harvard forward Alex Kerfoot on Harvard players staying through their senior year:
"I think you hit the nail on the head, guys who are coming to Harvard know what they're getting into. You're coming not just for the hockey, obviously our coaches and everyone involved in the program have done a great job of turning this program around and getting it to be one of the elite programs in the country, but guys know when they're coming here that there's more than just hockey. They know they're coming for the academics and everything involved with being a Harvard student and I think that's a pretty special opportunity and something we definitely don't take for granted. I think if you see a guy like Jimmy Vesey, last year who was up for the Hobey Baker after his junior season and he chose to come back for his senior year, it's hard for anyone to leave who is not in the same situation. I think it just has a trickle down effect on everyone else involved in the program. It's great for college hockey."
Post Game Quotes - Air Force
Air Force Head Coach Frank Serratore Opening Statement:
"A lot of people in here, nobody left early. Was that a heck of a college game? That's a good team, that's a great team, that Harvard team. I think the people around the country know the guys in blue are a pretty good hockey team as well. We took their best punch in the second period, and it's three nothing against a team like that. It's not looking too good, but all year long we've persevered and more times than not we've come from behind in games like that and we did not lose close, we've come back and won those games. To be able to come back against a team like that and we had our looks, we had some looks in the third period and the pucks didn't get through or Merrick Madsen made the saves. But terrific, terrific college hockey game. I couldn't be prouder of our guys and couldn't have more respect for Harvard. They played the game, they play the game hard, they play the game the right way. I think you had two teams out there that play the game the way the game's supposed to be played. It was a privilege for me to coach in a game like that."
Coach Serratore on the credit he gives to last year's seniors and their impact on this team:
"Oh big time, the seniors last year, they were picked to finish eight in the league, we finished second. We lost to RIT in overtime in the semifinals, and RIT went on to win the playoff championship and go to the National Tournament. And this year we came back, we got the same spot, we took that next step. We only lose three seniors this year. If we can keep this group together, we're confident that we are going to be able to come back and take another step next year. We've seen the best in the country, we know what it looks like. We've played Denver, we lost in overtime, Denver is pretty darn good. We played these guys (Harvard), they're pretty darn good, and we lose by a goal. We beat Boston College, we went 1-1-1 with Western Michigan, we played Ohio State, tied them. So by no means do we come in thinking that it's just a thrill to be here and we're just happy to participate, no we came to win and I think you saw that with the push-back that our guys showed, down three nothing against Harvard. Three nothing can turn to six nothing in a hurry against these guys. And like I told you, they're going to just keep coming and you better punch them back in the mouth, if not they got three, they're going to score six they don't care, they're going to keep coming. And I just like the way we responded, we responded that way all year, we just couldn’t get all the way back."
Coach Serratore - closing statement:
"One thing I want to say is I hope you take note out there that (Army Coach) Brian Riley is sitting here, Brian and I come from the same school and we've got a lot of respect for the college game, we got a lot of respect for our opponents. I couldn't be more proud of our guys. How many times do you see the opposing team salute winning team before they go off? That's the kind of guys we have, those are the kind of people that we have, that are representing our country, and it may sound corny but it's not. There's a lot of quality guys on every one of these teams, but the guys that you got playing at Army and Air Force, playing at those service academy's, they're high quality first-class guys. I don't feel bad that we lost, I just feel bad that the journey's over and I couldn't be more proud of our guys, the way they compete and the way they handle themselves, both on and off the ice. It's a joy. People ask me how I inspire my players, I don't inspire my players, my players inspire me and it's a privilege to have the job that I have and Brian Riley will tell you the same thing."
East Regionals - Interesting Coach and Player Quotes
Harvard 3, Providence 1
Post Game Quotes - Providence College
Providence Head Coach Nate Leaman Opening Statement
"It's tough to be disappointed with the way we played tonight. I thought we played a terrific game. I thought we had a lot of great chances. I thought we got the looks we wanted. I thought the guys executed the game plan that we wanted to execute, the puck just didn't go in the net for us tonight, but I was really proud of the way we played. I thought we carried some good stretches of that game. The specialty teams in the second period was kind of a little of what changed the game."
Senior Defenseman Josh Monk talks about the experience of playing for a coach like Nate Leaman
"He develops players and he develops teams. I think anybody you talk to he's probably one of the best coaches in college hockey and there's a reason for that, the way he prepares the teams to play, the way to prepares players to move onto the next level. He does a great job. He gave our team a chance to win tonight and we had a game plan that was very good and I thought we executed very well and unfortunately we just pulled up short."
Head Coach Nate Leaman on the struggle to score the last two years in the NCAA Tournament
"It was obvious with this team. I think they are two completely different situations. With this team we won 21 games when we scored three goals, we were 1-9-3 when we didn't score three goals. We knew at Christmas time what was the barometer for us to be successful and that was getting to three goals. With last year's team, that was a 0-0 deadlock defensive game with us and Duluth and Duluth had a heck of a team and it went to double overtime and it was 1-0. It wasn't like they pumped five on us and we didn’t get one. That's the way that game went. We hit some posts in that game. Tonight the only thing we didn't do was finish. I thought we got great changes, we go second chances, we got whacks at it, we had one called back, we had 39 shots. It wasn't like the generation of offense wasn't there. I think this is a little more of us being young and the team being young. I think as this team matures a little bit I don't think there will be an issue with the finishing. But I thought that was our struggle all year."
Head Coach Nate Leaman comments on his future
"I love the way the direction of our program is going. We had to replace a big class and a class where I think three or four of those guys played in the NHL this year. We had to replace a big class and I give all the credit in the world to Scott Borek and Kris Mayotte, we love our future. We can't comment on specific recruits but we couldn't be more excited about our recruits that we have coming to the program. I like the way we built the team this year. I think when we come back next year I think we will have a clear feel for what makes us successful and that was part of our learning curve this year and that's why I thought it took us a little bit of time. It’s going to take any young team time and if you look around there are probably five or six teams that were in the NCAA Tournament last year that had to rebuild like we did. I was really happy where we finished up. I'm really excited about our future at Providence. I love everything we are doing, I love the people I work with and I certainly love the people I work for. I couldn't be around better leaders. You put your head on your pillow every night you want to be around great people."
Post Game Quotes - Lowell
Post Game Quotes - Air Force