Scott Borek Postgame (03/09/24)

All right, so the final game of the regular season is in the books.

Merrimack falls to Boston College, number one Boston College,

number one in the country and in Hockey East.

Final score is 6-4.

Scott Pork is with us, the head coach of the Warriors.

And I guess in some ways, you know, this game, at least the way it ended up,

the final score, right, the way you guys had a 2-0 lead,

similar to the last time you guys played in this rink.

Did you kind of feel that way as well?

Yeah, no, I said that to the team after it got to be 2-2.

And going into the third, I said this, you know,

I believe in opportunities being given to you

and challenges repeating themselves, and it did tonight.

And we didn't pass that test, but, you know,

I think that the effort our guys have put in here over the last month

with the numbers that we've been dealing with,

I just was really happy for the team when we got out 2-0.

We had a really good chance to make it 3-0, and I think that was pivotal.

You know, that would have been huge, and we just didn't.

And obviously they came back and took it from us.

You did get one guy back.

In the line of tonight, Alex Jeffries, his presence was felt,

had a couple of points there, I believe.

But you also had some other guys that you had to count on

that maybe a little more.

This has been the case a lot of the season,

but a guy like Brady Hunter, for instance,

picked up a couple of points, had a couple of nice plays to set up goals,

and ended up a plus-two on the night as well.

Yeah, I know.

It was good to have Jeff back in the lineup,

and I'm happy for Brady.

You know, he's been a warrior all year,

showing up every single day with the same approach,

not letting himself get beat up by not getting the opportunity.

And I thought he did a really good job with that opportunity.

Yeah, I was going to say, and then being called on in situations

where maybe beginning of the year he doesn't think that's going to happen,

but it ends up being that way, and he's able to help you out.

Yeah, no, it's really good.

And I think when you have guys like that who don't get opportunities

and then make the most of the one they get, you're just happy for them.

And I think the whole team was.

So, you know, disappointing.

I don't know about the result,

but there were individuals who should be very happy with the way they played.

So you guys seem like you're in a pretty good position.

Late in the second period, up 2-0, you go on a power play,

and however it ended up happening, it ended up being, I guess, the worst thing.

You give up the two shorthanded goals.

What happened in that situation there to allow that to happen?

Well, I think we just played a little bit slow, tentative.

They played very fast and hard, you know,

and that was the difference in that situation.

You know, honestly, I think that affected us maybe the rest of the night,

but, you know, I think that's a really tough thing to happen on a power play.

And, you know, whenever there's an odd man situation,

and we're not 5-on-5, we're not at our best hockey.

And even from the power play standpoint, we're a much better 5-on-5 team.

But we'll work through that,

and, you know, we're just going to maintain that aggressive mentality.

And I think moving forward, we've got to attack more,

and play in our toes more,

and just try to make better plays with the puck,

but just play on the attack.

Yeah, as I say, it seemed like the, I guess, you know,

difference if there was one in the game was those special team situations.

I think 5-on-5, you guys had the better on the scoreboard at that regard,

but they had, what, the two shorthanded goals.

4-on-4 is really a special team situation as well.

They pick up a goal on that one,

and they also get the power play goal in addition with the extra attacker

for four special teams goals tonight.

Yeah, I mean, that's kind of a special team.

And when you put their best players on the ice

in any kind of situation like that, it's going to be a challenge,

one that I think we can meet.

We didn't tonight, and, you know,

I'm hoping we get another opportunity to do that

because that's what we'll have to go through to get where we want to go.

So, you know, a big one on Wednesday, and we understand that.

It's going to be a really tough game.

Northeastern is playing great hockey right now.

Really played well today.

I thought they had a great opportunity to beat Providence,

but they're a really good team, and they're playing their best hockey.

I can do the same.

Did you feel like through 20 minutes you guys were doing a lot?

I mean, we talked before the game about, you know,

looking at what UNH had done last week, for instance.

I mean, they didn't have a lot of quality chances in the first 20 minutes,

certainly, maybe a few more, and, you know, you got some big saves.

Some people all lost early in the second period,

but it seemed like, you know, at that point where you guys were up 2-0,

you'd probably done a lot of the things you wanted to do.

Yeah, you know, I thought we defended really hard.

We played really hard without the puck,

and we played as a group without the puck, which was really positive.

But, you know, you've got to do it for 60 minutes,

especially against them.

But against any team in this league, you've got to get that done for 60 minutes.

We didn't tonight.

We got some penalty situations both directions.

You know, they had a couple of power plays, and we did too,

but then you're playing the same players too much,

and, you know, we can resolve, I think, near the end of the game.

All right, before the game, you guys honored the three seniors.

You mentioned the graduate students that you have, guys that, you know,

you honored last year, for instance.

But, you know, three guys.

Three guys who came in, and I think I heard you saying it before,

you know, when it came in, it was a different situation,

different, you know, I guess maybe feeling or attitude

or record around the program as far as what it is now.

The three guys, Christian Felton and Zachary Borgil

and Alex Jeffries, you honored before the game.

Yeah, it was great.

I'm glad we mentioned the grad students as well.

I think all those players made a decision to commit to Merrimack

when we were kind of different, where a loss like tonight wasn't,

you know, almost a moral victory.

Right?

And now that's different.

And those guys are responsible for that.

They're the ones who turned it around.

They're the ones who turned it in the direction that, you know,

we came in tonight expecting to win.

And we didn't.

But that's the expectation that they've set and the standard they've set for our team.

And moving forward, you know, they've definitely got footprints for us to follow.

So before the game, Alfred Larson, the guy who graduated, you know, a few years ago,

I think just before you came here, but a guy who, you know,

you look at those guys that come back here and, you know,

he was excited to have you.

He had a chance to come here from Germany, as it were,

and had a business trip and took him to Boston and a chance to see his former team play.

But seemed like a guy who was, you know, very proud of what you guys have been able to do.

And I'm just wondering if you guys had a chance to meet with or talk with him

and if you got that sense.

Yeah, for sure.

I met Alfred when I first got here in that spring.

What a class act.

And he's a brilliant guy.

And he was great when I met him.

And I thought that tonight he came in.

And we chatted.

I was hoping that he might be around a couple of days.

I'll have him to talk to the team.

But it's really great to have him back.

And all the way from Germany, it's a pretty special opportunity for our program to have him back.

So it was great to see him.

All right.

Thanks, Scott.

We appreciate it.

Best of luck Wednesday night at Northeastern.

Thanks, Mike.

I really appreciate it.

Happy birthday.

Thanks.