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NCAA MEN'S FROZEN FOURApril 8, 2015Dean BlaisBrian O'RourkeAustin OrtegaDominic ZomboBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Omaha as they are participating in the Frozen Four for the first time and will take on Providence. COACH BLAIS: Well, certainly glad that these guys brought me here, and all the credit goes to them and the hard work that they did over the years, and definitely gained confidence in the Midwest Regional by getting here through Harvard and RIT and all set to go. AUSTIN ORTEGA: It's been going good so far. Obviously it's the first time for most of us except for our coach here, and we're taking it all in. I know everything is exciting right now, and it's just everyone is treating us well and it's a great moment and we can't wait for our game tomorrow. BRIAN O'ROURKE: Yeah, obviously the boys are excited to be here. Being able to represent Omaha here in the Frozen Four is quite an honor. Boston has been extremely welcoming thus far, and we're just excited to get things going. DOMINIC ZOMBO: It's pretty surreal to be here in Boston, have the opportunity to play for the Frozen Four. Guys are excited, and we're really looking forward to the game on Thursday. Q. You guys have such a young team, so how vital is it to have a goalkeeper as strong as Ryan Massa? BRIAN O'ROURKE: Obviously Ryan has been a huge key to our success this year. At this point in the season we don't like to call ourselves a young team anymore just because guys have been through the whole season. They've experienced the big games, the big moments, but without Ryan we definitely wouldn't be where we are today. DOMINIC ZOMBO: He's the backbone of our team, single‑handedly won games for us when we needed him. When you're struggling in the game, you know you got Massa back there to back stop ya, and that's a great feeling. AUSTIN ORTEGA: Yeah, I agree with what they both said. He's our best player this week and we've got to help him as much as he helps us. He's stole some games for us this year, and we have to play for him as much as we play for ourselves. COACH BLAIS: Usually when we have a couple goaltenders, we just pull them, so that's why we have a goalie coach. Yeah, he was a superman at the start of the year. He really held us in every game, stopping maybe 15 quality shots. We've reduced that quite a lot, but still, he's the reason why we're here, like the guys said. And he wanted that from the start of the year. He talked about at the end of last year about coming in and having a big‑time year, and he certainly has. Q. Dean, when you have a team and a program that doesn't have the roots that a North Dakota or Boston University has, what do you tell them and what knowledge can you impact from your own visits here? COACH BLAIS: I don't do that. We don't talk about North Dakota all that much. We have at some point, and it's usually this is how you win and here's what we do kind of thing. But we've tried to just have our own identity, and they've paved the way. Obviously we're stepping in a brand‑new arena next year that wouldn't have happened without these guys. Without winning, you can advertise, promote, do whatever you want in the community, and not much happens. But when you start winning, we've gotten unbelievable media attention this last month, and not necessarily getting here, but everything that led up to this. It's kind of like we've arrived. Q. Dean, Massa's path has not come without some challenges. What has it been about him that has been able to stay with it and now get to this point? COACH BLAIS: Well, you know that being in Fargo with Fargo Force, obviously, and he's had a pretty good career coming from Colorado and playing in the USHL and getting a college scholarship, but the league that we're in right now with the seven other members, there's not really time to take a night off or not be at the top of your game. So for Ryan, it's been more mental than probably anything else. He's well‑conditioned obviously, but the mental part of it, and especially playing for me, can you imagine? Dan knows, but we have Leigh Mendelson that works with him every day, and it's not only a volunteer coach. Leigh is there every minute that we're on the ice, and usually volunteer coaches come and go as their schedule allows. He's been really dedicated. And we give Leigh a lot of credit, not only the players but as a staff from top to bottom. Q. Coach, how typical was today's practice compared so sort of an end‑of‑the‑week practice that you would have before any other weekend? COACH BLAIS: Well, the last month we haven't done a whole lot of skating at the end. We usually spend 10 to 15 minutes doing sprints or ladders, whatever you want to call them, so that's pretty much it. We have high‑paced practices. It was kind of short today. We start out the year at two‑hour practices and cut it 15 minutes every month about, so right now it's 45 minutes to an hour, and we get our work in. I don't know what the players think of it. We talk about it, but usually it's show up for practice and you go like heck for 45, 50 minutes, whatever it is, and then you go home. So we don't waste a lot of time on the ice. It's valuable time, but we don't have many drills where you're not going 100 percent. AUSTIN ORTEGA: Like Coach said, usually during the year we get some conditioning in at the end, but lately we haven't been. But even with shorter practices, he emphasizes hard and short, but you don't want to slack off and get bad habits. We're not out there for long, but we want to make sure we're doing everything good, and if we don't, then we're going to end up skating after all. So in the end we've got to make sure that we're getting better and moving the pucks well and communicating and making sure we're scoring. BRIAN O'ROURKE: At this time of the year it's really not about staying out there and beating guys up. We're in good enough shape, we're in game shape, and Coach makes sure of that throughout the season with the skates at the end and keeping things high paced. But at this point, 45 minutes to an hour is plenty of time to be out there and just stressing the little details, making sure that we're sharp, and, like Coach said, getting off the ice. DOMINIC ZOMBO: It's like nothing else. I remember in Juniors when I first committed to UNL, Kevin Hartzell in Sioux Falls was like: You think you do a little bit of skating, wait until next year when you go to college. You're in for it. And truly are. Practices at the beginning of the year are definitely a lot different than practices at the end. We've definitely got in enough skating at the beginning of the year so we can maybe go off a little bit at the end. Q. For you and Austin, describe your experience in Fargo. You have so many Fargo connections on the roster and you know you do, as well. Talk about how that's blossomed on your team. AUSTIN ORTEGA: Yeah, Fargo is a great program. I didn't play for Coach Dean there, but obviously his name is everywhere there, and playing there, everyone knows about Coach Blais and tells you what he expects. That place is a good feeder, obviously, for college hockey, and I know I developed well there, and I got some background on Coach and what he likes and what he doesn't like. I'd say it prepared. Q. Dean, what does he like and what doesn't he like? AUSTIN ORTEGA: Well, I would say he doesn't like screwing around off the ice, that's for sure. He likes when you work hard and you're all business and first‑class pretty much. COACH BLAIS:  Well, I'm going to add to that. It's one of the few times I've had where there hasn't been any off‑ice issues through the whole year. It's been kind of an amazing thing. You read about it and are involved with it in other programs and sports, no issues off the ice. Brian won a national championship in Green Bay and Dominic plays in Sioux Falls for the USHL for those guys. But going back to Fargo, yeah, we built that arena, a $30 million arena, and the next year started a program, got right into the national championship in the first year, and they've done an incredible job there. They've had a tough time the last two years, but it's getting better with their affiliate list and everything. But certainly a great place to play, and I think they were third in the league this year in attendance. Q. Coach, what did you know about Omaha hockey when you first came, and what would you tell someone now about Omaha hockey? COACH BLAIS: Just obviously it wasn't an easy place to build hockey. They've had hockey for a lot of years, but it's got to kind of start in the youth hockey program, and I think with our two sheets of ice it's really going to help develop. Mike Kemp, who is in the back room here, was their first coach and they've only had two coaches in the history of the program. But the one thing that we had right away was interested hockey fans. The Lancers and the Mavericks don't really interfere with each other. We kind of promote each other. Youth hockey, we're going to try to get that going, not only with summer hockey schools but just overall interest in the community, which builds interest in our team. But a good hockey town that's really just kind of starting getting going. Q. Dean, I wonder if you could give us a perspective of what this morning was like for you. There's no guarantee you'll ever get to the Frozen Four, but to see these guys on the ice after the season, what did that mean to you this morning? COACH BLAIS: Well, it meant a lot when we advanced here last weekend when we beat Harvard and RIT in the Regionals. The excitement was just like it had been after winning the national championship. We haven't really talked about here yet to the team, but been here before, knowing that all the hard work that they've done is paying off. The unselfishness with two out of the three captains right here in taking that team. Obviously when you have 17 freshmen and sophomores, for the older guys to step aside and see some of the younger guys be on the power play and penalty kill, this is the ultimate team I've ever had. When the older guys aren't jealous of the younger guys, they take them in, they lead them and they show them how to win. As a coach you take a lot of pride in watching these guys work their magic over the course of a long season. Q. Guys, it feels like this Frozen Four really does have an East‑West feel with the semifinals having both a team from the West and the East play each other. What are your guys' thoughts on that? And as a second question, more for Coach Blais, realignment has really grown the game in a sense, and in your observation how has that reached an impact this year being able to play in one of the new conferences? DOMINIC ZOMBO: It's nice we get to play a team we haven't played before. It's sort of nice in the Regional how we got to play two teams, as well. We're looking forward to playing a team that maybe has a little more home ice advantage than us, but in reality it's the big show for all of us, whether fans are cheering for you or not. You're living in the moment and you get a great opportunity ahead of us. AUSTIN ORTEGA: Yeah, I think it's kind of cool that there's two teams from the West, two from the East. Obviously the East teams, it's a lot closer fore them, but at this point it doesn't really matter. We're all going to have our fans here cheering us on, so it doesn't matter. BRIAN O'ROURKE: Certainly it's a good measuring stick. You want to measure yourself against teams all across the country, and being able to play against a Providence team that we haven't played against yet will be a nice test. On the other side, programs like BU and North Dakota, those are obviously top programs in the country. You want to measure yourself against those guys. But I think our NCAT schedule with how difficult it was throughout the year prepared us for moments like this, and I think we saw that at the Regional in South Bend. COACH BLAIS: Well, I think a lot of this happened when the WCHA and Hockey East had interlocking schedules maybe 25 years ago or whatever the time period was when the identity ‑‑ the East knew the West, the West knew the East, and it was a great thing for hockey and it helped everyone. We've tried to play the Eastern teams as a Western team every year. I've done that at North Dakota and now I'm doing it in Omaha. Our familiarity with Hockey East and the Ivy League and Atlantic has not been that different for me as a coach. I know it is for a lot of schools. A lot of schools like to have more home games than they do away games and all that. We've always been willing to travel, and I think it makes you better at this time of the year. It doesn't matter if we're playing in Omaha or if we're playing in the Boston Garden against the Eastern teams. We're ready to play. We're ready to go. Q. Specifically for Austin and Dom, you guys have a lot of salt and vinegar to your game and you're going up against a team that plays the same way. What is it you're anticipating in tomorrow's game? AUSTIN ORTEGA: We expect them to be physical. We know that they're a shut‑down defensive team. And playing for Blais, he lets us do our thing out there, lets us be creative. So I think just for myself and Dom and all of our players, we all play similar, just outwork them and make plays and get puck to the net, and I think we'll be successful. DOMINIC ZOMBO: We take pride in being one of the hardest working teams in college hockey. And I think you're going up against a good team like Providence, I think that's going to be key. They've got a great goaltender but so do we, and this time of year everybody is good, but we're looking forward to Thursday and we're looking forward to playing the best we can. Q. Coach, for you, a lot has been made about the realignment and other things that have changed, but what's changed on the ice since you took North Dakota? What couple things in the game itself have changed since you took North Dakota to the Frozen Four? COACH BLAIS: Well, some of the rules definitely have changed. The referees have to call the game the way they want it called right now. I still think things are a little bit more defensive around college hockey. There's a lot of coaches now that don't, like they said, give you the freedom to make decisions, and I think championships are made with creativity. Now, maybe this isn't a year for those type of teams. Maybe it is. But I've always coached when the players have an opportunity to either dump the puck in or make plays. Make plays, use your imagination. To dump the puck in all the time and chase and retrieve it, I don't think it's a great game to watch. Yeah, it's one thing to play smart hockey. It's another thing to be creative, and I think older players that have been around will say the same thing. I think we're a fun team to watch. Q. Dean, Austin and Brian, how important has it been to get Dominic back on the ice after being out for so long? COACH BLAIS: I'll answer that. It's everything. He's still not 100 percent, but he gives us so much that you can't buy. It's one thing, leadership starts at the top, starts with the coaches and go right down to your captains, down to the juniors, sophomores and freshmen, and Dominic is our leader, obviously wearing one of the C's with Brian, and we're not the same team without him. When he couldn't be in the lineup, he was out on the ice every day, moving pucks, being part of it, helping the guys out in any way he could. That you can't buy. That's just heart and soul and character. So when he's on the ice, he gives us a lot of inspiration. Sorry, Dominic, you're right at the end of the table. I'm not getting corny or anything, but that's what he means to us. BRIAN O'ROURKE: Yeah, definitely having Dom back in the locker room especially during games has been huge. Like Coach said, he's still a little limited in what he's able to do on the ice, but just having him around the team, even when he was injured, was huge. But having him back in the locker room during games and being out there, he's great at leading by example, and a lot of these younger guys really look up to him. AUSTIN ORTEGA: Yeah, having him back helps our team in any way, like these guys said. He's our leader and he sets the example, and just having him back, it really sets the mood better in the locker room, and it all just makes us play better for each other. Q. Dean, just your impressions of the Providence goalie Jon Gillies? COACH BLAIS: I think he's really‑‑ I shouldn't say athletic. I think he's technical, where he doesn't give you a lot to shoot at. I think Ryan Massa is a little bit more athletic, maybe a little bit better athletically and side to side, but Gillies, if he sees the first shot, he usually stops it. Our thinking with that is we've got to get rebounds, we've got to get tip‑ins, we've got to shoot through legs and get ugly goals if that's what it takes. We're prepared for him. It's just that he's a good goaltender, we're going to have to work extra hard to get the puck in the net. Q. Austin, 11 game‑winning goals this year. What's been clicking at the right time to get you kind of on the score sheet when it matters most? AUSTIN ORTEGA: I think being put in the right opportunity has helped a lot. A lot of it is luck, also, being in the right place at the right time, and obviously I've just been fortunate enough this year to be able to get 11 game‑winning goals. I don't know, I just think it's something that's cool, and obviously it's something that can help the team. I don't know, that's all I really have to say about that. COACH BLAIS: I can describe a little bit of it. Austin, one of his best assets is his ability to think and come up with loose pucks around the net, and he gets there. Some players, no matter how hard they try, they can't seem to get in the right place at the right time, and if the game is on the line, you want the puck on Austin's stick. He can score a lot of different ways. He doesn't want to give himself a lot of credit. He'll give his linemates credit when asked at other times. Jake Guentzel, the left winger, has been changed at times. Last year Josh Archibald played with Dominic and Jake Guentzel, and Austin found a way to get his game‑winning goals this year. A lot of players will play four years and not get 11 game‑winning goals. Q. Can you relate to that, Dean? COACH BLAIS: No, I was never a scorer. Although my name is on one of those pages as leading the tournament in scoring. I'll take that. Q. For those people who are unfamiliar with your program, what do you want them to know about UNL hockey? AUSTIN ORTEGA: We're a new program. Obviously this is our first time here in the Frozen Four. We just got our first win in the tournament last weekend or two weekends ago. But I'd say for someone that doesn't know that we're someone on the rise. Obviously we can do something great here this weekend. We have great coaching, great staff all around, and getting the new rink is huge for our program. Obviously we're getting good recruits coming in. We're just going to continue to get better and better here in the next years. BRIAN O'ROURKE: Yeah, certainly like Austin said, this program is up and coming, and for the people that don't know about UNL hockey, we're hoping that weekends like this will help get the word out. Coach mentioned it earlier, winning is the best way to do that. I think if we could pick one thing for people to know about this team, it's a hard‑working bunch of guys, and I think that comes from the top, from the coaching staff. They really instill that in the players, and I think they will for years to come. Q. Dom, how was the send‑off? DOMINIC ZOMBO: It was awesome. It was really something special to see all the buzz in the city and see all the fans come support you. You can't thank them enough, and we look forward to seeing them in the stands tomorrow. Q. Coach, I wanted to ask about having North Dakota here on the opposite side of the bracket. What goes through your mind having so many ties there and seeing so many friends here, as well? COACH BLAIS: A couple things. One is it would be nice to play them. That means we beat Providence. The other thing is we've had close games with North Dakota, especially this year. It's been overtime, shootout, one‑goal games. They're a good hockey team, and we seem to match up well with them. We'd be happy playing anyone. We are happy to be here, and this obviously being our first time here, we're going to take advantage of it, but we're not backing down a bit. We're going to put our best effort forward. Q. When people think of traditional hockey markets, they tend to think of Minnesota and North Dakota and Michigan, out in the West. What is it about Omaha or Nebraska that gives you the chance to differentiate yourselves as a hockey area in terms of coming here to the Frozen Four and in terms of really getting your moment this weekend here in Boston? BRIAN O'ROURKE: Like you said, I think people definitely when they think of hockey markets in the West, they think of Minnesota and Michigan, Wisconsin even, you could throw that in there. But right now I think Omaha is really putting themselves on the map. If you look at where Omaha is located, it's a good central location for players to come from all over the country. I know that was one of the big factors of how me and Dominic ended up at UNO. It's close to home, and it's an up‑and‑coming program playing against the top competition week in and week out. I think weekends like this really help put Omaha on the map in terms of a hockey city. AUSTIN ORTEGA: Yeah, Omaha is not really huge on hockey. I'd say in the last couple years, now it's really growing. I know that there's a lot of youth programs that are going around. Us being here is helping us a lot with hockey. I say that it's really showing everyone that hockey is a great sport, and it's really intriguing more people every day. Q. Coach, did you invite Warren Buffett? COACH BLAIS: Warren is not really a hockey fan. He graduated from Lincoln, but we see him around now and then, and that's a perfect question about hockey in the United States for Dave Fischer and how it's growing. He can recite numbers, but we have California and two St.Louis here, but we've got more players coming up from all over the country, Alaska, Phoenix, Arizona, all over, so it's really growing. DOMINIC ZOMBO: I mean, I think when people think of Nebraska, they might think of Creighton basketball or Lincoln football, and I think that it's about time that people start recognizing Omaha as a hockey city, and we're trying to put our name on the map. Q. Dean, excuse me for again referring to the past, but bear with me again on this question. 1997, Milwaukee at that time, you said in your third year that team at UND was ahead of the pace in terms of trying to win a national championship. How about this program, this team, this year? Where are you pacing when you first took the job in Omaha? COACH BLAIS: Yeah, that's a good comparison because I can recall those sophomores that were on the team, Jason Blake and Hoogsteen, Ian Kallay were all sophomores, we had 10 of them, and this team is similar with now about 10 freshmen and eight sophomores, whatever that may be. I don't even keep track of knowing then. But certainly a young team that has done great things, and that '97 team, when they graduated, they were better as juniors and even better as seniors and didn't win. They won when they all graduated the following year. So you never know when this can happen. But certainly this program is kind of at that point right now where we're ready to go, and great things happen for our hockey team. Q. Were you a Ducks or Kings fan? AUSTIN ORTEGA: Kings fan. It's hard to be a fan right now because I don't think they're going to make the Playoffs. But, yeah, I've been a fan all my life, and I get to games as much as possible. Q. Hard to be a fan? They've just won a couple Stanley Cups. AUSTIN ORTEGA: I have hope for them. Q. Dom, considering where you're at right now looking at the injury that plagued you towards the end of the season, what's it like to be sitting in this position? DOMINIC ZOMBO: It's unbelievable. I'm incredibly blessed for the team to be able to play and win without me, and to have this opportunity to play on this big stage is like nothing else. My senior year, I couldn't go out any better. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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