With a 6-3 victory in Game 4 of the Calder Cup Finals, the Manchester Monarchs find themselves one win away from the Calder Cup. After the game Coach Mike Stothers met with the media.
On the performance he got in Game 4 after a loss in Game 3:
“You know what, our guys have been pretty resilient all season long. We know we’re playing an unbelievably good hockey team. We needed to be better and tonight we played pretty well.”
On the 5-on-3 in the second period, what did you like with Dowd and Bartosak:
“Well there’s all kinds of pivitoal situations, I mean that was key for us. Your special teams got to come through, whether it’s your power play and you got to score or your penalty kill and you have to get job done. Dowd’s done a great job all season, one of the many things he does is a real good penalty killer for us, real strong on faceoffs. You know what, our guys were fearless in the fact they were willing to sacrifice their bodies, block some shots. It’s just a matter of staying the course, and they did a pretty good job.”
On if he senses any excitement in the room being able to play for a championship tomorrow night:
“No because we’ve accomplished nothing thus far. You still got to win four to win a championship. It’s pretty quick after the game, and I addressed the guys and our guys are pretty business like after wins and their pretty business like after defeats.”
On the hostile crowd in Utica and taking them out of the game early:
“I personally, I don’t think that’s an issue because, it actually gets us going. That’s the beauty of playoff hockey the passion from the fans, it energizes everybody. I can’t wait to get out, if I knew I wasn’t going to fall flat on my ass I’d be running across the ice. It’s just playoff hockey, it’s terrific, I mean that’s what you want, you want people in the building you want them making noise, you want them making noise. That’s what you get here in Utica, it’s great.”
On if Stothers has reflected on when he won the Calder Cup with the Maine Mariners:
“Yeah, I think back about it a lot. When you do win a championship, it’s a special time. No matter how many years go by you reflect back and you remember your teammates and what they had to go through. We had a fellow by the name of Jeff Bandura, he was a healthy scratch throughout the playoffs, and every time we came off the ice between periods he’d be sitting in the dressing room dressed right up. Skates, jersey, everything on, and he’d be pumping up the guys and he’d be the most enthusiastic guy and he always said ‘You got to believe, you got to believe’. A guy like that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. Coach like Tommy McVie, great man. There’s so many good memories guys, you know just to be in the finals is pretty special. I think both teams should be very proud of their accomplishments after a long season to be playing here in June, in a great championship with two great teams.”
On Sean Backman:
“You guys don’t talk about Backman because you keep asking about injuries. So if you want to spend more time, I have all day to talk about players. Last night you got me excited when we talking about Kempe. Tonight you want to talk about ‘Backs’, you got an hour? I’ll put in an hour, we’ll talk about him. Terrific, little ball of energy, he’s great! Great leader, great inspiration plays hard every game, plays big. He does a terrific job as a veteran on our hockey club.”
On creating a lot of turnovers in the game and if they’ve done it any better this season:
“Ah, jeez, I don’t know. It’s a part of the game and things happen quickly in this rink. You know what, our team has been a skating club all season long. That’s when we’re at our best is when we’re skating. I’m sure Utica’s the same. We play very similar styles, I think it goes back to the parent teams. If you look at LA and Vancouver there’s a certain way that they play, in that conference especially. We’re mirror images of our parent clubs.”
On Bartosak getting in the lineup and how he played:
“Well I mean that’s why you have a second goalie. ‘Barto’ has come in and played real well for us all season long. This young man’s growth that he’s had from the start of the year to where he’s at now. Came out of junior with great credentials but he had to learn the pro game and it was probably a little slower development than he would have liked. Everybody likes to be in the net, but it’s a process here in the American Hockey League. You got to bide your time, and you got to earn your crease time. He improved his practice habits to the point where he’s a professional in how he approaches things. You know he’s given us some real solid games in the absence of J.F. You know what we’re very happy with the progress he’s made, certainly we’re comfortable and confident in ‘Barto’.”
On Brian O’Neill playing in Game 4:
“I knew that he was, I mean he’s not going to be denied. He might be more miserable than I am. You guys think I’m bad to talk to, you should see O’Neill in the morning before he come in to the rink. He just likes to play, he’s a competitor.”
On the challenge of winning the fourth game:
“You know what, here I am talking to you guys and within about 10 to 15 minutes I’m already going to be thinking about tomorrow, and the video, and what we’re going to do. The preparation never ends, because we know you don’t have anything until you have four. This Utica, watch that team, they’re damn good. I think this has been unbelievably good hockey, like the passion you can see on the ice between both clubs tonight. The refs are trying to break up scrums, you can’t hear each other talk. Both teams are laying it out on the line, it’s going to be another battle. We’re going to be here for a long battle.”
His assessment of the second period:
“My assessment of the second period? It’s pretty good.”
MORE GAME 4 COVERAGE:
[…] did coach Mike Stothers have to say after the game? Click here for his quotes. Also, we have Nic Dowd’s postgame thoughts posted […]