Don Lucia Quotes (27 Quotes)

And I can assure you of one thing They will have the home-ice advantage as far as the crowd.

I think that's his growth, his maturity. I think he's just more relaxed as a person and a player right now than he was a couple months ago.

If you came into our dressing room and watched him, you would think he's a fifth-line player, not one of the best players. He will handle the spotlight with class, but he doesn't search for the spotlight. He's humble. He would rather blend in with the crowd.

I thought we moved the puck well, and Kellen was there when we needed him. We had some nice goals.

I don't think there's been a player who has come into college hockey with the same pressures he's had in a long time, with the draft and the expectations. But I think he's handled it remarkably well and I think he's starting to settle in now.

For whatever the reason the last three weeks we didn't play very well. I shouldn't say very well, but we lost the emotion. This time of the year, you need to feel emotion.

The reality of the game was what happened last night. Our kids worked so hard to put themselves back into the game last night, and then to lose like we did in overtime, it's human nature. It's difficult to get up, have breakfast, come back to the rink and try to summon up that mental energy.

You could see the difference in him yesterday in practice. He was focused. I thought it was the best, most focused practice he's had in a month.

It's going to be a big boost for Boston University. They had a lot of tradition, but let's face it They needed a new building.

I think that the one thing you know in our league is that I don't care who you play. You go on the road, it's a tough series. And our guys know that. Last year we lost to Anchorage up there 3-2. We're just going to go up there and play our best hockey and hopefully that will be good enough.

It was such a strange first period. We were down 3-0 and shots were 20-something to 7 and we were losing. But that's hockey.

I don't know if it was nerves or what, but we were a little tentative at first. We had a lot of young guys in a difficult situation.

First of all, I would like to congratulate Holy Cross. I thought they played terrific.

I don't think there's a better tournament in the country including the Frozen Four, with the atmosphere and the fans and the teams.

There are a lot of holiday tournaments. The days of getting all premier teams don't happen anymore.

We've played very well in Grand Forks . I think there's a comfort level there. We know the facility. We're not going to a facility we've never been to. We don't have a long travel distance. That part of it doesn't matter. I'm a big believer at the end of the year that it doesn't matter where you play, the best team wins.

He has proven that at tournament time, he elevates his game.

With the year that Ryan had, I can fully understand that he feels ready for the next level. He has elevated his play in each year that he has been at the University of Minnesota.

I like our team I like our chances. It's a fun time of year. The players have worked awfully hard to get to this point. There are a lot of teams, including the two-time defending national champions, that aren't even in it. We're looking forward to taking our swing.

He'll also get some time on the blue line.

The bottom line is Craig went out on his terms and he should do so with his head held high. It's better to go out too soon in this business than too late.

He says he feels better today than he did at any time last year. So we should be real deep up front.

That's what you have to have, your best players have to be your best players this time of year.

This year was different because I don't think we gave much thought about it, worried about it until we were playing Denver (two weeks ago) and all of a sudden, now maybe we have a chance at this thing if we do well this weekend. Then we swept Denver and a

I'm just surprised at the timing a little bit. The bottom line is, I just hope the people of St. Cloud can appreciate what a great job Craig did in ushering St. Cloud into Division I and into the National Hockey Center and increasing attendance from about 2,000 a game.

He has faced a mountain of pressure. And he's handled that amazingly well. But if you ask him, he will tell you that he's been average this season. He has very, very high expectations.

I'm proud of our team to be able to find a way to win. Their top-end guys were on the ice for almost the entire five-minute power play, so fatigue may have been a factor late in the game.