Rob Sumner Quotations

On the explanation given to me, the referee agreed it went into the net but that he blew his whistle first. I couldn't really see it, so there wasn't a lot I could argue about.

I was pleased with the start tonight and we will be ready tomorrow.

We're looking at things realistically. To even give ourselves a chance at the division we know we have to win both games against Everett. We're much more concerned with how we're playing than the teams ahead of us or behind us.

Scott Jackson's an easy gut to take for granted when things are going good because he does everything well. He logs a lot of ice time and he's such a key part of any of our successes.

He just has a bruise. There wasn't much swelling, so he should be ready to go.

He's played well in all his appearances. He looked very composed and after giving up an early goal, he didn't panic.

He is getting back to the level of a really elite player in this league. He and Chris Durand have both been playing very well for us. If we can get our entire lineup on the ice and get things going in the right direction, it's going to be a fun second half.

Hopefully we all got the message and learned that we can't afford not to be ready to play. We've got some special things we're going to work on to drive that point home.

He is a guy you can count on in all areas, offensively and defensively. He is strong on face-offs, on top of being a very good penalty killer. He is our captain here and he is a big leader for us in all areas.

He finishes very well. He's a goal scorer and he certainly did that. That's a great shot by a great player.

Part of it is that we don't score a lot, so we had better be good in one-goal games. We're confident and comfortable playing in close games.

I was very happy the way we turned it up in the third. We elevated our game and made it hard for them to do anything.

I think we both played hard. Dubinsky is a great player and he made us pay early and that took the edge off what was a good start for us. We played well. We just had some key breakdowns.

We came out and played with a purpose. We played hard and smart for the most part. We know Everett is a good team and they deserve our best. We were pretty hungry all night.

To go out and lay an egg like that is tough to take.

We haven't had much chemistry in our forward groups this year. Certainly at this point nothing is written in stone. Once we get rolling, if we think something else might fit, we won't be scared to make any changes.

We came on strong in the third period. But once you get to overtime, anything can happen. They were able to chip away and get a couple in the second period and got the momentum. Anytime you have a 3-0 lead, you should be able to close out the game. No excuses.

That was a real big save. If they score there, they still have time left to push for another one.

We've scored some big power-play goals that have given us momentum and confidence. We had a very bad power play in the first half, but we've improved, had some success and it's still evolving.

We still have some decisions to make. So far it's been a very good camp for us.

We were a little too sloppy in our own end, but there were obviously some calls that didn't go our way. We made a lot of mistakes and there were questionable calls on goals or lack of goals.

We have confidence in both guys. Both have been sharp. We feel like we're in a really good position with our goaltending.

We liked both players. We didn't pick up one to get both of them here. We think they're both very intelligent young players.

We thought the second goal was a high stick.

We just weren't very good in a big game in the standings. It was a very disappointing effort. We didn't play with enough energy or passion tonight.

We're not perfect, but there are a lot of areas in our game that are much improved. We generally aren't a high-powered offensive team, so we have to be concerned in both ends. At this time of year, when every team has a lot to play for, you can't let your guard down.

We think we're a pretty good skating team, and part of that is forcing turnovers and constantly moving your legs. That's what makes us successful. We've been using our speed to force turnovers and play a higher pressure game.

There is no point making it any bigger than it needs to be. We just need to win our next game, then we'll worry about a Game 7.

We're far from a well-oiled machine on the power play, but we're starting to recognize plays and make quick decisions to create better shots on net through traffic. With the chances we had early against Spokane on the power play and the results we had late, we can gain some confidence.

We're getting chances, we just have to be more determined to bear down and turn those chances into goals. They can't block them all. We just have to find a way.

We know exactly what happened and what we need to do. If you throw enough shots at the net, one will go in. You don't win many games with only 18 shots on net.

At this point, it doesn't matter who we're playing. We need to get some points.

We are an improved team when you add those three pieces into our lineup. All three should fit very well. It certainly gives us much more depth up front. They're older and more experienced guys that are significant pieces to put in right now.

When you have a three-goal lead it should hold up in any building. We've got no excuses.

We've played three road games, but we just haven't played nearly as well as we need to. We've taken some steps to improve, but we're far from happy.

It was tight and intense. I liked that we got quality chances because we didn't get those in Game 2.

It weighs on me why we weren't ready to go, because on paper that was a big game. To go out and lay an egg like that is tough to take. We just didn't play well throughout the lineup.

We're very aware of the standings. We talk on one hand about chasing down the teams ahead of us, but it's so tight that you have to be aware of who's nipping at your heels. The only way to separate yourself from the pack is to win your own games.

We feel like we're in a position to be really playing our best at the right time of the year. It's nice to have a full team on the ice and we're ready to move forward.

Tonight is tough to swallow. We felt we should have won this game.

We've had to deal with some significant hurdles. I don't think there's a team out there that has been through as much as we have.

We wanted to play with heart and play smart. We wanted to be strong as a team defensively, to give our four guys as much help as we could.

Bridges kept us in it. He gave us a chance by being strong early.

We didn't measure very well. They do a lot of things well. They don't make many mistakes. They were able to score on their power play and we weren't.

The thing we like best about Jax is the more important the game or the situation, the better he plays. That's a good quality to have for a hockey player.

Both teams start at zero and it's even going in. I don't think records have much impact on the series. It puts an edge on the series when there's a rivalry between the two teams. But in preparing, there's no difference. It just makes it a little more exciting.

We had some scoring chances, but we just didn't play as well as we needed to. We've got to play a lot harder.

Special teams are always critical against Everett. They don't take many penalties and they have the best power play in the league. The best way to kill penalties against Everett is not to take them. Prevention is the key.

Although he's a very humble kid who goes about his own business, all of the recognition that he's an elite player can only help his confidence.

Roman has really played hard and much better. He's always had the talent and now he's really playing hard in the less glamorous parts of the game.

Our defenseman couldn't get there because he was getting blocked. There was a scoring chance created off of it and they scored.

You're never happy when you lose, but I liked the effort and the character to get back into the game.

In all the games we've played there have been a ton of penalties. We're definitely not underestimating the need to get better on the power play. It's something we're working hard on every day.

I never even thought about it. He was getting chances, and now he's reached another level of confidence in the last few games. He's starting to use his speed to create even more scoring chances.

I liked the way we played. We wanted the extra point, but we really played pretty well. We made some mistakes, but they are going to happen sometimes in hockey.

I liked our start and our finish, and we can fix the way we played in-between. I really liked the way we played with desperation once we got to that point.

In the last few games Johnson have been excellent with his grittiness and passion. He's really impacted the last few games.

I fully expect that we will regroup and be ready to play against Everett. We don't have the luxury of having guys who can score even when they are having an average performance. We seem to have to work hard for every goal.

It's ironic that their best scorers didn't beat us. It was just our own lackluster play.

They counted it, so nothing we can do.

In the back of my mind I was a little concerned about a letdown because you can breathe a sigh of relief. I'm not sure if that's what happened, but we had a very good start and then didn't play well in the middle of that game.

I'll take the eight any day, the five against I don't like so much. We made too many big mistakes, but I think that comes with playoff jitters. I thought we settled into the game and played better in the second period.

I didn't think we played well, especially in the first period. I don't think we really played well until the third period. ... We were good in spurts, but there is a lot of things that needed to be better.

They were on a mission at the start of that game and we were caught napping. We weren't focused to play at that level at the start and we got into penalty trouble and to compound it, they make you pay.

It was nice to have our whole team on the ice. It was a real sign of us moving ahead.

Any scoring for us is positive right now. We haven't scored easily. Some of our key scorers have had trouble so any time that somebody else can chip in it's always a positive.

The bottom line is that you have to find a way to win. I'm not trying to take a negative stand on things because it hasn't all been negative, but the fact is we haven't won.

Even with our losing streak, we're right in the thick of things, right in the middle of a tight division. We just have to keep plowing away and give ourselves a chance by doing all the little things right. When you do that, things tend to change.

That's obviously not a recipe for success. The power play continues to hold us back. We're not giving up on it, we'll continue to try different things and different personnel.

It wasn't just a matter of them having a couple of points in those high-scoring games. When they play hard and play well, it's nice to see them get rewarded, but they were playing well before then.

It's a game of momentum, in this building especially, and we had it early and they battled back. They got it back with two power-play goals, and we never saw another one. We made some critical mistakes, and they capitalized.

It says a lot about a player who can produce in those clutch times. He's shown the ability to score big goals at the right time.

It was a simple approach, but effective. We worked hard tonight and so did they.

We just never seemed to get going the way we wanted to. We didn't play well on many fronts, but to give the opposition a power play like that early in the game just isn't good enough.

They're a good team and they played well. We just didn't capitalize on the chances we did have, to give ourselves a chance to win.