We've always said that you can't win the league in the first round of the season but you can lose it. I think that is the great part of playing in the NCC.

After the year we had, we didn't want to lose in the first round. It was very important to win this first round.

It's always tough when you lose in the first round. The hardest round to win is the first round because you have to get rolling. Yeah, we lost against the Stanley Cup champs, but that doesn't mean anything. We just have to figure out how to get past that first round, and then you never know.

That first round was a great win for Eli. That was a great win to have at the end of his senior year. Unfortunately, he only had about a 20-minute break before his next match; it was a hot day and he kind of ran out of gas.

It's one of 16. If you can win the first one, you can't lose them all.

One win, and you're on top of the world. Lose in the first round of the next tournament: you're back to reality.