Chris Costello breaks down a successful season
RR: Chris, thanks for giving us a few minutes. First things first. A record of 8-1-1, the team's best finish. Congratulations.
CC: Thanks a lot, without a doubt it was a great season for all of us. Every player brought their game to the next level, and it's crazy how that record only gets second place in the league.
RR: Talk about your series against The Crush. Two games that had everyone at the edge of their seat.
CC: Definitely. You had two great teams with solid goaltending battling it out. Both times it was physical, but that's the game. Both times the referees couldn't stay out of it, and just blew calls left and right. But I don't want to give them any mention in two games that were great to watch and even better to play in.
RR: Your thoughts on Shawn Dolan leaving?
CC: You should have asked that before the season. He's been gone over 2 months already! But honestly, Dole is a great guy, hell of a player. He's got grit baby, he will battle you until the cows come home. Like Jay says, love to have him on your team, hate to play against him.
RR: Who was the biggest surprise of the season?
CC: I couldn't put my finger on just one person. Everyone had career years, we set records all season long. But if I had to pick one element that surprised me, I would pick Matt Halpin and how he played our first two games. He hadn't played in over 500 days, came into league play and looked like he never missed a beat. He shut down the Leftovers too. That would be the biggest "surprise". As far as the rest of the guys, we all know we can play this well, even better.
RR: Compare this season's team to teams in the past.
CC: In a word: Chemistry. This team has really gelled together to the point where we know what the other is going to do, where they'll be on the play. I stress communication a lot. We can still work on that, but when you watch the games, you see how we branch out, read each other and position ourselves correctly. We don't bunch up anymore. Anyone on this team can score, everyone is a threat. Especially Sean shorthanded. Where the hell did that goal come from?
RR: How do you like your playoff chances?
CC: I love them. You can tell the guys have total confidence. Teams don't want to play against us. This season we were very dominating. We don't have a good past with the elimination round, so the boys have to go in headstrong and take it one shift at a time. Anyone can get beat at anytime. But I think the guys have the fever for that championship. We're hungry, and I think we want it more.
RR: Do you see the playoffs being another 6-on-4 battle with the refereeing?
CC: The referees are not worth my breath. We're gonna go in next week and play hard playoff hockey. We're out to win. They won't stop us.
RR: Who have you put the most pressure on to perform this season?
CC: Probably myself. I want to set a good example out there so I always want to play 110%. If I'm slacking off, I can't go up to someone and demand a full effort. But if I had to pick another player, I'd say I put heat on Jon the most. He's the backbone of this team. It's my job to make sure he knows that. If he's solid, we play solid. When he's shaky, we play shaky. He's been nothing short of excellent all season.
RR: Last question. Who should we look out for in the playoffs?
CC: Like I said, we go one game at a time. First off, we gotta deal with Steve Rogg and Scott Eddy. They're playoff tested, and if they get their "A" game, it will not be an easy task. With the other teams, Scott Small and Tom Baka are constant threats. Pork (Dana Presto, Jr) is very dangerous, there's a lot of talent in the league. But I do think that we have the most talented and well-rounded team. Hopefully it carries us all the way.
RR: Thanks again and good luck next week.
CC: Anytime.
