Most of the guys are football players. Through the years, some weren't, but it kind of came from our football program. We have always tried to lift correctly all year round.
We've had good senior leadership. They've kept everybody positive and ready to work at the next practice to get better. The guys never quit. And they have learned how to play without a superstar. That took six, seven, eight games to get used to.
That was huge. These guys knew they could skate with any team out there, and to get that one right back, it kept us in the game, kept everybody up.
No one thought, most people were thinking we'd finish about .500. To lose two guys like that, and we got off to a slow start, but we had 11 seniors on the team, the kids never gave up.