I’ll leave it up to my fellow USCHO.com writers to bring you all the quotes from players and coaches. Instead just some general impressions:
Notre Dame was very classy in defeat. Often times a losing team will talk about what they didn’t do right and not give enough credit to the other team. Not the case here. Coach Jackson, Kyle Lawson and Marc Van Guilder had some nice words for Boston College. You can tell that even in defeat, there was a sense of pride about this team, and a realization that they had helped to put Notre Dame hockey on the map.
Coach York talked about how Notre Dame reminded him of his own 1998 team, which was the one that, while losing in the title game, brought Boston College back to national prominence. He also talked about the parallels between this team and the 2001 team, which also had a speedy, gutsy, diminutive forward that did not win the Hobey Baker award but instead got the trophy he really wanted.
Nate Gerbe and Mike Brennan were flush with excitement and satisfaction, as well the should be. They had nearly gotten to the top of the mountain two years in a row, and had finally cashed in on Brennan’s final chance, and possibly Gerbe’s. Will the Sabres come calling? I think so, but Gerbe wouldn’t comment, saying he was living in the moment. And what a moment it is.
