North Dakota Fighting Sioux Defenseman Corey Fienhage Talks to Die by the Blade

Sophomore defenseman Fighting Sioux defenseman Corey Fienhage was interviewed by Sabres Hockey Blog. I think you will find his answers interesting.

Corey Fienhage was a 3rd round draft pick (#81 overall) of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2008 entry draft. Fienhage is a defenseman for the North Dakota Fighting Sioux on the WCHA. He played in only nine games as a freshman but this season, his sophomore campaign, he has played in 21 games and has become a regular on the Sioux blueline.

Fienhage fits the profile of a fan favorite in Buffalo. He is a big body defenseman (6'3" - 215 lbs.) that isn't afraid to play a physical style. I had an opportunity to catch up with him this week and talk about his season and his future in the Sabres organization.

Diebytheblade: Let's begin by talking about this season at North Dakota. It has been kind of an up and down season for the team. Why do you think the team as been so inconsistent?

Corey Fienhage: We are playing really well now. We lost our captain early on in the season and it was tough to get going without him. At first goals were tough to come by but now we are scoring goals and it's all about the effort now.

Diebytheblade: Tell me about playing in the WCHA. It seems there is never an easy weekend in that conference. Does it ever get overwhelming knowing that every weekend you are playing against a top 10 team?

Corey Fienhage: The mentality is that we are going to win every game. It is a tough conference but that is what is exciting about it.

Diebytheblade:Do you think playing a difficult regular season schedule helps the team in the long run and when you play out of conference games?

Corey Fienhage: The East Coast teams are pretty good as well. Playing in the WCHA is a lot of fun but there are good teams in the east as well.

Diebytheblade:You chose to take the NCAA route by attending North Dakota. Was NCAA hockey always your first choice or did you consider playing Canadian major junior hockey?

Corey Fienhage: That was always what I wanted to do. I first started playing hockey in Alabama because I lived in Tennessee. Since I moved to Minnesota and started playing high school hockey, I wanted to play NCAA and I wanted to play in the WCHA. [Die By the Blade]