Mark Mazzoleni Quotations | Page 2

I didn't expect him to have 40-something saves and have a shutout. He's a 20-year-old and has been in the USHL for two years and junior hockey for four years. I thought he would add maturity and competitiveness, and he showed that (Friday).

We moved the puck exceptionally well. I thought Jeremy Dehner, from a power-play perspective, executed as well as he has all season. He really was a threat out there.

We have a (heck) of a time against this team. It's their style. If there's a loose puck in their D zone, they don't break it out; they just chip it out, so they're a real tough team to sustain pressure against.

We've made a lot of progress this year, and we can't lose sight of that. We learned a lot about what to do and what not to do (against Omaha). That's playoff hockey, and we have to be ready and willing to compete.

They are a very hard-working team. We knew that going in. They outworked us for two periods. In the third period, we had our chances, but for two periods they absolutely manhandled us.

They are a very frustrating team to play against. I'm glad we're done with them. I hope to God we don't see them in the playoffs.

They are the highest-scoring team in the league and we limited them to one goal.

There are no moral victories, because a loss is a loss. Just because we're playing a good team like Omaha and we played well in the final two periods doesn't mean that we should be happy about what happened out there.

We're in the hunt, there's no question. We have a very big game against Waterloo on Thursday, and we still have two with Cedar Rapids and two with Des Moines. The thing is, we are in striking distance.

I was proud of our kids' effort. We played very hard and played right down to the end.