BGSU club hockey Captain Adam Burtzlaff and Assistant Captain Jacob Schuette reflect on the season and how well the team did while talking about the hopes for next season. They both have been honored to represent the team as captains and are proud of their team for a great season.
What was the most memorable game this season?
Burtzlaff:
“I would have to say the one against Michigan State University. We had a couple of guys go down including myself and instead of everyone looking down the line looking for who was going to be “the guy” to step up everyone did their part and we ended up getting a huge win 7-4.”
Schuette:
“Our opening game against Wisconsin because we got a great turn out for that game a lot of people came and it was really special to have the supports from the school, students and friends”
How well do you feel that your team did this season?
Burtzlaff:
“We definitely struggled. But that’s just part of being a young team. We have 23-25 freshmen and sophomores so it’s a learning experience for all of us. I’m confident in the team that we are going to turn it around this second half of the season but it’s a good learning experience to learn from struggles.”
Schuette:
“I think we’ve done pretty well, we are still young. Most of us still haven’t played a full season, most of our team and a lot of us are 18 and 19 years old. I think we didn’t meet our expectations exactly but we are still hopeful for the future”
Rookie standouts or did anyone on the team stand out this season as a player?
Burtzlaff:
“Rookie standouts, every single rookie who has come in has done their part really well and I’m really impressed with all the guys that we brought in. Standouts, Cole Ferri has been on a tear, has been putting in about a goal a game for us so he’s been a huge help. But everyone has done a great job with stepping up and pulling their own weight which has been huge in terms of building our team”
Schuette:
“I would say guys like Luke Schuler and Camren Horvath are both guys that always put up a goal or an assist every game or make an impact. Same with all of our other freshmen but those two stick out the most”
What are you hoping to happen next season?
Burtzlaff:
“Next season I definitely think our goal will be to win our conference. We will have a little bit more experience under our belts with our core group. I’m really looking forward to seeing how our guys continue to grow as a unit. I wouldn’t want to play with any other group.”
Schuette:
“We hope our record will be better. We are optimistic about next year with some of the guys we have now and the ones we’re bringing in but we’re hopeful we’ll win a lot more games.”
How was your confidence through the season since the last interview?
Burtzlaff:
“It’s definitely been shaky. But we have a great group of guys and the seconds someone starts to feel down or lose some confidence we have 30+ guys to pick each other up.”
Schuette:
“I would say our confidence stayed the same, sometimes we might have gotten down on ourselves. But we always have the same mentality that we have to win this game.”
How important is it to stuff the slate for your last few games of the season?
Burtzlaff:
“It’s super important we feed off the energy from the crowd so it’s definitely huge for us and we love to have people come out and support us. It means the world to us.”
Schuette:
“It’s very important it will bring a lot of energy for the guys. We love seeing people at our games and the bleacher creatures get the guys going and it’s awesome to just play for BGSU and have the support from the community.”
