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NCAA MEN'S FROZEN FOUR

April 8, 2016

Tampa Bay, Florida

MODERATOR: We welcome North Dakota to the podium. Head coach Brad Berry, Troy Stecher and Austin Poganski.

COACH BERRY: We're excited about being here today. I just want to note our players here, want to say they did an unbelievable job as far as getting through the game last night and making a couple of plays to win the game.

And, again, we're very excited about moving on and playing on Saturday. We're very excited for our fans. We had a huge fan base here last night, and we're very excited we didn't disappoint them and they get to see another game. And I know we're going to have even more fans coming in on Saturday.

MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. Troy, what they have offensively, Quinnipiac, with Anas, St. Denis and all the guys that can score, what's kind of your game plan going in to try to halt their offensive attack?
TROY STECHER: We'll look at some game film today and come up with a game plan. I think for us we're just going to focusing on ourselves. Last night we got through a win, and at the end of the day I think you take a long look hard and look in the mirror, I think we have a lot better than what we provided yesterday.

For this time of year, good teams find a way to win. That's exactly what we did. We're excited for the challenge. I'm sure we'll be prepared for those offensive players.

Q. Yesterday after yesterday's game, what do you think you need to adjust going into tomorrow's game?
AUSTIN POGANSKI: I don't know if there's too much there to adjust. I thought we played a pretty solid game all around with team effort. I think our speed improved. I don't think we got a lot of offensive zone time. I think that's key to North Dakota hockey, get more pucks deep and get after their defense right away. I think we'll improve our game a little bit for Saturday.

Q. It's taken a long time for this program to get over this hump and get to the National Championship game. How do you control your emotions and thoughts in the locker room to make sure that last night wasn't the National Championship game just to get here?
TROY STECHER: This program prides itself on our success and the history, and tomorrow's another opportunity to do something this university hasn't done in 16 years. So a lot of colleges would be proud just to get to the Frozen Four, and we've done that in past years and fell short, and were disappointed. We're really excited for tomorrow. We understand it's going to be extremely difficult. But we think that our fans can play a big factor and get us over that hump.

Q. The penalty kill last night, I think the entire season, six games against Denver, didn't give up a power play goal. Want to ask you what's allowed that unit to play so well and how important it is to play the same way tomorrow night?
TROY STECHER: Penalty kill is huge for our team. Anytime you can get a kill, you can build a lot of momentum. Same goes for your power play, if Denver scores, they can build some momentum heading into the rest of the game.

We pride ourselves on our penalty kill. I think we blocked something like 30 shots last night. And specifically Tucker Poolman I think had three in one sequence there. So guys were willing to their body on the line for the betterment of their team, and that's important this time of the year.

Comes down to little details, not going to be the flashy play, going to be the hard-nose plays, even in five-on-five, chipping in pucks deep. Like you said, on the penalty kill, getting those big kills at crucial times.

Q. Austin, I know it's a different year, but it's a very similar cast of characters to the guys you played last year, what do you remember from that game? What does Quinnipiac do well?
AUSTIN POGANSKI: Quinnipiac is a very talented and skilled team. They have a 1-3-1 neutral zone, get game film from that and get our guys prepped for that. Hard team to play against. They're fast. And it's going to be a good battle for us.

Q. Troy, you mentioned getting here and you guys aren't satisfied with just getting here. You've gotten here the past few years, it takes a lot of effort. What's it like to reach this level and not come away with the ultimate prize, and how has that emotion and disappointment from the past years, how is that going to motivate you as you reach this game?
TROY STECHER: Yeah, it creates a little fire within yourself. You work so hard. You set a goal within the summer. Not just the beginning of the year. It's something we'll talk about for a long time. We weren't shy about talking about it. And some people may not like that, but that's just the confidence within our hockey group, that we support each other and we have each other's backs.

And for the sophomore class, junior class, senior class, we kind of understand that feeling of disappointment. But at the same time we played really well in Cincinnati in the regional and we remember how good we felt there and we have an opportunity to feel that way again. If not more so. This is an opportunity we want to grab with both hands, and we're going to do everything we can to do that.

Q. We've heard you guys and Coach say all year we feel like this is a special group. And maybe last night, when you see a two-goal lead disappear and you're still able to come out with a win is an example of that. But to you guys what's this make a special group going into tomorrow night?
TROY STECHER: I don't really know where to start with this group. I think the biggest thing is everyone just buying into their role and putting their egos aside. Everyone checks their ego at the door. I think when everyone is recruited here -- players coming from juniors, they're probably the top guy and the one getting the points, but you come to North Dakota hockey, you immediately realize the program is bigger than any individual.

So I think that's the most special thing about us, is that guys are willing to do the little things that maybe some other players aren't willing to do on different teams, and we come in the rink every day, and we wouldn't want to play for any other coach than Berry.

He's really emphasized a lot about relationships. You walked into the rink, and everyone's a best friend with each other. And the coaching staff is right there with us, interacting with us every day. That goes a long way. We want to play hard with the coaching staff and make them proud and play hard for each other as well.

Q. (Off microphone) give a comment about why it would be good to win tomorrow tonight?
TROY STECHER: Yeah, first-year coach, don't think there's a better script if we were able to pull this out tomorrow. I think Brad would be the first guy to admit that Dave had a lot to do with this team this year as well. So we want to win it obviously for Coach Berry and Dane and Matt as well and the guys within the room, but also our fan base and even Dave Hakstol and all the alumni. We have a tight-knit family inside that locker room, but at the end of the day there's a lot more people outside the room that we care about as well.

And you look at the fan base in North Dakota, and the arena yesterday is packed with Kelly green. The amount of support we have goes a long way, and we want to win for every individual that cares about our program.

MODERATOR: Questions for Coach.

Q. You've had tremendous success coming into this weekend with the power play, the penalty kill. Now you're facing, if you will, the best power play in the country. Is there anything that changes with that regard? Is it just a continuation of what you did well last night against Denver?
COACH BERRY: First of all, I think the biggest thing is discipline. We've got to make sure we have ultra discipline against a very good power play. Quinnipiac has an unbelievable power play. We have to have discipline. We can't take a penalty late in the game like we did last night and then leave it to chance.

We've got to make sure we do the right things. Winning a draw, first of all, to get it clear is a big part of it. Faceoffs are a big deal. And making sure our shifts are short with our tandems and deep pairs and play with a lot of energy and composure.

Q. Troy was just mentioning about getting here in previous years and coming up short and how that's kind of lit a fire, and they're not shy about speaking about their goal to win this thing. What have you seen from your players in terms of the veterans that have come up short, how that's motivated them at this point, and how do you fuel it, if you do, to kind of remind them they don't want that feeling again?
COACH BERRY: I think there's no more proof than the last two years in Philadelphia and Boston and coming so close and not closing the deal. And, again, Troy said it. We're very close and we communicate it daily, and to the point where we bring things up that might be uncomfortable to talk about, but doesn't matter. We're a tight group. We talk about the heartache and the pain that we got to.

And, again, like last night in the game when it was 2-0 and they made it 2-2, at the ten-minute mark it was not only the coaches but it was the players on the bench that all reiterated the same thing out of their mouth: We've come too far. We've come too far. We've put too much into this thing.

And we know that. We don't want this thing to happen like it did the last two years. So guys know. And they believe. Like I said, I think it's a tribute to the relationship and the resiliency in our locker room that comes from the players.

Q. When you look at Quinnipiac on tape, what worried you the most? I think their forecheck obviously seemed aggressive last night, especially early in the game. And is there any opponent you've faced in league or nonleague play that they compare to?
COACH BERRY: That's a good question. First of all, Quinnipiac, they bring a lot of different things to the table. They play with a lot of tenacity. They play with a lot of compete. They play with a lot of fire. They have structure. I'd like to think that they mirror a lot of us, what we do.

So, again, I think that would be a great matchup because those are the attributes that we bring to the table on a lot of nights. Within our league, in the NCHC, we see that all the time. There's eight teams in our league, we see seven different opponents that bring that nightly.

We're well versed and we're used to playing teams like Quinnipiac. We have our hands full tomorrow night, and we're going to have to bring our A game tomorrow night.

Q. Cam Johnson, his relaxed personality, how does that play into his goaltending?
COACH BERRY: I think it fits perfectly. He's a goalie. I think that helps him as far as his focus, believe it or not. When we watched him in the USHL, he would let a goal in early in the game or partway through the game, and we always watched to see what's a goaltender's body language or how does he react after a goal. We watched him a lot. He was grounded. He was focused. He was dialed in. He didn't let another one. Or he would let them a minimal amount of goals in.

It helps him. He's a guy that's a very caring guy, a guy that likes to talk a lot, a guy that is a focused guy. And, again, I think there's two things that's helped him this year to be where he's at. A guy by the name of Zane McIntyre that he got to play behind. Zane ran the table playing the majority of the games. He got to learn how to prepare and be a professional and adapt to the role he's in. And also Karl Goehring, our volunteer goalie coach, he's done an unbelievable job with Cam as far as mental preparation, how to prepare for games. And, again, I'll go back, and then you talk about a special group, I go back to Matt Hrynkiw who was a big part of our success this year. Karl Goehring had a lot to do with him about preparing him over the course of two years to go on a nine-game winning streak when both our scholarship goaltenders were injured.

Q. I know this is work for you, you're so focused on the game, but to try to appeal to that human side, when you sit next to Troy Stecher and you hear him say there's not a coach I would rather play for, what does that mean for you? What does this group mean for you?
COACH BERRY: Very humbling. Very humbling. What he says, it's from his heart. And, again, I like to think that every one of our players, they speak from the heart. And they truly do. He's a consummate leader, teammate. And he's not big in stature, but I'll tell you what, he looks and he acts like he's about 6'5", the way he plays and the way he carries himself. And, again, that's what a leader does. And that's the reason why we're here today in Tampa Bay playing on April 9th.

Q. What do you remember about back in 2000 when you took the assistant coaching job right after they had won the National Championship?
COACH BERRY: First of all, very grateful for the opportunity. And there was a guy by the name of Dean Blais that asked me to come aboard. I was just coming off of pro hockey. The crossroads of life, what do you do after you play. And the phone call came in the late summer, and I can still remember he said would you like to be part of my staff. And, again, I was just married, had two young children at the time and everything goes through your wife as far as decision-making process. This one didn't go through my wife. It took me about .5 seconds and I said, honey, we're going back to Grand Forks.

And, again, the relationship went back with Dean. He recruited me as a player back in 1983 at UND, and it was very humbling and I was very honored. He asked me to be part of the North Dakota family as a player a long time ago. And then he asked me to be part of the North Dakota family as a coach. It's a great honor.

Q. Rand Pecknold yesterday gave us a pretty introspective look to his history to get to where he was, and was it that .5 second decision that said this is where I want to be, or was it something after that that brought you to the point that said yep, this is where I want to be?
COACH BERRY: Like I said, it's funny, because we have a lot of players, very fortunate to get very gifted players to come to North Dakota. And they have opportunities to go on to play pro hockey after. I'll go on to the Jordan Schmaltzes of the world and different players in pro hockey right now. But I'll tell you what, they're following us just as much as they did before. And almost to the point where they're missing it. They're missing it as far as being part of it back here.

And for me it was an opportunity going to pro hockey as a player and as a coach and coming back to college hockey. And I think college hockey is the best place to be a player and a coach. And, again, it was an opportunity I didn't want to pass up. So that's why it only took me .5 seconds.

Q. Single elimination, you get upsets, and those are great. But now you've got the two teams that were No. 1 and 2 all year. How special is that for a showcase for the game tomorrow?
COACH BERRY: It is. It's a great story line, obviously. Again, there could be any number of teams here playing in this final game. I'd like to think that we've earned it. We have the saying: Believe it, earn it, raise it. We believe it every single day on doing the things right, believing in what you do every single day. You have to earn it on a daily basis. We've proved that time and time again. Well, we need the final part of that saying, and, again, we want to make it happen tomorrow.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Coach.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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