NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: SABRES v STARS

June 15, 1999

Geoff Sanderson

Dixon Ward

GEOFF SANDERSON: That was the first time, yeah. I have been stuffed quite a few times just going down shooting it. It was kind of good. I had to come down the wing on a different angle; gave me the opportunity to put a little deke on him.

DIXON WARD: Yeah, it was. That is all, I was trying to do -- go out there and play the hardest game you have ever played. I think we did a pretty good job of that.

GEOFF SANDERSON: Yeah, absolutely, that was part of our game plan going in was to shorten our shifts up, driving the intensity level up on them.

DIXON WARD: I think just the shift automatically shortens up when you are working as hard as you can. I think Game 3 we didn't work as hard as we could have or should have consequently we got out there in long shifts. Everyone was going as hard as they could go tonight. 30, 40 seconds is about all you can go.

GEOFF SANDERSON: Really that was two mistakes that their defense make out there. We are lucky we finally capitalized on it. I don't know if it was the ice or mishandling of the puck, but it is nice to capitalize on the so few mistakes they do make.

GEOFF SANDERSON: Well, it is right up there with Game 1, no doubt. I thought for the most part we had momentum for the majority of the game even though in the third period they took it away and came at us pretty hard, but for the most part we had the momentum of the game.

DIXON WARD: I don't think it makes any difference what game it is. It is just a matter of rebounding after a sub-par performance which we have done pretty good throughout the entire Playoffs. We have had a few games we weren't happy with and found a way to get back to playing the way we want to play and this was the biggest game of our lives, no question about it. We don't win this game we are in trouble - big, big trouble. So we had no choice but to throw everything out there.

DIXON WARD: It is only important for me to help the team. I don't care what you people say or anybody says about me or my personality or -- that doesn't matter to me. I don't think -- anybody that knows me knows that I don't really care about that. I just care about helping this team and if I am the one who is well spoken or getting coded more than anybody else, then that is not my fault. That is your fault. So take it for what it is worth.

GEOFF SANDERSON: I don't think we had nearly enough shots on net. I still think we could probably shoot the puck more whether we are faking it or not, you know, our shot total was just too low in the game and we are not going to win too many games unless we do get some more rubber on Belfour.

DIXON WARD: I think it is important for us to contribute in every area. I know we have always taken that approach. We are never happy when -- even if we are playing real solid defensively, we are never happy and that is with contributing offense as well. I think we took it quite personally the last couple of days and I think that it is important for us to score. That helps everybody else and we get one or two more goals from other lines, then we are in pretty good shape.

DIXON WARD: I knew he was going to go down on one knee. The way he blocks shots, he goes down on one knee and lays one leg out in front of you. Only way to get it by him is to go over his leg. I didn't look at the them. I was looking at his leg to see where I can get the puck by him. Fortunately, it was in the right angle where it went in the side of the net. So came very close to dropping it back to Varada who was yelling behind me, fortunately I just shot it, tried to get it by Ludwig and, fortunately, it went in.

GEOFF SANDERSON: Well, gave us a little boost, definitely. I mean when Dominik's telling the team to be more aggressive, don't worry, I will bail you out, if I give up the odd man rush, but, you know, he did that tonight. He made some great saves for us and he held us in the game in the third period and you know, he is our leader back there and we generate a lot of chances just from him making big saves and us going down the other way.

DIXON WARD: I don't know. It -- it was not very late into the second period. I don't know what the time of the goal was, but I think it wasn't even half over the second period, so -- it may have been. The puck was rolling when he got it. I knew it was rolling because Peca had flipped it down the ice. I was just trying to track it down and hope for -- just try to steer the play one direction and another, and it just flipped over his stick and that happens to everybody and it happens to the best of them. Unfortunately for him, but, obviously, fortunately, for me that I was able to get it.

DIXON WARD: No. (LAUGHTER) Some day I will explain it to you. I was too tired. Tried to be less flamboyant; just trying to do my job.

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