Pat Hunter
1. 2 championships, 2 finals mvp’s in 2 seasons in a league that probably never heard of you until the start of last season. How have you been able to adjust from ice hockey, different teammates and different competition to your teammates in the XHL and playing on the Reynoldsville surface? Yeah a lot has gone into the last two years. The two championships are most important to the team and I the MVP award is a nice bonus. The adjust from ice to roller was difficult and I still struggle with it in some ways but playing roller for two years before joining the XHL was important. This year was not easy for us at the beginning, we had a lot to figure out. 2. How does the XHL skill level and competition compare to some of the other competition you have faced in other leagues? I have only played in one other league which was my hometown Indiana. Joe Spencer invited Mike Lehman and I to play in the league and I would definitely say the competition in the XHL is superior for our area. 3. This team struggled for a while this season. Did yourself or anyone else on the team get discouraged at all throughout the season or did you think the team would be ok once it got to the playoffs? No question, we had our doubts. I think we went on a 3 or 4 game slide where we were just searching for answers. We had the talent but couldn't find a way to click. Eventually it happened, we worried about defense first and then let our offense take their opportunities when they were present. 4. The Xtreme, with a roster of 3 of the best players the league has seen over the years, was able to beat the Knights in a hard fought, 3 game series. What was your impression of them from the meetings you had with them the last couple regular seasons and how were you able to dominate them the way you did last night? Well first off we knew the knights or the extreme were going to be tough. When we found out it was going to be the extreme we knew they played a more complete game especially defensively. Joe Bussard, Kevin Smith and Dave Jewell can all make you pay if you are careless with the puck. I think we split with them in the season so we knew we had to be ready to play. I think their series with the knights took a little bit of a toll on them and we didn't get their best. I expect them to come back next summer healthy for another run at the cup. I hope Kevin Smith didn't actually throw his equipment away, because he can play and is huge for that team. 5. You almost weren’t able to play this season. Might be too early to tell, but do you have any idea if you think you will be back to try to 3 peat next season? I was unsure this season because I had an internship that eventually fell through the last week of school so i was able to play last minute. This is my last year of school so as long as i find a job in the area, I will most likely make a return to defend our title and to 3 peat. Thanks for a great season guys, looking forward to the next.
Eric Llewellyn
1. 2 dominating wins last night to clinch the 2019 xhl championship. How does this championship compare to the one you won back in 2014? It felt really good to win in such dominating fashion. Ive been on the other end. Id say thats the biggest difference. Its hard comparing championships. They are all oh so sweet! 2. The Xtreme had just beaten the Knights in a hard fought, 3 game series. You think they may have had a little bit of a hangover from that series? No i really dont think so. They were “selected” by the knights and I think that kind of put a chip on their shoulder so they came out and beat ‘em. They played a hell of a series but this is the playoffs and were playin 2 games a night as top seeded teams thats just part of playing in the league. I feel that if we played game 2 on wednesday it would have been the same result. Once the playoffs got started there was nobody stopping this Renegades team. We came in hot and went out even hotter 3. You made your share of contributions in these last couple series. What was it like playing with some of these guys that you have never been teammates with before, in particular, the dynamic duo of Pat Hunter and Mike Lehman? Yeah im really happy with my play in the playoffs this year. I didnt think id ever be pushing 30pts in the postseason but those 2 guys helped me completely reinvent my game.Im used to teams keying on me whether its to eliminate my goal scoring or to make me mad or whatever.... but with those kind of weapons on the floor it really opened up some space for me to make better passes and keep more plays alive than i used to. We have so much depth on this team its ridiculous. Its a shame its over... I can skate with any one of those guys and find chemistry. I think we would have just continued to get better...and thats a scary thought. 4. Josh probably got a little overlooked considering the team scored 80 goals in this years playoffs. How would you compare Josh to the goalie you are used to having behind you in James Nelson? 80 goals thats incredible! I dont know off hand how many we let up but Clontz played great down the stretch. He had a game he didnt like then after that it was on. It was like he flipped a switch. Reminds me of James and what he did with his playoff mvp run in ‘14.What I really wanna know.... is can Clontz actually fish?? Who would win there??? Thats crucial. 5. You were almost stuck without a team when the Hooligans decided to go their separate ways before the season started. What was your reaction when the Renegades found a spot on the roster for you? It was a strange couple of weeks. Went through a period of trying to save the Hooligans but that fell through. Then once i realized everbody was being KD .. I wasnt going to turn down being a ringer when the chance came. I knew I had a good chance to win a cup and at that point Pat wasnt even on the roster! Next thing ya know they lose a guy and Pat takes the spot back. Clontz hit me up with that information and I just remember saying WOW! Lets go win the cup! The rest is history.