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NCAA MEN'S FROZEN FOURApril 10, 2013Zack CurrieJeremy LangloisMatthew PecaRand PecknoldPITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA THE MODERATOR: Finishing off a busy day with the No. 1 seed, Quinnipiac Bobcats. We'll start with some commentary from each of the gentlemen here with us. We'll start with the head coach. COACH PECKNOLD: First off, we're excited to be here. We want to thank the city of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Penguins and Robert Morris for hosting us. It's a phenomenal city, phenomenal rink. Like I said, we're excited, and I want to just give my players credit. They've played hard all year, done a great job to get us to this point. Also give credit to my assistant coaches, Billy Riga, Reid Cashman, and Danny Meyers. They've been absolutely awesome for us this year, and we couldn't get to this point without them. THE MODERATOR: Ben, what's happening? BEN ARNT: Not a whole lot. It's been a great experience for the whole team. Like to thank the Penguins organization, Robert Morris for setting all of this up, as well as Quinnipiac. It's been a great experience so far. All of the staff has been extremely helpful, coaches down to the players, everybody is helping each other out and we're excited. ZACK CURRIE: Yeah, I just want to thank everybody involved with the event. It's been great so far, lot of hospitality for us. It's been a great year for us, and we look to extend that this weekend and hopefully we can put on a good show for everybody. JEREMY LANGLOIS: I'd like to congratulate the other teams for coming here. I know all of our team is very excited to be here, and we look forward to having a good couple of days. MATTHEW PECA: Yeah, just to reiterate, want to say thanks to everyone that helped put the Frozen Four together. It's been great so far, and we're all excited to play some hockey. THE MODERATOR: Questions for the student‑athletes? Q. Coach, I know you've said a lot this year that you guys don't have a scorer in the Top 100 or whatever. But five goals in the last game with Matthew getting a hat trick, do you feel like your offense might be a little underrated even? COACH PECKNOLD: Well, we've generated a lot of chances this year. We had nine goals last weekend, so that's good. And we do create a lot of offense. A lot of our defense is from our offense. We get a buzz going and we cycle the puck and keep it down low. The big thing that I think we need to get going that's been better is our power play. We've been working on it a lot, and I think it's ready to kind of take off. But we get the good looks. We've just got to start finishing a little bit better. Q. Zack, maybe you can comment on the game against Canisius to come back, and the next night it seemed like there wasn't as much of an impetus to have to play that type of game again that you did the previous night. But what is it about the Canisius game that you put behind you that you're not concerned at all about coming into tomorrow night? What is it that you've done to make sure Canisius doesn't become a repeating act? ZACK CURRIE: We let it get a little away from us at the start, but we came back great in that game. We felt confident the whole time. Obviously, we don't want to put ourselves in that position, but there is a sense of confidence in our team that we were able to do that. We were excited after that game, obviously, and we came on the next night and had a dominating, nice performance for ourselves. I think we've done the same thing we've done all year. We've put things behind us when they don't go our way, and we look forward to the next game. We did that right off the bat in the next game, and it's in our rear view mirror now. Q. You've been here a little bit, gotten some practices under your belt. Has the wow factor worn off, or is it still like, hey, we're in the Frozen Four, can't believe this? COACH PECKNOLD: I don't know if the wow factor ever wears off. It's a special moment, I think, for any team that can make the Frozen Four. It's going to be electric tomorrow night for all four teams when that puck drops. There's going to be a wow factor then with the score going and the fans going. I think in the end we have a veteran team, and I fully expect there will be a few butterflies, but I expect that we handle that nervousness, channel it, and come out and be really good there early in the game. MATTHEW PECA: It's exciting. Obviously, like you said, it's a tremendous opportunity, and just got to go out there and do what we've been doing all season. So it should be good. Q. There are four of you, so whoever wants to pick it up, and Coach, if you don't mind answering as well. These are four non‑traditional programs the way people look at it that it's four teams that haven't been here before and that not a lot of people pay a lot of attention to beyond sort of the college hockey circles. Do you feel like you guys have kind of made a statement, not only your team, but the other three teams in this tournament that the BCs, the Wisconsins, the Michigans aren't here, that it's four kind of new programs? Do you feel like it says something about the state of the sport that you guys are here and someone's going to win a national title for the first time? BEN ARNT: I think college hockey is really developing. A lot of teams are growing as well as organizations. We have a young organization as it is, St. Cloud, UMass Lowell, as well as Yale. Yale has been around for a long time. I think it's just that everybody's working hard. Hopefully, you get the bounces. But everybody's working hard, and our organization as a whole are a little older team, and sometimes that is how it goes, having ten seniors might make a difference. But a lot of it is developing, lot of it is changing, especially Minnesota having five teams to play for. But choosing to come out east, it's a lot bigger decisions. JEREMY LANGLOIS: Yeah, I would like to say that you are kind of seeing that more teams with Union being in the Frozen Four last year and us being here this year, teams can come from anywhere. It's not just those main teams. Our program has grown so much. I think college hockey, in general, has just grown so much. There is talent coming from everywhere. Our coaches have done the great job getting the right players here and the right systems. That's what it takes to become a top program like that. COACH PECKNOLD: First, I'd say college hockey is the best it's ever been. I think it's outstanding right now. I think the level of talent is fantastic; the coaching is great across the board. I think the one thing that we've done a phenomenal job with as a group of organizations is handling the strength and conditioning. It's awesome. Like we're making boys into men, and that's why we have 300‑plus college guys in the NHL last year. In terms of the college game and in terms of parity, I think there is as much parity now as you've ever had, and goaltending is a big part of that. You see over and over again, guys who are ‑‑ stud goaltenders will emerge at different programs that the middle programs or whatever, will elevate them, et cetera. Some of the big programs are striking out on the goalies they get. It's a big equalizer in the game of hockey and a big equalizer in the game of hockey right now. So I think the parity will continue. It's so hard to predict and so hard to recruit a goalie and understand where he's going to be at 16, 17 years old, and know where he'll be at 21, 22. So I think you'll continue to see this happen. Q. Throughout the year, you've been battling this idea of what it means to be a Quinnipiac hockey player and what this program is capable of doing. As the year progresses, you've just been proving people wrong. Do you still feel you have something to prove, that there is more that you guys are capable of accomplishing to put that final stamp on this is what it means? ZACK CURRIE: Obviously, we're a smaller program, but I think we've done a good job of proving ourselves this year with each step we've taken. I think overall that's going to take more time, and teams in the future will have to play a role in making Quinnipiac a household name around college hockey and beyond that. But I think for this year we want to prove that we have what it takes to be the best and win that last game there. I don't think it's so much that we have something to prove. It's something we want to prove to ourselves. And if we prove that to everybody else, that's a bonus. MATTHEW PECA: Yeah, like he said, I think the sky's the limit for us. People aren't going to stop talking about small programs. Obviously, people have been saying that we're not fully proven until we beat WCHA teams and stuff like that. So I think the only way to stop the talk is just to win, I think. We're confident that we're going to be able to do that, and I think that's all we need. Q. Coach, I was wondering if you could talk about from the time you got to Quinnipiac until now, the progression of the whole school in general, and then the hockey program with the new arena, and how it feels to get to the pinnacle of sport, the Frozen Four? COACH PECKNOLD: Quinnipiac University, used to be Quinnipiac College, the progression over my 19 years is amazing. It's been unbelievable. We had my first year roughly 2,000 applications, and then this year we should break 20,000. That is staggering growth, and that is a credit to President, John Lahey, he's done a phenomenal job in growing our university. We went from college to now university. We're adding a medical school. Our academic standards have gone through the roof. He's a visionary and impressive in everything that he's done. The driving force, really, 15 years ago when we went to Division I athletics and wanted to bring in Jack McDonald and make the transition for us was to become a better academic school. I remember that when it happened. I'm happy as can be because all of a sudden I'm a Division I head coach. And people go, how does that drive academics? And it does. You win in athletics. It's the Doug Flutie rule. He throws that pass, and Boston College's applications go through the roof the next few years. You can be more selective from an admissions standpoint. But athletics has driven our school, and certainly this run that we're on now is going to help our university and helps our alumni base and development and so many things come into play. We're proud of our accomplishments, but I give John Lahey and Jack McDonald the credit that this could happen for us. Q. As a quick follow‑up, did you ever imagine actually making the Frozen Four 15 years ago? COACH PECKNOLD: 15 years ago? Q. Yeah. COACH PECKNOLD: Not 15 years ago, no. As one of my goals, I felt that was something I wanted to achieve at some point. But going back 15, 16, 17 years ago, we're a Division III program and then transitioning into D‑1. Everybody forgets this, but our first year in Division I, when we were in the MAC, we did not play one game against the outside four conferences. Not one game was played against us. Nobody would play us. It was unbelievable. Everybody seems to forget that. So at that point we were trying to get anybody to play games. We weren't thinking Hockey East. If you had asked me five years ago did I think this was possible, no. We've only been in our rink 6 and a half years. Six and a half years ago we're playing in a town rink, and you're not going to do it from there from a recruiting standpoint. Q. Coach and Zack, you want to talk about tomorrow night's opponent, especially Drew LeBlanc, and the pressure that they put on you guys? ZACK CURRIE: Obviously, they're a high scoring team, high octane offense. LeBlanc is a big part of that. So we're going to have our work cut out for us, but we pride ourselves in being a very defensive club, and we can score too. So we've got to keep to our game and keep to our principles what we know helped us win, and I feel we'll be able to handle what they're going to throw at us. COACH PECKNOLD: Yeah, St. Cloud is a phenomenal offensive team. They're three lines deep. LeBlanc makes them go. He's an awesome player. I heard Bob Motzko talk before about how he makes players better, and there is no question, he makes players better. It's not just him, Dowd is excellent. Hanowski, Brodzinski has 22 buckets. They're deep. Last week, Joey Benik on the third line has four goals. So it's a deep team that finds a way to score, finds a way to win, somewhat the way we've done this year. For us, we need to compete and do what we do well, and really try to shut down their transition game. Q. Coach and Matt, your top line, and Matt has been playing well, but what led to you wanting to put them together last month in the season and into the postseason here? And Matt, if you could comment on what it's like to be back together with Kellen and Connor? COACH PECKNOLD: The chemistry they have is phenomenal. We broke them up early in the year because they were struggling a little bit and the pucks were not going for them. They were getting good looks, and I think they were getting frustrated because their points weren't where they needed to be. And we had a couple of injuries and stuff. So we broke them up a little bit. Took Matthew off that line for a while. We kept winning; put Matthew back on the line and kept winning. So it's worked both ways, and I think ultimately when we're at our best is those three playing together, and they get their feet moving, and they're, obviously, a dynamic trio. Even more than the offense they provide, they set the pace for us, and that's how we want to play. We want to play at‑pace, we want to play at‑tempo, and that line is a great energy line for us, and obviously can make plays too. MATTHEW PECA: Yeah, it's great to be back together with them. As of late we've kind of found our pace and our legs are moving better and stuff. But early on this season I had the opportunity to play with Jeremy and stuff like that. So it didn't really bother me that we weren't together. But as of late, it's good to be back to our old ways. THE MODERATOR: This is the 66th annual Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship in the house that 66 built, Mario Lemieux. More questions? Q. Rand, you talked about the progression that the university has had since you went to Division I and the impact of the new building. What's changed for you guys in the last four or five years on ice? Has it been the impact of recruiting and moving to the ECAC? What's improved on ice to where you're number one in the country and now in the Frozen Four? COACH PECKNOLD: I think there are a lot of things. Kind of a perfect storm that happened this year for us. Certainly we have 11 seniors, which is great. Hartzell was good his sophomore and junior year, and now he's one of the best goalies in the country or maybe the best. So that's been a big reason. But we've also had a lot of players that took huge jumps for us this year, even in our senior class. Ben Arnt was always a good player for us. He's stepped up and had a huge year for us defensively. His numbers are better, but he's blossomed into a big‑time player for us. Russ Goodman's had a good year. Kevin Bui, and Hartzell has jumped up. In the sophomore class, Danny Federico and Bryce Van Brabant, they didn't play a lot as freshmen. Bryce is huge for us right now. He's physical. He wins battles. He sets the tone for us. Danny was probably our seven last year. He played 16 games, and he's probably our number two defenseman right now. There are just so many things that have worked in our favor this year; and ultimately, it's great character and great kids. They come to work every day. Our practice habits are off the charts. That's one thing we talked about in the spring that we need to be better at. Our practices are excellent. We practice at‑pace; and when we get into the game it's like old hat. We just go right into it. It's hard for teams that take it easy in practice and flip the switch on Friday night. It's hard to do that. And that's one thing we focused on this year is having good practice habits. THE MODERATOR: You're always looking for things from people too. Couple people I want to point out that many of you know, some may not. Steve Hagwell right here is the Commissioner of the ECAC who has two teams here in the Frozen Four. And Jack McDonald, the athletic director of Quinnipiac, back there in the gold. Just some people that you may want to talk to as we go along, and we'll go to Bernie. Q. Coach, you just alluded to the fact that the seniors, I think it's a staggering number. There is such an attrition rate in college hockey. The fact that you have at any given moment, five forwards, four defensemen, a senior goalie. Did you feel this was a special group? You've had 20‑win seasons. You've had several of them. But this particular group had those intangibles to get to you this point. Also, maybe a problem that you have. When you have a defensive team meeting, you're unable to say, hey, Zack, am I correct? Because half the defense turns around. COACH PECKNOLD: Right. We have four Zacks. Yeah, that's right. I knew going into the summer or back to the spring that this would be the best team we've ever had. I knew that. We had a phenomenal core coming back. I did feel like Hartzell was going to take another jump in the game. We didn't add a lot, but I knew the kids we would add were going to be big. I knew Jordan was going to give us some extra goals. St. Denis was going to come in, and those two guys have given us depth on our top three lines. Did I think we were going to be this good? No, but I thought we'd be really good. I knew we'd be top 20, top 15 and had a good chance to be top 10. Like I said before, some of the things fell into place. Bryce and Danny, I can't tell you how much they've helped us this year. You always expect your sophomores to take big jumps, but they've been awesome. I thought Federico was one of our best players last week against Union; he's a complete stud. When you get kids that go from being your sub in year two, you're going to win a lot of hockey games. THE MODERATOR: I think four Zacks has to be a single team Frozen Four record. We'll check that one for you. Q. Coach and Zack, you've mentioned Arnt a couple times now, games at this time of the year tend to be won on one or two broken plays, a mistake here or mistake there. How much does it help the confidence going into a game tomorrow night knowing that you have a guy back there who is one of the best goaltenders in the league and he's made the leap that you're talking about? COACH PECKNOLD: I think it's been pivotal all year for us. Hartzell has been our rock. In the Union game, he didn't get a ton of work, but he makes that save on Novak early in the game, and it might be a different hockey game. That was a big save. Then we go to work. I wouldn't say an easy game, but he's great for us. He gives us a ton of confidence, and we have four senior defensemen who have been great. That's certainly something you want to have. We've had a ton of close games. Everybody looks at the 21 game unbeaten streak. We didn't blow anybody out in the 21 games. So we've been in a lot of close, tight games and that's where your experience and the game savvy comes in. ZACK CURRIE: I would say, sure, it's great to have a goalie of Eric's capabilities. But I think a lot of it comes down to we don't want to rely on him, and it allows the rest of the team to play confident, play calm, and it gives us a sense of, I guess, calmness is the best word I could have used. It allows everybody to play their own game and not worry about anyone else when you have him back there just in case. Q. Obviously, being an unprecedented season for you guys this year, being the No. 1 overall seed, do you guys feel any pressure to finish it off with the national championship? COACH PECKNOLD: I think there is pressure on all four teams here. There is a ton of pressure on all four of us. It's equal and across the board. I think there is pressure all year long. We play a home game against Yale, and we've got, I don't know how many people coming through the rafters for standing room. There is pressure in that game, and we have TV games. So certainly there is more in this, but we had a lot of pressure last weekend. So, yeah, it's there. We're not going to focus on a National Championship. We need to focus on St. Cloud. Everyone in the Quinnipiac community is looking at us, and everyone in the college hockey world is looking at us. But they're doing the same thing to St. Cloud. So it's equal footing, and in the end both teams have to manage that pressure. JEREMY LANGLOIS: I think what Coach said, everyone's going to have pressure. I think it's just the way you handle it. I think we have a great group of guys, and our coaching staff is going to make sure that we're ready to do what we have to do. If we do that, then I think we'll be successful. THE MODERATOR: Best of luck, congratulations, and thanks for being here. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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