Thursday at the Bridgeport Regional
Merrimack and Quinnipiac practiced at Total Mortage Arena in Bridgeport on Thursday in preparation for Friday’s NCAA Tournament game (5:30, ESPNNews).
After the practices, both teams met with the media. Here are excerpts from those sessions.
Scott Borek on what makes this team stand out …
“What makes our team good is how close our team is. You know they touched on the life story of our group but it's way beyond that. I've never been with a group of players that I think trust each other and lean into each other more than this group. And I think what you’ll see tomorrow is a team that’;s going to either win together or lose together, but they’re gonna play hard they’re gonna play for each other and they will do it as aggressively as possible. We know we’re playing a great team.”
Borek on the importance of the break in February (Merrimack went 7-1 following the break) …
“I just think that break put us in a really good place coming into the BU weekend. And you know as a coach, I wasn't psyched we're playing BU trying to break a losing streak, but at the same time, it was probably a really good thing because we knew we had to be dialed in play some of our best hockey.
“So I think that we haven't lost a game regulation in about a month and half, and that's a testament to our goaltending, that's testament to our will, but it also has given us confidence.
Borek on Quinnipiac …
“We haven't played a team with the makeup of Quinnipiac. who's heavy and hard and defensive-minded, but with a lot of explosive players so that will be a challenge. We played good teams, but this is a unique team for us. They're going to be a big challenge.”
Borek on who he sees as an unsung hero for the Warriors …
“I know probably every coach says this, but we have several players in that situation.One that comes to mind is Mick Messner. We have guys who are wearing A's on the chest that have sat out games and been in the stands. Jordan Seyfert didn't play in our first game against St. Lawrence; he didn't make the lineup and he was assistant captain. The next day Mick played against Clarkson and he sat on the bench for 56 minutes as our 13th skater. He didn't play and then we got a lead and we had a young player in the middle of the rink, and I didn't like that experience so I wanted to get Mick out there. He was so plugged in he was able to play really well in that four-minute stretch. Thereafter, we played Boston College at Boston College and Tristan Crozier, who also won the letter, sat on the bench for 60 minutes. And you know, when you have guys with letters who are willing to do that you got something special and I think we do have something special.”
Jordan Seyfert on the rink conditions in Bridgeport …
“It looks very good. The ice actually is very nice and it's pretty cold, so it's a hard rink. I like that. We enjoyed playing in the TD Garden last weekend, it was an unbelievable experience, and I think that this prepared us for what we have come in this weekend, especially with a lot of our fans that are going to be in the building and Quinnipiac is very close so we know that they'll have fans coming as well.”
Seyfert on what this means for Merrimack …
“This season as a whole, like I touched on previously, I've been here for five years and all I've ever wanted to see is this school be put on the map again. The season as a whole has been something that has been very special for our school and our program and moving forward, we look for this to be the standard now. We look to be in this position every single year”
Ben Brar on the matchup with Quinnipiac …
“It looks like it's gonna shape up to be a defensive battle. Their goaltender is obviously one of the best in the country, but we have all the confidence in the world in the two goalies we have on our squad. We just know we can match up well with anybody anytime we get on the ice and we have the confidence we can beat any team in the country.”
QU coach Rand Pecknold on losing in the ECAC semifinal last weekend …
“We addressed it. We played poorly, and we didn’t manage it well. We were flat and just struggled to get out of our way. We needed to reset and move on and not dwell on it. You have to give Colgate credit too, they played great.
