NCHC Coaches: They Said What?

Hockey is full of cliches' and sound bites. Yesterday, during the semifinal round of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, it was a big day for quotes from the coaches. Here are a few that caught my attention. 

Arizona State head coach Greg Powers talked about the Pairwise Rankings. 

"We feel like we're a team that should still be playing," coach Powers said. "We're the first team in the history of the NCHC to finish second (in the regular season standings) and not advance. It's a screwy year in the Pairwise. Cornell won tonight, and there's another spot gone."

Late in the first period, ASU Graduate forward Artem Shlaine blocked a Denver Pioneers shot. Shlaine would miss some time, but he would return later in the game, score a goal, and almost set up another goal. 

"He's a warrior, he's (Shlaine) our MPV," coach Powers said. "His foot is probably broken. I'm sure it's fractured. For him to come back and do what he did, get a big goal, and miss Chuckie (Charlie Schoen) in the back door and make a great play there in the third to take the lead, and their guy just got their stick on him, that's what he does. He's a winner and has a long career in front of him."

UND head coach Brad Berry gave his thoughts on his team's season being over. 

"Everybody has key injuries," coach Berry said. "The inconsistency in our game early on, which led to our nonconference record, was .500 or about .500. It wasn't good enough to get in the tournament. You have to build it up early in the year, which means your nonconference record. Not only us but also a lot of teams in our league didn't have great nonconference schedules or outcomes. We have to be better at that next year."

Denver head coach David Carle discussed Arizona State's fortunes and how the Sun Devils deserve to be in the NCAA tournament. 

"I certainly think they're a team that deserves to be," coach Carle said. "They're a top 12, top 10 team all day long. But unfortunately, it is what it is. You've got to win your games, and the Pairwise is a brutal thing sometimes. The games count as much in October as they do in March and don't take into account injuries or anything like that."

Western head coach Pat Ferschweiler on his team's style of play. 

"We talk daily," head coach Ferschweiler said. No slamming your stick. No frustration. Frustration is a weakness. We will not show it. We will stick with our plan. We'll believe in ourselves, and we're gonna we're gonna go forward in a relentless fashion. That's the way we play."