Final Player Quotes

I'm going to break my quotes from the Bucks' final media availability up into two posts so this isn't too overwhelming.

First off, player quotes, starting with some brief thoughts from Brent Cullaton:

On where the Bucks fell short against the Americans: They just came to play, and they were ready to play, and they're a good team. They were No. 2, and we were the No. 3 seed, and that's the way it played out.

On the Americans' postseason potential: I don't know. They're really defensively sound, but Odessa's a good team, too, so I think it's going to be a good battle to see who goes to the finals.

On how coaching helped him as a player: I just practiced really hard, because I stand behind where he (Coach Ruskowski) stands, so I know how it feels to be back there. And I just wanted to give it everything I had.

On his future plans: (I'll be coaching). One hundred percent. That's it (for playing). I don't want to train anymore.

And now, player/assistant coach Jeff Bes:

On where the Bucks fell short against the Americans: They're a very talented team, and we were right there with them. A few lucky breaks or a bounces here or there... I don't know. We could have won, but obviously we didn't, and it's unfortunate. You can go through all the clichés, go through everything and say we could've, should've, would've, but the fact of the matter is we didn't. Unfortunately.

On whether or not that end was a disappointment: Are we disappointed? Absolutely. We want to play hockey, and we want to win, and we felt that we had the opportunity to win, so obviously we're disappointed. But I also believe in each one of the guys in that room, that we went out there and each guy did the best that they could do, and certainly the effort was there. It was just a struggle that we didn't win. But the effort was definitely there. It was just that we came up a little bit short.

On the Americans' postseason potential: They're a talented team, Odessa's a talented team... I just wish them the best. Obviously, the team that beats you, you want them to go on beat everyone else and think to yourself, 'Well, at least we got beat by the champions.' But it's going to be a good series, I think a high-scoring series, and I wish both teams the best of luck, but I wish I was there and wish our team was playing instead of them.

On overcoming adversity this season: You know what, we went through a long season. We played shorthanded for most of the season with guys quitting the team, injuries... I'm proud of the guys in the room that we banded together and did what we had to do. We had the opportunity to win in Game 6, and I wish we would've, but even going to Game 7 was a testament to the pride and the character of the players that we have to battle the way they did all throughout the season and in the playoffs.

On whether he expects to play next season: Yep, I would. I still love playing the game. We'll see where the chips fall, obviously, but I still love the game and still love playing the game, and I would love to still keep playing.

On what the team can build on next season: There's always something that you want to build on and keep on, but I think the one thing that you can take away is that you want to have players who have character and have heart. We had that, and we showed that we'll do anything to compete and try to win, which we tried to do in the playoffs. You want to bring in players like that, and you also want to bring in skilled players and speed because that's where the game is going. You want to have the skill and the speed to bring in to have a quality team. You look at the teams now, Odessa and Rapid City and Allen and Bossier, and they're all fast and skilled teams that are still playing in the playoffs, so obviously that's the way the game is moving.

And finally, 2009-10 captain Adam Rivet:

On where the Bucks fell short against the Americans: They just came out hard against us, and I think that we kind of fell back on our heels and never really got things rolling in the right direction. We had flashes of it, but we just gave them too many opportunities. They're a good team, credit to them, they have some good players, and they're well-coached and stuff. They just came out, and they took it from us, unfortunately. It's disappointing, and you always wish you could have another crack at it, but that's just sometimes the way it goes.

On the Americans' postseason potential: I think right from the get-go, the beginning of this season, they were picked that they'd probably do pretty well. It's going to be a pretty big battle between them and Odessa. Odessa's a strong team, and so are they. It's hard to say right now because those are two really good teams, but I'm sure it will be a great series between those two. From there, who knows; there's two teams that are playing really well in the North, as well. I think this playoffs was up for grabs from the beginning, to be honest with you. I think anybody could have won.

On overcoming adversity this season: I think the guys have a lot of character. Through most of the season, we had a lot of injuries and played shorthanded, had guys coming in and coming out. I think the guys showed a lot of character throughout the season and same with the playoffs. Regardless of what other people thought, we believed that we could win, and we played well, we played strong, we played hard, and we took a really team to a seven-game series. In seven games, you never know what can happen. Unfortunately, it went their way, but the guys played hard and played strong all year. You just leave it out there, leave it all on the ice, and that's all you can ask for.

On whether the season as a whole was a disappointment: Absolutely. For myself, in my first year here, I was fortunate enough to win a championship, so any time we haven’t won, it’s been a disappointment. You can say it was an accomplishment to take a team seven games against a really good team like that, but in reality, to me an accomplishment is winning a championship. The guys played hard, and I don’t think anyone has any regrets on the way they played. In the end, that’s all you can ask for, but as far as accomplishments, the guys wanted to win a championship, and we came up short.

On his own play and leadership this season: I was pretty happy this year. I felt pretty comfortable. There are always ups and downs throughout the season, but for the most part I felt pretty comfortable on the ice and even in the dressing room. We had some other leaders in there, as well; even the young guys knew what they had to do and knew what it took. There are always times here and there when you have to step up and say something, and that's normal in any sport, but for the most part the guys knew how to carry themselves, as well. I was just there helping them out as much as I could. I'm very happy with the way things went this year, just unfortunately we didn't win, and that's what I was hoping for. But I have no regrets.

On whether he wants to return next season: Laredo's been like home to me, and I love playing here. If I play, this is definitely the place I want to be. Right now, obviously the season just finished, and I'm going to take a step back and reflect on things and go from there. But, like I said, I love Laredo, and I've been here for five seasons now, and it's like a home. There's definitely no other place I'd rather play than Laredo.

On what the team learned this season: I think just the experience alone. We had some younger players throughout the season, and I think the guys went through the bumps and the bruises we went through this year. I think every year it's all about experience and learning from the mistakes you made the season before and trying to correct them the following season.