Sharkspage :: hockey weblog

10.16.2004

San Jose Spartans vs Long Beach State postgame quotes

By A. Sheldon

San Jose State defeated Long Beach State 3-1 Friday night at the Logitech Ice Center. Photos from the game can be found here. A. Sheldon took quotes from the team after the game.


SJSU coach Ron Glasow

SJSU vs Long Beach State AS: “What do you think about this year’s team?”

RG: “Well, every game we just seem to be getting better. We’ve got 12 new guys - eight freshman and four transfers and they’re all getting better every game.”

AS: “What is your opinion on each line?”

RG: “We’re able to go four lines and just roll them a bit. We’re just so intense and the other teams just can’t match up. They’re playing one or two or three lines and we’re going four and they just run out of gas – we’re that deep. Any one of our lines could be a first line. So, I feel really good about this team.”

AS: “How do you feel about the goaltending this year and Best’s performance between the pipes tonight?”

RG: “Both goalies - Ryan Lowe and Joe Best have played great this year so far.”

AS: “What was the highlight of the game?”

RG: “It was nice seeing (freshman forward) Skyler Yu score his first goal – one of the new guys. It seems like every game we have to get one of the pucks because someone is scoring their first goal ever – which is great.”

AS: “What are your thoughts on Andy Whiteside’s performance and the rest of the Spartan defense?"

RG: “(Whiteside’s) the anchor of the whole defense. He’s a horse – he can go every other shift. He’s just been playing great. It just seems like everybody’s feeding off of everybody else. Great chemistry and leadership – even some of the young kids are stepping up. You can see who’s going to be the leaders of the future.”

RG: “It’s going to be a real exciting year and I think with all the young kids it’s only going to get better next year, too when these young kids grow into their bodies a little bit more and get a little more beef and strength – when that happens this team is going to be good for the next few years.”


SJSU home opener

SJSU forward #22 - Chris Lee

AS: “What was the turning point of the game?”

CL: “We closed out the third period. We needed to come out strong and we needed to get in front of the goalie. We went into the third period with almost 30 shots and we only had one goal. The problem was, we weren’t blocking his vision enough. In the third period we did well blocking his vision and made sure he couldn’t see. We worked well as a team.”

AS: What were you expecting for tonight’s match-up against Long Beach?

CL: “We played them last year and they weren’t that great. The reason why they’re good this year is because of that goalie.”

AS: What was the main objective for the night?

CL: “We wanted to create some traffic in front of the net and block some of his vision - so it worked.”


SJSU Defenseman #42 - Andy Whiteside

AS: “Provide the play-by-play on your goal (the Spartan’s third) in the final period.”

AW: “It started in the corner and (the puck) came up and Jon (Barney) hit the guy and pinched him off on the boards and (the puck) popped out to me. I walked out to the center and Lonny (Lovins) and Chris Lee were screening in front and I just ripped it past (the goalie). I beat him short side.”


SJSU vs Long Beach State

SJSU Captain #4 - Ray Kellam

AS: “Your opinion on tonight’s game?”

RK: “Everyone’s clicking. This year we have four lines that can score. In the past we’ve always had two lines and a third as a filler and the fourth line would usually hang out on the bench. This year we have all four lines firing on all four cylinders.”

AS: “What are your thoughts on your line – the top line?”

RK: “Honestly, we’re the number one line but I don’t feel we’re superior to the other lines. Everybody’s producing and it’s awesome and we’re just going to just keep this thing going till somebody stops us”

AS: “What is your take on the goals tonight and the Long Beach State netminder?”

RK: “Every single goal that we score there was nothing he could do. Two of our goals were passed straight out in front on the backdoor and no one could have stopped them – and the one that Whiteside scored was on a perfect screen.”


SJSU vs Long Beach State

SJSU Goaltender #32 - Joe Best

AS: “What did you think about your competition?”

JB: “Long Beach was pretty good but they were slow and out of shape it seemed like. We ran all four of our lines.”

AS: “What happened on that first Long Beach goal early in the first?”

JB “The guy shot it and it bounced off my pads and into the corner and right back onto his stick and he shot it into the empty net. Basically, I tried not to panic and freak out. Luckily, I didn’t lose my composure, nor did the team. I’d rather have one of those goals in the first period rather than the third - just so we have time to try and get it back.”

AS: “What do you have to say about your D out in front of you – helping you out?”

JB: “They’re playing a lot better compared to last year. It’s like night and day.”

AS: “What is your stance on sharing games with (Ryan) Lowe?”

JB: “This is my last season anyway. I’m totally fine with splitting the games. Last year, I played too much. One of us would play three straight games and it’s just impossible because you get so exhausted back-to-back-to-back. It’s good to have two goalies.”

AS: “Your thoughts on tonight’s match-up?”

JB: “We're actually had to earn the goals this game. Last night (against Cal Berkeley) we had a few lucky bounces. We’re earned it, but we had to fight for this one a bit more. It wasn’t the easiest of games, but it felt really good because we actually had to come together and play as a team and we developed a lot this game – matured as a team.”

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