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NCAA MEN'S FROZEN FOUR

April 9, 2016

Tampa Bay, Florida

North Dakota - 5, Quinnipiac - 1

MODERATOR: We're joined by eight-time NCAA champion North Dakota, head coach Brad Berry, Drake Caggiula, Gage Ausmus and Cam Johnson. Coach, an opening statement.

COACH BERRY: First of all, I want to congratulate Rand Pecknold and his team from Quinnipiac. Tremendous year. Set a lot of goals in front of them and they attained an unbelievable year as far as getting to the Frozen Four here again. And we want to congratulate him and his staff and his team.

The city of Tampa Bay and the Amalie Arena for having us here in Tampa. Great hosts, professionally done, and treated us great here.

And last but not least, the three guys to my right and the rest of the guys in the locker room of digging in hard every single day since we started, believing it, earning it and finally now raising it.

MODERATOR: Questions for student-athletes.

Q. Drake, I wanted to get your comments on Brock's play tonight. He had four assists and particularly that shorthanded goal seemed to be a turning point in the game.
DRAKE CAGGIULA: He's been a special player for us all season long. And big players come through in big games. And he definitely stepped up today. He's a hell of a player, hell of a kid. And it was an honor to play on his line all season long. He makes things happen out there and he definitely took charge today.

Q. Cam, why did you want Brandon on the ice, specifically?
CAM JOHNSON: Well, obviously it's kind of an emotional weekend for me. And I wanted to get a picture with him and the championship trophy because without him and without my family, I wouldn't be here where I am today. So that was a very special moment for me today.

Q. Drake, did you guys talk about at the second period like coming out, the game was still on the line 2-1 and you guys still seemed to ratchet it up a notch or two the beginning of that third period to put the game away, did you talk about that?
DRAKE CAGGIULA: During the intermission we talked about keeping the foot on the gas. We came out and I think we put the gas full throttle there. We wanted to get the next goal. We wanted to push back and make it as hard for them as possible. We got two early goals there. From there we just kept rolling and rolling. We had the momentum all in our favor and we just -- we executed our game plan to perfection there.

Q. Drake, can you just talk a little bit about ending the title drought for UND. You guys have been waiting a long time for this night?
DRAKE CAGGIULA: It's a special night not only for us but for all the people that have put work into the program, all the guys that have played before us, all the coaches that came before us, and anyone that's helped build this program up to where it is now. It's not just for this team, it's for all those people. It's for all those fans. It's a 16-year drought, but it's finally coming back to North Dakota. And it's a special feeling, not just for our team, but it's a special feeling for everyone that follows our team.

Q. You've got a real great scoring streak going on, and it's gone all through the playoffs. And also you've really excelled in the third period all season long. Can you talk about kind of rising to the occasion when it's most important?
GAGE AUSMUS: I think being the senior, it's my job to lead. And all season long my line has just been trying to drive the bus and trying to lead in the right direction. And we've been doing that for a long time now. It's been special.

And as for the third period, our line always says the third period has got to be the best period, whether we're up or down, we need to keep pushing and pushing. And our line always talks about our third period's our best period. And I think we take pride in that, and that's why you can see our third period results.

Q. Drake, talk about becoming the eighth North Dakota player to win the Most Outstanding Award for the Frozen Four?
DRAKE CAGGIULA: It's a special feeling. It may be an individual award, but you don't win it by yourself. My teammates have been there. All four years. It's not just this year. It's been four years. They've helped me grow as a person and as a player.

And to win that award, it's a special thing for me, but I couldn't be there without my teammates and my coaches and family and all my friends, whoever supports me. So it's an individual award, but at the same time it's from everyone else as well.

Q. Gage, what's the feeling after 20 minutes? You obviously build the two-goal lead and late in the period they get one. How does the team feel after the first?
GAGE AUSMUS: I felt after the first, had a great period. We had a great period. And I felt they had the momentum at the end of it a little bit just because of that last goal. We had to get the message across that we had to keep chugging. It was a great period, and we had to remember that and keep with our game there.

Q. Cam, you let the first two shots of the season into the net after -- and a third one actually, but it was overturned. What was that like after starting -- after the way your freshman year went to start like that?
CAM JOHNSON: (Laughing) I guess it's not about how you start, it's about how you finish. (Laughter).

DRAKE CAGGIULA: Good answer.

Q. Gage, can you talk about the third period historically? You guys have gone for a long time, if you're leading after two periods, you tend to win?
GAGE AUSMUS: Yeah, it's a mindset in the locker room. You come in after the second period, like Drake said, his line has -- the third period has to be their best period, and I believe that's the whole team. It has to be our best period every game, whether we're up or whether we're down.

So that's been a huge goal for our team is to have a good third period and close out games like that, and obviously we weren't going to let that one slip by us tonight.

Q. Drake, looked like you maybe backed off a little bit with five or six minutes to go. There was a shift there where you had a shot lined up from the right side of the faceoff dot and you started moving it around instead of going for the third goal.
DRAKE CAGGIULA: My linemates gave me some crap for that one. They said make sure you score for the hat trick. And I saw Boeser there, and I wanted to get him a goal. But I probably should have shot that one. But I don't think our team ever let up. It was just, I think, that was just a bonehead play by me.

Q. Offensively you guys knew what they had coming into this game. Question is for Gage on the defensive side. What do you do best to be able to contain that attack for the whole 60 minutes, do you think?
GAGE AUSMUS: Our defense starts with our forwards. Our forwards backtracking, tracking, making them chip the puck and not carry it in the zone so we can hold lines. That's what we've been trying to do all year is hold lines, make teams chip it in and make them go get it. And it's worked out for us well this season.

Q. Drake, kind of a special day. Dave Hakstol got his Flyers in the playoffs today with a big win today so it must be a big day in North Dakota?
DRAKE CAGGIULA: We've been following him all season long. He's been following us all season long. I don't know if you saw his interview during the game, but he said, go Sioux, in it.

And it's a special thing when an alumni like that reaches out and sends us -- he's been sending us text messages and messages all along the year. He helped build this team. He's been there up until just this past season. But he helped build this program. He's got a huge part of this program, and this national championship is also for him.

Q. Back in Minneapolis after the Frozen Four you talked about learning important lessons from the way Duluth exploded for three goals against you early in the second. You also talked about learning lessons from letting your foot off the gas at the start of the third against Denver last night. Can you talk about how those lessons maybe contributed to tonight's win?
GAGE AUSMUS: Obviously the Denver game, it was a little scary for a little bit. They came back and scored two goals, one going off my stick in the net to tie it up. And that's something we don't want to do is give up a lead like that, especially in the third period.

So thankfully, with those lessons we learned throughout the season, we were able to keep our foot on the pedal and keep going tonight.

Q. Drake, you're an undrafted NHL free agent. Is that the thing that's perhaps fueled your drive to become better and better and just a little extra for you?
DRAKE CAGGIULA: Yeah, I guess every game is pretty much like a tryout. You've got to go out there and prove yourself, but at the same time that's separate from what you're doing here. It's on the side -- you worry about your team, you worry about what the main goal is, and the main goal is to win a national championship.

I haven't once all season long thought about where I wanted to sign or anything else. I focused on these guys right here next to me and the guys in the locker room. That's the main focus. It's been that all year long. Now is the time where you can kind of sit back and think about your future.

But while you're at school, while you're with this program, you only think about this program. And it's a special place. I can see it in everyone. It's not just me. It's everyone that's part of this program, they focus on the program only and the task at hand.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Questions for Coach.

Q. Brad, you built all that momentum in the first maybe 15 minutes, then it all changes right at the end of the first period. Crazy first period, but what's your message to your team after 20 minutes?
COACH BERRY: Stay with it. Stay with our game plan, stay with it. I thought we got into some penalty trouble in the first part of the game. That's tough. It gets you out of your momentum. You gotta kill penalties against a great power play in Quinnipiac.

And our guys stuck with it. They dug in, found a way to get through it. Biggest part was getting on the rails again. And, again, it goes to the leadership in the locker room, the three guys beside me right here. And, again, I can't say enough about our leadership group.

Q. Can you just talk about Drake's contribution? Sets a record for plus-minus, just all kinds of clutch performances. What makes him so successful?
COACH BERRY: You heard him. The personal side, when you talk about maybe he should have shot for the hat trick goal or sign a pro contract here and there, it's not about that. It's about the team. He puts the team first. That's what makes him so successful. It just permeates through our group. If he does it, everybody else does it.

And, again, he's a great young man and extremely proud of him, and I'm going to sadly miss him out of our program here. But he'll always be a part of the family.

Q. You became the first coach as a rookie to ever win the national championship. Can you talk about that accomplishment?
COACH BERRY: First of all, I feel very uncomfortable talking about that because, again, it's not about me. I feel blessed and fortunate to be in this position. I've been here for 10 years, and now I'm the head coach. Nothing changes for me. I'm part of a special group and a special family here at North Dakota. And it's about these young men here in the locker room that put it on the line every night in a game and come to work every single day to the Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Q. The drought is done, the monkey is off your back. How does it feel to get that out of the way or get that done?
COACH BERRY: It feels great. We openly talk about winning championships and trying to be the best that we can be every single day. And to finally complete that and do that, it's an accolade or a team award that we'll cherish for a long time.

As much as this group is going to enjoy it, I think the city of Grand Forks, the state of North Dakota, the University of North Dakota, the athletic department, the Ralph Engelstad family, they'll all enjoy it. It's long overdue, and I'm glad finally we can do that. I'm glad we didn't disappoint our fans that were in the stands tonight. We had a whole slug of them there, and I'm glad we came through for them.

Q. When we talked to you preseason at media day there were two or three names that could start at goaltender coming into this season. Cam Johnson stood out. How important has he been to your success from point A to point Z, so to speak?
COACH BERRY: He's been a huge part of it. Again, like I said, I was in here the last couple of days saying how he got here, and it's through guys like Zane McIntyre before him and Karl Goehring.

By the way, you're drilling me every single day about do you think you have a goaltender there. Well, I think we proved ourselves that we have a goaltender here, and again we're extremely proud of him.

Q. Rand Pecknold described your first line as NHL-esque. What makes them so difficult to defend do you think?
COACH BERRY: Everybody gets caught up in the offensive side of the game as far as their skill. You know what? They have NHL skills. They have special skills. But the intangible is their work ethic away from the puck. I keep harping on this, and Gage alluded to how we play.

The one change we did this year as far as get our forward group into working back through the neutral zone. The everyday pluggers will do that, but sometimes the skill guys won't. Our skill guys did that every single day. The whole team bought into what we were doing. And, again, it's the workman-like mentality, whatever it takes for the team.

Q. Coming out of the second period and going into the third, you really exploded at the first part of the third period. What did you say to the team before you guys went out there, 20 minutes from a national championship?
COACH BERRY: What we found is, like I said, our play got disrupted by taking a few undisciplined penalties. We addressed that. No more. No more penalties. If we did that, then we'd be okay rolling four lines and getting back into our play.

I thought after we killed those penalties towards the middle of the second, end of the second, we got rolling to their end of the rink and started protecting pucks down low, making them defend a little bit. And we got some opportunities in their end of the rink.

I think we caught fire. We knew that was the recipe for success, was to stay out of the penalty box, make sure we play a 200-foot game and grind them down a little bit low.

I want to thank the NCAA for doing a great job this year. They did an unbelievable job as far as the preparation here, and, again, we're grateful to be here and we're excited.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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