Monarchs Goalie J.F. Berube – ‘We can’t be satisfied’

After a 37 win regular season, which saw him post a .913 save percentage for the second consecutive season in the AHL, netminder J.F. Berube had a few shaky moments in the Monarchs opening round against the Portland Pirates. However, his coach was rather emphatic when asked if he ever had thoughts of pulling the Kings goaltending prospect – insisting it was never even considered.

Manchester bench boss Mike Stothers has since been rewarded for his faith in Berube, as he’s come up big in the team’s pair of opening round wins against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and looked more like his usual self, including a 40-save performance in Game 1 on Wednesday, followed by another strong performance in Game 2.

As the series now shifts to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the next three games, Berube shared the following thoughts…

On the Monarchs’ Game 2 victory:

“Same as [Game 1], not too many mistakes, we just put the pressure on them. Guys battled hard, even though we’re a little tired with the late ending [from Game 1’s triple overtime], but we still found a way to put pucks in the net.”

On how he physically feels after playing nearly nine periods of hockey in about 24 hours:

“I felt really good, to be honest. I was really surprised when I woke up [Thursday] morning. I think it’s all the work I did this year and last summer. You work out for playoffs and for long games like that. I think my recovery was really good and I felt really good [throughout Game 2].”

On assessing his personal performance in Game 2:

“I think I was really confident. I think I was seeing the puck well. Rebounds were excellent, I thought. They’re going to have chances and I have to make big saves. It’s about just trying to keep the guys in the game.”

On heading on the road with a 2-0 series lead, coming off a game where Manchester held their opponents to just 20 shots:

“That’s huge. Teams always want to at least split the games. Now we have a 2-0 lead. We can’t be satisfied with that, though. We saw last series with Portland that they came back [to tie things up]. We know it’s going to be battle there. We have up to three games there. We have to get the job done.”

On what needs to happen for Manchester to get road wins this series:

“Just keep doing the same thing. I think we’re doing a good job, [don’t] change anything just because we’re on the road. I think it doesn’t matter where we play. We just have to play with the same confidence.”

On Weal’s ability to make an impact on the Game 2 outcome:

“That’s what we expect from him. Everyone knows what he’s capable of doing. He’s just playing his game. He’s a role player; and his role is to put the puck in the net. That’s what he’s doing, so he’s doing a good job at it.”

MORE FROM GAME 2:

RD2, GM2: Jordan Weal Postgame Quotes

Coach Stothers Postgame Quotes After Monarchs Game 2 Win

Game Report: Weal Continues Dominance, Monarchs Lead 2-0

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