I chatted with men's hockey players Andrew Owsiak '11 and assistant captain Scott Fleming '11 at breakfast at the Hop to discuss what happens behind the scenes at Thompson Arena.
Do you have any pregame rituals?
AO: Other than the pregame nap mostly everyone does that the biggest one is that I put all my left gear on first. There is no reason behind that. Some guys have little quirky things.
SF: Jody O'Neill ['12] has a lot of stuff that he does before games. Goalies are usually the quirkiest guys on the team, historically.
How else do you prepare for a big game?
SF: Before every game now, we have a big game of what we call sewer. It is with a soccer ball and you keep it up and the person who messes up is out. We keep going until one person is left. It's with the whole team and it's a lot of fun.
I recall hearing "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga blasting in the locker room after the last few wins whose pick was it?
SF: After every win, we get the game puck and give it to one of the players who worked really hard and was really important for the win. Paul Lee ['12] had a great game at Union and we gave him the game puck. He really likes Lady Gaga, so he selected that song after the win and the next couple of people followed suit with that same song.
I see the team eating at the Hop a lot, is it the breakfast of champions? What is your favorite Hop food?
AO: For us and mostly older guys, our dorms are right around here. Instead of walking that little extra distance, we stop at the Hop. We get breakfast all the time.
SF: Breakfast sandwiches.
Is there an American-Canadian divide among the players on the team?
AO: No, just when there is the Olympics. There is no actual rivalry. At the beginning of the year, we played a Canadian-American game.
SF: It is a friendly rivalry. The Americans won this year.
Is there anyone on the team that you can expect to see consistently in the penalty box?
AO: Evan Stephens ['11] is leading the team in penalties, so you can assume I guess.
SF: The [defense] is more prone to take penalties so maybe [Joe Stejskal '11] or Connor Goggin ['12].
What is your mindset when you see someone on your team taking a hard hit from the other team? When do you skate away versus when do you choose to join the fight?
AO: We are not supposed to ever really join in. We have to stay disciplined, but you have to judge. If [the hit] is straight from behind or if they start something with someone, you have to do something.
Is anyone as badass now as last year's captain Rob Pritchard '09 when he got stitches during an intermission and kept playing?
SF: We have all probably had that done to us playing hockey. It is just a thing that hockey players do. A lot of guys play through injuries that people don't know about it is just the hockey player M.O.
AO: [Nick] Walsh ['12] is pretty badass. He gets after it and tries to hit. He works really hard to try and get in there and be physical.
Have you ever considered using the "flying v" formation during a game?
SF: No, that gimmick only works in "The Mighty Ducks." It wouldn't work that well if we tried it.
The stands have been pretty empty lately. Do you notice that when you are on the ice?
SF: It is frustrating because when we play Princeton, we always pack the place. We talk to a lot of people who came to that game and they say they love it, but then they don't come the next weeks and we don't really understand why.
The season is nearing its final stretch, what are your playoff hopes at this point?
AO: To go far, obviously. Since I have been here, we haven't won a playoff series. Teams get on a run in the playoffs and you never know.
SF: All the teams that we could face in the first round, we have done well against them this year, and we are not afraid of them, so we feel confident going into the playoffs.
Looking back at the season, what good things can you take from it?
SF: We have had a good work ethic all year even though we have had some tough times. We have stayed together as a team, and we haven't backed down and haven't started ripping on other guys on the team, which shows our character. We are starting to play better hockey going into the playoffs while last year we collapsed going into the final stretch.