Mike Kemp Quotes (20 Quotes)

He played both ends of the ice very solidly and very consistently. You don't replace the kind of production you get from a player like Bill Thomas you just hope the rest of the team can step up. He is certainly a one of a kind player.

It's certainly not the way we wanted our first venture into the NCAA tournament to turn out, but it is what it is. My hat's off to Boston University, I thought they did an excellent job in every phase of the game.

They're a great hockey team, so it's going to be a challenge. Obviously, we both ended up tied in the league for a reason. We're both very similar hockey teams in ability and it will be a challenge to go in there... Winning four games on somebody else's ice in a season is a challenge.

At some point, for our program's sake in recruiting and image, you have to show you can be a player on the national scene. This is one of the steppingstones we had to make.

You can't diminish the contribution (Kaufmann) made tonight. Northern really turned the tables between the first and second period We were hemmed in our zone a lot, so he saw a lot of action down there and under the pressure he stood up very well.

We've been aiming for this day for a long time since the inception of the program back in 1996-97. So nine years in, we're very proud of the fact that our program has reached a level in which our team is one of the last 16 competing in the nation. For us, that's a very big step.

He's phenomenal. You bring a player of this talent and, in general, a lot of times they've already reached their peak. He's not one of those kinds of players he just continues to improve.

We're a pretty good goal-scoring team, top to bottom. Parse is the high profile guy, but we've got a group of gifted scorers.

It's getting everybody there. You know We had to work on flights, and all the buses and everything else. But I think we got it worked out, and now it's just a case where you can focus on what's really important -- winning hockey games.

He's the best player in the country. He deserves it.

He's a special kind of player. He combines the grit and toughness with a skill level that's outstanding. He give us a player that's among the best in the country.

Obviously, we're taking away a lot of positives for the season. We've got a national scoring leader, conference player of the year and we're one of the top scoring teams in the nation. I think we're seeing a constant improvement in this team. The way the season ended doesn't diminish what the accomplishments were this year.

It was good to get some breathing room. Anytime you've got a one-goal lead against a team that's as offensively explosive as Bowling Green, you're never real comfortable. With the amount of firepower they have up front they can score at any time.

Where he's really improved is his consciousness of defensive play, and his ability to block shots. He's getting pucks out of our zone. He gets pucks in deep. His consciousness of playing team defense has improved dramatically.

This to us is a gratifying accomplishment to be here. But it's certainly not the culmination of what we feel is our season, or the culmination of what we are hoping to do as a program. This is just the start. We talked about this after the selection show. It's great to have the opportunity to compete in the national tournament and be here to play. But frankly for us, it's one step in what we hope is a longer stay in the tournament.

You wanted the win and you wanted to put last weekend behind us and get that taste out of our mouths. You wanted to get back to playing successful hockey.

It would be huge for the program to get the national recognition. It would signal that we get the best players in the country coming to UNO.

Over the course of my career there's been many that have been memorable...without reservation, the most memorable night I've ever had coaching was not winning the National Championship, that was a great night. But it probably was the night we played Bowling Green and won here to go to the Joe in our first year of our program.

It's going to be a big David and Goliath match-up. You look at the tradition and history of their program. They've been in the tournament twenty-some times, and their coach (Jack Parker) has been one of the greatest coaches in college hockey since I've been able to shave.

A symbol of 20 guys going out all for the same reason. Individual medals become one.