Mike Lehman
1. Lots of hockey today. How are you feeling? I was very tired and worn out. 2. What do you think went wrong in that overtime playoff loss? I think we were all just tired and could generate and opportunities. 3. This was your first randy Carlson tournament. What was it like being a part of it this year? It was awesome. It was good hockey and just being a part of that and knowing it was for a good cause felt good. 4. You didnt sign up for winter league. Do you miss the monday night hockey in reynoldsville? Yeah I do. But I just needed a season off 5. Do you and Pat Hunter want to try to return this summer to defend your championship? Absolutely
Adam Mckinley
1. Another Randy Carlson championship. How does this one compare to some of the others? All of them had great things about them. This one came with a couple injuries to my teammates. I only needed to make a few saves throughout each game, until the playoffs, but many of them were key saves. It was important to stay sharp with such short games. 2. Derik got injured early enough in the day where he could come back for the playoffs. How do you think he played after his injury? I think he turned up his game. He wasn't hesitant at all. At times, he seemed to faster. 3. One of your playoff games went to overtime. Take us thru that game winning goal ? My team was determined. First time in that situation all day. We controlled the ball and took shot after shot, until finally able to slam it home. It was a hard fought win. 4. The championship game was against similar guys to last year. What do you think was the difference for you guys? Yeah it was almost a repeat of the 2 teams from last year. A couple guys were different but the results were the same with a 2-1 victory. It's always fun playing with and against your friends. You know that no matter who wins, it was fun and you're happy. 5. Record amount of money raised. How would you describe this years tournament overall? It's amazing we were able to raise so much this year. It's nice to see so many people show support. I think the tourney went very smoothly. Not too much controversy and 0 lights were broken. There were 5 or 6 injuries, which seemed crazy, but overall a wonderful day.
Zach Puhala
1. It was a bit of a rough day for injuries. What happened with yours and are you doing any better? I had a collision with a couple guys and my skate got caught up between them. My ankles swelled up and I believe I have a chip fracture. I’m doing better today than I was yesterday. 2. The team had a bit of a rough day. What were your expectations going in? I was going in expecting to win a couple games. I thought we could play some teams tough and maybe even get the win. I was also expecting everyone to play hard and that’s what we did. 3. Play in game took a while. Did you think you had any good opportunities in that game? It did take awhile. I thought both teams had some chances at first and then it got tougher. Both teams were playing tough and knowing that if they didn’t they would be done and going home 4. You find yourself on another undefeated team in this winter league. How do you think you have fit in with the other guys? I think I’ve fit in pretty well with the winter league team. It’s always nice to play with guys you have played with before like Bob and Rob. I’ve never played on a team with Lauren, Mike, Brett, Steve, or Phil but I feel like I have been fitting in pretty nice. 5. Record amount of money raised. Despite the injury and lack of wins, what was it like to be a part of this event? It’s always nice being a part of this event. This is only my second year playing in the event. It’s such a good atmosphere to be around and to be a part of. It doesn’t matter to me about winning as long as I’m getting to play and having fun that’s all that matters.
Adam Stahl
1. Lots of hockey yesterday. How are you feeling today? Pretty good, just a couple of bruises from blocking shots. 2. A lot of us dont know you that well. Tell us a little bit about your hockey background. Been playing hockey since I was four and try to play in a couple of leagues for ice & roller. 3. Was the competition level about what you expected? Yes the level to compete was pretty high. 4. What do you think went wrong in the semifinal playoff game? They cycled the ball pretty well and they were able to get some time & space. They were able to generate some shots from the point. 5. How would you describe the tournament experience overall? It was organized very well, games moved quick and without delay. Games were alot of fun. It was fun to talk to new people. But overall it is truly awesome when everyone pulls together to remember those who aren't with our hockey family anymore and to help those in our communities who are fighting the battle against cancer.
Dustin Henry
1. Lots of hockey today. How are you feeling? Always feels good to play 2. How did you think yourself and the team played? I think we played very well. They always have good chemistry. I wasn’t expecting to play at all. Got the phone call at 11:30 last night 3. What went wrong in the overtime playoff game? Bad choices by all of us. They were a hard playing fast paced team. They just out played us 4. A record amount of money was raised. What was it like being a part of it? It always amazing being a part of something like that. Randy Carlson was a good friend of mine. I think he would be proud of what we do in his honor. 5. You recently lost a good friend in Jon Dahrouge. For some of those who didnt know Jon as well, what things stood out in Jon that made him the person he was? I did lose a good friend. More like a brother. Jon was part of my family for the better part of 20 years. It’s hard to wrap my head around him not being around. Jon has an infectious personality, was always smiling, and was just a great person to be around. He will be greatly missed by everyone whose life he touched
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Max Easton
1. Back at the rink today. Was it nice to be back? It was great to back today. It's been a year since I was back, the last Randy Carlson. Especially great to see and catch up with familiar faces from my time in the XHL. I was also very glad to bring some new faces down to play, we really enjoyed the competition. 2. How do you think your team played? I think we fielded a very competitive team throughout the tournament. I felt we could make some noise in the playoffs and I had greater aspirations than a first round exit but it was not to be today. 3. What do you think went wrong in the playoff loss? The short nature of the games kept games close and made making mistakes costly. We took a double penalty in the game and it was hard to come back from. I thought we played well as a team but obviously not good enough to get the W. 4. Do you get to play much hockey these days? Recently made a move closer to Buffalo which has allowed me to fill in games here and there in both floor and roller hockey. I also recently picked up ice hockey and play in some skate and shoots when I can. Meeting new people and hoping to find a league home on a roller team this summer. Can only hope to find one as welcoming as the XHL was to me. 5. Record amount of money raised. What was it like to be a part of it? Its a really great feeling to be apart of something bigger, as today was. In the end it was all about helping young boy and his family and it just awesome the extent to which the hockey community contributed. I love to see the money going to help the families directly in the community. I would like to come back and play in this tournament as long as I am able.
Henry Sutter
1. Back on the court today. How did it feel to be back? It’s been almost two years since I’ve played any real amount of hockey, so it was good to shake off a little of the rust today. I’ve gone too long without hockey, so it was a great time to get to come back for the tournament. 2. How do you think yourself and the team looked? The team played hard all day, and we probably surprised some opponents with the level of competition we were able to bring. I couldn’t be happier with the guys for gutting our a win and a couple ties. I had some shaky moments as I tried to get back into the net, but I can’t be too upset with how things turned out. 3. How enjoyable is it to you to play in such a big event? The Randy Carlson has always been one of my favorite events of the year, and this was the first chance I had to play in it since I helped win it a few years ago. I think it’s a great cause and a great opportunity for everyone to come together to compete, have fun, and most importantly, raise money for charity. 4. Will you be trying to return this summer? My intent is to be away this summer with another internship, but if that falls through, I’ll certainly be looking for a team. 5. Who wins, Patriots or Rams? I’d much rather see the Rams win, but my gut tells me that the Pats won’t lose again on the biggest stage. When it comes down to it, the Rams defense hasn’t lived up to expectations this year, and if Brady and Goff have to go toe to toe, I can’t see that going well for the Rams. Patriots 31 Rams 17
Rob Keith
1. Lots of hockey today. How are you feeling? Sore! Hard to establish a groove, but that's the way it is for everyone
2. The overtime playoff game ended in disappointment. Did you think the team generated any good chances to score in that game? well, for some reason I thought we had someone on that side of the net when Jerred went around. I thought he was forced out away from the net, but when I shifted over and felt something hit my right skate I knew what had happened. Jerred's sneaky! We had chances, but they did a good job blocking shots. Josh came up with some key saves, too!
3. Record amount of money raised. What was it like to be a part of it? I wasn't able to play last year, so I was excited to get the chance to play this year. The tournament means a lot to me since I lost my mom to cancer in 2010. To be able to support families who are going through what my family went through is a great feeling. It sheds some hope on the situation, and reminds us that we're all in this together.
4. Team McKinley won it again. Were you predicting them to win going into the day? There were several contenders this year, and there were some really tight games in the playoffs that could have gone either way! I didn't really have any team pinned to win, but congrats to Adam's team!
5. Winter league team looks good so far. What expectations do you have for the rest of the season?There are also a good number of evenly-skilled teams in winter league, so I think it's wide open. It's pretty early to make any predictions, but I believe the team I'm on is in the running!
DJ Beebe
1. Lots of hockey today. How are you feeling? Better than I thought I would!! Hurt my shoulder diving to knock away the ball on a breakaway during our playoff game. All in all a great day though!!
2. What do you think went wrong in your teams playoff game? AGE!! We had one young gun on our team and for at least me my legs were gone, I couldn’t keep up lol
3. Out of all the games you played, which one do you think was the most fun? Well of course the one we won!! I had a great time in all of them!! All 4 of us left it all out there and I think as a first time team we played well together!!
4. How do you think your team looked overall? Guess you can combine 3 & 4, I was answering as I was reading the questions lol
5. Record amount of money raised for this tournament. What can you say about the day overall? It was an outstanding day!! All that organized this needs to give themselves a huge atta boy & girl!! I’m sure it wasn’t easy and took tremendous effort and hard work!! If I’m still around I would like to make more of a contribution next year!!