Defensive Player of the Week Cam Gray, a junior goalie from Adrian, took some time to chat with NCHAHOCKEY.org this week, hitting some awesome topics:
* Last weekend's 1-0-1 championship in Buffalo
* Playing his first game as a Bulldog
* His love for shoot-outs
* His commitment to joining the bandwagon of the Seattle Emeralds, Pilots, Totems or whatever nickname the NHL franchise selects.
NCHA: What made you pick Adrian for school and hockey?
GRAY: A big thing for me was finding a coaching staff that I was going to have a good rapport with and was going to care about me outside of just being an athlete, that was going to care about me as a person. The reputation of Adrian and where the program's at was important. They've moved a lot of players on past the collegiate level, too, and that's something that I was definitely interested in.
NCHA: What kind of emotions did you have leading up to your first game?
GRAY: I was really excited to get back into game action. Leading up to the game, I was trying hard to just stay in the present and go about my routine as normal. Not get caught up in any storylines. The guys and my coaches helped me feel really comfortable, even before the school year started, and that helped me to focus, just be all business when game time came around.
NCHA: What was your reaction to the game?
GRAY: We got off to a great start. Hopped out to a 2-0 lead before they even had a shot on net. It was a huge confidence boost, when the guys came out hot from the gates. It was the first game, guys were excited. Technically, we were a bit sloppy, but as a team, I think we have a really high motor and I think we are going to look to be all over teams right from the beginning.
NCHA: Any saves you made that stick out to you from the win over Nichols?
GRAY: The saves after the Nichols goal. The next two, three stops were pretty big ones. It was 4-1 at that point. A 4-2 game with half a period to play, that's a different story.
NCHA: What stood out about the game versus Manhatanville?
GRAY: It was a lot different game. That was a tougher game for me. It required more trying to stay engaged. There was a lot less back and forth action. Manhatanville didn't have a lot of sustained zone time. They seemed to be looking to score off the rush ... kind of a weird game. I thought we had good control of the game, though. As a younger team, we just need to keep learning how to close games out. It was good for us to get a taste of that, how to overcome some adversity.
NCHA: Do you like shootouts? (A shootout decided who gets the championship trophy last weekend, after the game finished in a tie.)
GRAY: I loved it. When I got to the bench and realized it was a shoutout, I was excited. I didn't know it was a one-shot elimination. In the first round, our guy didn't score and I had no idea that, if their guy scores, it's over ... When I stopped the second one and the guys came pouring over the bench, I was a little confused. I thought we had another shot each. But it was a great feeling, to win with the guys. Great start for our program this year.
NCHA: So after you stopped the second shooter from Manhatanville, you didn't know you had won?
GRAY: No. (Laughs.) I just casually slid the puck over to the referee thinking I had to stop another one to win it.
NCHA: Who was your NHL team growing up?
GRAY: I was a huge Henrik Lundqvist fan. Still am. Just growing up, watching him a lot, has made me a huge fan. As soon as Seattle has a team, I'm going to have to jump on that bandwagon. I grew up, 17 years in Seattle. Played all my minor hockey there. I always wished I had an NHL team when I was there.
NCHA: A preview for this weekend at Marian?
GREY: We don't look too much at the opponent, but try to stick to our normal preparation, treat every game the same. We try not to get so worked up about who we are playing, but HOW we're preparing. If we're doing things the way we know how, I don't think we need to worry about who we are playing.