Nov. 29: Postgame Interviews

Nov. 29: Postgame Interviews

What did it feel like to be able to build on yesterday and follow it up with another solid effort here tonight? Yeah, it’s huge. I mean, I think our our effort and our intensity um has definitely been there these past two games. Um, you know, obviously playing it back to back is is tough. You got to dig deep, but they’re playing it back toback, too, so we knew it was going to be a bit of a grind out there and I was really proud of our effort tonight. Anything you can point to why you’ve been able to put together two like that? Uh, I think more of just a mentality. you know, we we have like the clientele in this room to uh win games and I think it’s more of a mentality pulling on the same rope alto together and uh playing with that urgency. Take us through your goals just when when Broberg gets skating like that just follow him. Yeah, it’s crazy. He he’s such a good skater. He’s I think he’s putting the league on notice how good he can skate. You know, he’s a oneman breakout out there and um yeah, Tommer whipped it far side and I thought I was gonna go for check again and then I saw six buzzing up the ice. So, uh, I just try to go for the drop pass and he made a great play and, um, yeah, I just shot it on net and was lucky enough for to go in. I’m sorry, Dylan, because he can take it to the net and he’s done it so many times. Does that open up space for a play like you made there on the goal there? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I mean, like he every time he’s, you know, got the puck, he’s skating so fast. So that, um, you know, that drives their D back and, um, yeah, it was a great vision by him to to see me come in late. What’s the biggest difference you see in his game from just last year? Yeah, I mean last year I think he took a step up with with his confidence and now I think he’s really really kind of, you know, found his game. You know, every time he touches the puck, he he wants to make a play, wants to skate, and uh he’s been doing such a good job for us. So, um I think his his improvement has been tremendous over the last couple years and I think that he’s still got um you know, another level to get to and it’s going to be scary when he when he finds that. You’re starting to score a little more here lately. What do you feel like has kind of built up to that here? Yeah, I’ve just been working on it, you know, just trying to shoot uh shoot more uh practicing my shot. Um you know, in the first first few games of the year, I was feeling good, you know, getting opportunities. I just wasn’t um you know, bearing on them. So, I think now it’s nice to see them go in and, you know, definitely helps the confidence. You just take us through the uh the five minute PK, what you’re kind of uh feeling reading in those moments. Uh yeah, we we did great. Um I don’t think they got they got too much shot or two maybe. Um you know, guys were blocking shots. super aggressive. Um, yeah, a lot of good things. When you see guys just laying out like that with all those shot blocks, that just makes your job that much so easing than they do, so they’re uh yeah, they got uh they got a lot of balls doing that. Um, yeah, it’s it’s fun to watch and um you know, we all deserve to win tonight, so it’s good. I guess even late in the game, you see Sunquist kind of lay out and he just catches a stick, like Yeah, exactly. Um I I didn’t see the play unfortunately, but um you know I know he was uh he’s in the right spot and um doing the right thing and um yeah, unfortunately he was uh you know cut up, but um yeah, just happy. Joel, any extra motivation after the last time this team was in here for you just to come in? For sure. Yeah, it was personal today. Um you know, I think uh you know, we mentioned in the room too. Um you know, we we owed one to them and uh you know, to the fans and um yeah, tonight felt real good. Did you get excited the way it was going to shake out with you getting this assignment tonight? Yeah, I was I was fired up. Um yeah, I’ve uh you know, I knew they were coming um you know, a while back and wasn’t sure if I was going to start. So um you know, when I found out that you know, I was I was uh I was stoked for sure. What’s that line for you using as motivation, but also like that game was a month ago, month and a half ago now? Yeah. Um I don’t know. I I you know, I don’t forget that. Um, yeah, that was obviously, you know, a tough game and, um, but, you know, at the same time, we learned a lot from it and, um, yeah, it was just nice to get to get paid back. What’s come together for you and Jordan here in these last stretch of games? Um, I think the team’s playing great. Um, you know, we’re we’re, you know, very aggressive in the Dzone. Um, we’re not giving up much at all. Um, I don’t even think they had 20 shots tonight. So, um, yeah, everybody’s playing great. Um, you know, I think we’re all just buying into the system and trusting the process and um, yeah, it’s working out for us. How did you guys get through that uh, the fiveminute PJ in the third period there? I just think uh, everybody’s really committed to running good lines. I thought that we won faceoffs that really matter. We cleared pucks 200 feet. Excellent job by your penalty killers and Hoof had whenever the puck came to Hoof, he made the saves. What do you feel like you see on the bench when you’re seeing guys laying out blocking shots also to as many times as they did? Yeah, I mean it’s been great to watch the last two nights how committed guys have been to the to playing the right way to sacrificing for each other to being selfless again. It’s nice to see those qualities back in our team identity. Were you surprised that they came back with the call that they did? Um you know I I don’t like to talk about what the referees make. you know, um that’s the call they made and we just got to deal with it. And I love the way we killed the penalty off. Waiting for a whistle there to to put someone in the box. Yeah, that’s a mistake by me. I, you know, usually five minutes. I had never seen it before and uh coach said, he goes, I I went through it one time, Montreal. Um and you know, you you hesitate to put someone in because if you get a penalty now, it’s four on four. You’re going to use different players. Uh, another penalty happens, you might have a power play. Now it’s completely different players. Like if you put in someone like Kyoo cuz you think you’re killing for five minutes, all of a sudden you’re on the power play. Now you’re missing one of your weapons. And I didn’t want to put D’Vorski or Snugarude in there because of the same reasons. They’re really dynamic four on four players. But in the end, um, I won’t make that mistake again. Score one goal. That sure is a beauty. Just talk about the two players who created that play. Yeah, I mean um, you know, we we missed a couple of breakaways, too. I love the Buches that opportunity on the breakaway. Um, but you know, the goal we scored, I mean, it just uh great creativity and guys going hard to the net and making a nice finish on the play. Do you feel like you had ample opportunity obviously to score more than you did tonight? Yeah, I thought we did, but we we thought, you know, like um it was going to be a hard fought game like it was. Two teams playing three and four nights. Um and I I just like the way we managed to puck in the third period. I like the way we played in the first period and, you know, we didn’t extend the lead, but we talked about being committed to winning a game, one- nothing before the game even started. What do you think’s kind of been different the past two games come together like that? And it seemed like tonight you fed off last night. Yeah, I think we fed off tonight off the third period last night. Guys feel it. the the extra second and third effort, the desperation, um the selflessness, guys. Um you see the block shots, but the the middle lane drives opening up the wide guy. Um guys stopping at the net. Um you know, just a lot of stopping and starting in the Dzone. Um it’s been it’s been fun to watch these guys um take their games to another level. How’s that one personal? Do you do you like that attitude from a goalie knowing what happened the last time they were injured didn’t go well for him? Yeah, that’s the fire you want to see in your players. You know, you want to see them be natural competitors like that. And um I love to hear that, you know, he it was personal for him. That means he’s coming into the game and his attitude and his mind is fixed on the process and he’s playing in the moment and he wants to get back what what he felt wasn’t a good enough game the last time. How’s this doing? Hey, you know what? Uh, when I looked at him, he’s doing okay. I don’t think he’s I don’t think he’s going to require stitches from what I saw. Amazingly, it’s a hard head. Yeah. Did you see the You mentioned a lot desperation yesterday. Did you see that again tonight? Yeah, I saw it for three periods tonight. You know, I I didn’t love our second period and that was more puck management than anything. um not playing to the goal line when we knew that uh in the first period we tired them out and if we could do it for 60 minutes we thought we could have pu pushed and extended the lead didn’t happen but you know um I did love the way we dug in the third managed the puck really well we talked about bro before the game but the skating on the play where he draws a penalty skating to to win that puck and set up a hallway is that just kind of a continuation of what he’s been doing all year yeah I mean he’s been incredible this year. Just his motor on the ice is his ability to skate and jump by people, his ability to kill plays. Um, and like I said, he’s he’s a lot firmer now. Like you can see his man strength has come out and he’s taken his game to another level just with the way he competes night in night out. It’s been pretty if we were playing really good hockey, he would be talked about in the league a lot more. right now it’s kind of hidden because of our team the way we we haven’t gotten off to a great start but he has been a tremendous hockey player from the start of the year speaks to his character too because he does have have that offensive ability but he was willing to u you know kind of adjust and play that shutdown role that you asked him to play. Yeah. Uh but he knows that uh the way we play five on five that we’re going to want him to go on offense and you know with a little more uh of finishing touch or a little bit better puck luck he might have eight goals already you know and then you’re really talking about him as an offensive defenseman already. What point did you did you have a moment where you felt like this is a guy that can handle 24 25 26 27 minutes a night if you’re playing him that much? Yeah. Well I I do think he can handle that. He he plays a lot of minutes for us already. I think he’s our leading uh minute cruncher of all of our defenseman on the year. I don’t know for sure in the last month, you know, maybe not the first month of the season, but he’s just got an incredible engine and he’s in tremendous shape and he just doesn’t seem to get tired. I mean, that threeon-ree shift in New Jersey really uh you know, that was incredible the way he dug in there.

Dylan Holloway, Joel Hofer and Jim Montgomery speak to the media after a 1-0 win over the Utah Mammoth on Nov. 29, 2025.