In spite of the lopsided score,
I thought we did a lot of good things out there today! I hate
to offer excuses about losing any game, but you were playing
against High School aged players, all of whom could skate, pass,
shoot, and hit. I was proud that no one quit. And all of you,
took the hits and kept on playing. We probably could have exercised
a little bit more self-control after taking some of the hits
we did, but I can't say I wouldn't have reacted the same way
... under the same circumstances. We did play well in the D-Zone.
Had you not played as well as you did, the score could have
been much worse. I'd like to see our games be a little more
competitive, but there is so much we can learn in a game like
this. When you play against older, faster players, you play
faster. You think faster. You react faster. It's good for us.
I was really happy you played as well as you did, particularly
after the tournament weekend. Keep it up.
I've
never know anybody to achieve anything without overcoming adversity.
-- Lou Holtz
Leadership
is getting players to believe in you. If you tell a teammate
you're ready to play as tough as you're able to, you'd better
go out there and do it. Players will see right through a phony.
And, they can tell when you're not giving it all you've got.
Leadership is diving for a loose ball, getting the crowd involved,
getting other players involved. It's being able to take it as
well as dish it out. That's the only way you're going to get
respect from the players. -- Larry Bird