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NCAA MEN'S FROZEN FOURApril 11, 2019Nate LeamanJacob BrysonKasper BjorkqvistBuffalo, New York Minnesota Duluth-4, Providence-1 THE MODERATOR: Questions for the players. Q. The five-on-three, was there a concern after that knowing that could be a momentum turner? KASPER BJORKQVIST: I don't think so. I think right after that five-on-three, we got some good O zone shifts. Wilkins had a half open net, the puck bounced off his backhand. Obviously that changed the game because you got to score in these games when you get a five-on-three. Just. Look at the game, that's probably that and the fact that we didn't really get a push at the end with the goalie. Those were the two things why we weren't able to score in the third, yeah. Q. Jacob, on the five-on-three, could you feel it on the bench when you didn't score, did it take a little bit out of you? You've played three years now at Providence. Are you looking to sign with the Sabres? JACOB BRYSON: To answer the first one, like Kasper said, I guess it kind of hurt us a little bit. As a team we expect to score on those five-on-threes. We work on those in practice. There's a good chance and opportunity for the team to score. I think, like he said, we had a few good O zone shifts after that, so it didn't hurt us. Maybe a little bit on the bench. We were positive, stuck with it, got after it. On the second question, I'm really not focused on that right now. I'm so excited how my team played tonight, how we've been over the season. We came so far, did such a great job. That's really what I'm focused on right now. Q. Reflect on the run you had here in the NCAAs, just making it to the Frozen Four, the success you were able to have before this game. KASPER BJORKQVIST: I think just making the NCAA tournament tells us about what kind of program Providence College is right now. Big thanks to Mr. Driscoll, the AD of the school, Coach Leaman, who has done a great job with the hockey team, and everyone who supports the program. In my eyes, I think we're the hottest college hockey program right now, even though right now it stings, it hurts. As you probably can tell, I'm a Finnish native, I don't speak English, so it's hard to find words that are suitable for this position right now. It's just been an honor for this whole year to be part of a great team and be able to go so far and play in this right now. JACOB BRYSON: To add off of that, it just shows how special Providence as a program is to make it the three years that Kasper and I were, made it to the tournament every year. This was our first experience in the Frozen Four, it was unbelievable. That shows you how good our program is. That's a big reason why Kasper and I chose this place, because we wanted to win. I'm happy with our group this year. We had such a dynamic group of individuals. Even though we're young, shows you how far we got under Coach Leaman's wing, he did a great job of coaching us and being hard on us every day in practice to get us to this point. THE MODERATOR: Guys, we'll let you go. Thanks very much. Congratulations on a great year. We'll continue on with questions for Coach Leaman. Q. Can you reflect on what the two kids sitting next to you have done for this program through three years. NATE LEAMAN: Well, I mean, it's not only them, it's our seniors. I thought they carried the flag very well. I think when they came into our program, they chose our program because we had been to the NCAA tournament, we had one national championship. But those are high standards to live by. I think what they learned is they chose it for a reason, but then you come in and it's difficult to live by those standards. Those guys, they carried the flag for us. They've been great since they've been freshmen. They had an unbelievable opportunity and they made the most of it. Just very proud of them. Very thankful that you recruit guys like that, that are that good of kids and that good of hockey players. You're a pretty lucky coach. Q. The five-on-three, what was that in terms of the momentum swing for the game? NATE LEAMAN: It did swing momentum. I'm not going to lie to you. It did. We had a couple really good looks. Duhy fed the one cross ice to Tyce that was well played. Then Conway got the puck. We had the quick two-on-one at the net front. He tried to go short side. It thought we had two really good looks. On the five-on-three, we didn't win the faceoffs. The faceoff, that was the big weakness of us in the game, the faceoffs were 40-22. We were chasing the puck too much, particularly in the third. After they scored, they won some good D zone faceoffs. Then we just gave them too much time off those faceoffs. We weren't on our toes after we lost it. I thought the faceoffs were something that we struggled in throughout the game. They've always been a good faceoff team. But the couple shifts after the five-on-three we had some good shifts, hemmed them in, had a couple chances. Then I felt like the goal was really their first heavy shift of that period. Give them credit. Q. From your point of view, can you tell us what it was like to see your team and program go to the Frozen Four this past week? NATE LEAMAN: I mean, you're happy for them. They put a lot of work in. I believed in them all year long. I thought if we won tonight, we were going to win a national championship. I was very proud of them. Like they know, all season long we believed this team could be this good or better. We had a lot of confidence in them. It stings, but that's hockey sometimes. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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