WMU vs. FSU
Game Quotes
3-13-11

Jerry Kuhn

On getting to play in the Joe next weekend:

“Unbelievable. I'm the happiest person alive right now. I get to go home and play in front of 18,000 fans. It's a dream come true.”

On seniors stepping up:

“It's the character I think. The seniors, we've been through a lot, the change in coaching. We didn't know what to expect, we battled and we all bought in. It's paying off now.”

On the momentum shifts:

“It was nerve wracking. I probably shouldn't have let a few of those goals in.”

On overtime:

“Win. That was it. I had this feeling we were going to win this morning. Me and Ross were shooting pucks this morning, and I just knew we were going to win. It's the same feeling I had at Notre Dame. I actually even had a dream last night. I woke up and was like, 'Wow.'”

Ian Slater:

On the momentum shifts:

“It's just going to take a little longer. We don't get nervous. We don't sit back. This team responds well to adversity. We've always responded, and case proven tonight. There wasn't too much nervousness on the bench.”

On the 1st period:

“We came out fresh and ready. A lot of that goes back to conditioning. We felt fresh and we felt good. I was thinking at the end of the first, it's hard to believe this is our third game in three days the way we came out.  It's exactly what we needed. We needed to play with that lead. It's playoff hockey, you have to expect that they're going to come back. You just have to persevere and push forward.”

On overtime:

“We've worked so hard. There are so many times, and so many things we've done as a team when we bag ourselves in the weight room. So much work went into this team. Days off that weren't really days off, we were working.  We wanted this change. We wanted to be exactly where we are right now, and we knew that came with a lot of dedication and sacrifice.”

On the 9 goals scored tonight:

“I think it's a little fatigue. We jumped all over them, and then they responded with a lot of shots. They were extremely strong and well balanced. You usually don't see those high scoring games this late in the playoffs, but we'll take whatever we can get and we'll run with it.”

Max Campbell

Thoughts on the game:

“Personally, being here for the first three years, it's always been a sad goodbye for the seniors. To be a part of the winning team, and to be going to the Joe, it's just surreal. It's an awesome feeling.”

On the 9 goals scored tonight:

“We got up pretty big there, and I think we kind of lost control of our game. They're a good team, and when you do that against them they're going to capitalize. This is huge for us.”

On the strong first period.

“First periods are usually our worst one. We're usually a second or third period team, but we'll take that any day.”

On his game winning goal:

“Honestly, I just got sent in for the draw and I was supposed to get off the ice after that. I looked up and it was a three on one, so I said 'Sorry coach,' and I stayed in and went after it.”

Coach Jeff Blashill

On the seniors

“Jerry made huge saves for us at the end. He had every right to be in. It was very fitting for him.  He put himself in a position to be a hero like that. Max Campbell has done everything we've asked of him all season. He's been a great leader, and he's obviously the right guy to have in an overtime situation like that.”
Thoughts on the strong first period:

“We came out ready to play. We were very good in that stretch, and were able to build a lead. We got the goals, which is one thing I was worried about. We got results.”

On the 9 goals scored in the game:

“These are still young college guys, and fatigue is one thing. Three games in a weekend is something we never do. I think emotions were heavily involved on both sides. It's a hard thing to do to end someone's season. We panicked a little bit, and it happens sometimes in sports.”

Thoughts on overtime:

“I think when you end up in overtime, it's the bounce of a puck. They had a couple close ones that could have went their way, and I don't want to pretend like that couldn't have happened.  It went our way.  The puck got over to Max and he found a way to finish it. I need to give credit to the crowd tonight, I thought they helped pick us back up after the second.”

Final thoughts:

“I'm so happy for first of all the guys in the locker room. To get to this moment, I'm so happy for our fans, the Bronco's everywhere, those close to the program and to the university. I'm excited that Bronco nation gets to go experience the CCHA final four.