Boston College Athletics
Boston College Press Conference Transcript _ March 26 2016
HEAD COACH JERRY YORK
JUNIOR GOALTENDER THATCHER DEMKO
SENIOR FORWARD TEDDY DOHERTY
Opening Statement
YORK: “I used to be a student-athlete once! It went by quickly I guess. We are so excited. But before I talk about the game and stuff, and I have said this before because we have been in Worcester a number of times, I think the combination of the facility, Holy Cross and how they just take over the tournament and really add something to it. With the details, they have done so well. I think Sandy and the crew at the DCU center has made this a first class operation. We have been here several times and it is always the same feeling that we are going to come to Worcester and we are going to be treated very well and it is going to be a popular spot for people to come. The Crusaders have treated us very, very well. And like I said, I have been to a lot of regionals over the years and this certainly is what I would consider one of the top venues and places to go so, hats off the city of Worcester, the DCU center and all the people from Holy Cross. Our team, we are so excited. The Frozen Four is an objective for us, every year when I have been at BC I have always thought, let’s get to that Frozen Four. And the more you get there, the more opportunities you have to collect some hardware and it’s hard to go once and win it once. It is hard to go twice and win it twice, but when you start going a number of times, you are going to win a lot of trophies and we have always had excellent teams and excellent players to bring with us to the regionals to get us to the Frozen Four and this year is just the same, I think we have a whole locker room full of guys that have played hockey the right way and they are very talented, they are very skilled and a hard working club. You don’t have to win every game, but you have to win the right games as you go through here and this certainly was the right game for us tonight. I thought Duluth was outstanding, Scotty Sandelin has done a terrific job with the program. I remember I went there about over 10 years ago and they were a shell of what they are now and I went to pizza afterwards with Scott, he was telling me about his plans with Duluth and it seemed so hard then but he’s had a national championship with Duluth and he’s had teams like tonight that have been some of the best in college hockey. So for us to get to Tampa, we had to go through a very well coached team with a lot of good players on that team, so I am very proud of what has happened.
On the forecheck in the game:
YORK: “Well I thought their forecheck gave us a lot of problems, we didn’t give up a lot of chances off their forecheck but possession time and that is very difficult to stay in your end for a long time. I thought on the other end that our forecheck was better tonight than it was last night so these types of games, two good teams, there are going to be ebbs and flows and there were parts of the game where we were better and there were parts of the game in which Duluth was better. But the forechecks for both teams were pretty effective, I thought.”
On getting back to the frozen four:
YORK: “I think it was one of our objectives and we measure our team by the number of trophies we win, not necessarily how many games we win we are successful in those trophy games and now we have a chance to win another one. I have always liked the regional games because you get a hat and a t-shirt and I think that is important. I picked that up from Bill Belichick who is always talking about these things as a hat t-shirt game so we started using that about ten years ago. And we kind of look forward to those types of hats. It was an interesting game because all of a sudden we were 3-0 and not coasting but we could see the end and with an eye bat it changes and it’s 3-2 and now to make it even more interesting there’s six on five, then we take a penalty so it is six on four. So we had to win this one.”
On Duluth being a chippy team:
YORK: “I don’t think they were chippy at all. I think they were physical but I would not classify them as chippy.”
On Duluth being a very physical team:
YORK: “Well I think they have to be in big games, you know we have taken a lot of penalties this year during the course of the season. We have always tried to stress the fact that, less penalties, the more of a chance you have winning the game. Good goaltending and special teams are important and I think we had about four penalties and that is pretty good.”
On the bench being very vocal in their encouragement:
YORK: “Well I think small things win hockey games. Like we can talk about winning face-offs as one thing but blocking shots is very very important. You know, it hurts, the puck is hard and I think you need encouragement when you block the shot. The whole bench gets excited like a good hard back check. So things that might not be noticed as much by stat sheets, like you know it’s not a goal, it’s not an assist, it’s not a highlight reel goal. But it is important to us. And we did block an awful lot of shots tonight and that is important to us. And no broken ankles, which is even more important to us.”
On forwards having big defensive plays in the last two games:
YORK: “That is how you win games, you have to play crunch time and have some clutch plays and I think we did throw up the line tonight. We only played Ted probably nine forwards, a majority of the game. We got a fourth line up a few different times but that is a lot of ice time. With the two-minute time outs, three different times in the period though that really helps us. We have a lot of good players, I like this team. Talent wise, and I have grown to really like them and how they’ve become part of a team. The idea to get the egos out of the locker room is very very important in my perspective and I think we have a lot of good players that leave that ego behind and just become Eagles. That is the thing that I think helps win games.
On starting off strong and but letting other teams creep back:
YORK: “They would never come back if Watertown High School, but we schedule good teams and we play in tournaments and they are going to make plays and they are going to be good. Not all good players are at BC there are a lot of other good players and good coaches.”
On Teddy Doherty stepping up this year:
YORK: “He has been a really pleasant surprise because he hasn’t played a ton for us over his career, at least not in key situations and this year as a captain he took it upon himself to improve his game in all different parts and he has helped us on defense, he has helped us as a forward. He is a firey guy. He is small in stature, but he really is a dynamite leader for us.”
On playing a somewhat familiar team in the Frozen Four:
YORK: “I just like to be playing. We will play where we play but we have a lot of pride in Hockey East. So far we have one team from Hockey East in the frozen four now, so it would certainly be a great boost in our league if we can get one more in the Frozen Four but Lowell has got a very difficult opponent in Quinnipiac.”
On having success in Worcester for regionals in the past:
YORK: “I told Rose (Shea) a little bit earlier, we are 14 and 1 here now so I think I’ll keep on coming back here.”
On having some members on the team that has been to the Frozen Four before:
YORK: “Yeah one of the real benefits of going to the frozen four, and we have had the chance to go to a lot of them, is that there is a carry over. You get better. You go to big bowl games and you just get better. You get more practices and more games under big lights and a big stage, so I think that’ll help us for sure.”
On the final sequence:
DEMKO: “I haven’t been able to watch the replay of it but it kind of went by really quick. I know the puck was shot and it hit our defenseman in front and kind of bounced right near the goal in there and I kind of just dove back. I might have got a piece of it and then I think Austin Cangelosi came down and swatted it away before any Duluth players could get a stick on it, so it was probably inches, centimeters, away from making it over the line. But all the guys came back and made sure that it didn’t, so it was a good play for us.”
On the plays that (Adam) Gilmour and (Chris) Calnan made that allowed Teddy Doherty to finish the two plays:
DOHERTY: “Obviously, their forecheck was a point of emphasis tonight, get in on their bigger D and make them make plays. Gilmour made a heck of a play between his legs and then just tried to put it on net, and luckily it went on. Calhan was the lone guy in the forecheck and I think he threw it in front and then just helped it onto my skate there and it went in. But the forecheck was good tonight. I think it was a little better than it was last night, so it was great to get that going.”
On what/if anything was communicated by the refs on the last play that went into review:
DOHERTY: “Yeah, they were pretty clear about it. They just said, ‘If it’s not a goal, the game’s over and if it is a goal, then time will go back on the clock.’ I actually just watched the replay and its way closer than people thought it was - it was right there, it had a good chance at it, so credit to (Austin) Cangelosi for getting the puck out.”
On what it means to him to have scored two goals:
DOHERTY: “It’s great but I really wanted to go to Tampa - just to extend the season by two weeks, being able to practice in Conte Forum again is something that I value way more than the two goals. Maybe in a few years, I’ll look back at it, but right now, in the moment, getting to Tampa was the team’s main objective since day one and we’re lucky we get to practice in Conte for another week and a half here.”
On the physicality of the game and if there was talk among the players about not getting baited into anything:
DOHERTY: “Yeah, for sure. The NCHC is a very physical league and we expected that coming into the game. That being said, we weren’t going to back down from anything. If it got chippy, we were going to get chippy back. I think we did a good job not retaliating tonight, maybe a penalty or two. But we did a good job matching their physicality and that was big for us.”
On how important it is to him as captain to get back to the Frozen Four:
DOHERTY: “Yeah, it’s everything. You go to day one and there’s a million thoughts in your head and you have to focus in the moment. Coming in this weekend, we had a lot of believability within our team. We have the best goalie in the country for sure and, with that, anything can happen. I’m so proud of our team. I’m proud of the upperclassmen for getting us through this and it’s going to be another great experience going down to Florida.”
On being a Massachusetts kid and it being potentially one of his last games in a Boston College uniform:
DOHERTY: “Yeah, you definitely think about it. But the guys rallied around me and they made sure it wasn’t going to be the last game for us. I’m very proud of the team and we’re really excited to get down to Tampa.”
On Teddy’s ability to fill in any role he is expected to play, especially as captain:
DEMKO: “Yeah, I think that’s probably Teddy’s best attribute for sure. He’s a team first guy - there’s no doubt about that. Whatever coach wants him to do, he’s going to do it. Like he said earlier in this press conference, he doesn’t care about the two goals; he just wants to get to Tampa and that couldn’t be more true just though his actions. Like you said, he’s a huge leader for us. He just leads by example and the guys really look up to him and he sets the tone for our team.”
