Q & A with hockey head coach Sean Hogan

I took this from an interview I did with Hogan a few weeks ago, but I thought it fit nicely with the upcoming ACHA National Championship Tournament.

How rewarding was it for you, as a first-year head coach, to take your team all the way to Nationals and win?

Well, I knew we had a talented team. I was kind of nervous though. In some ways, not winning the National Championship the year before took the pressure off of me. If we would have won it two years in a row and then I came in, it would have been a little rough. But I knew we were going to be all right. We had a great season, it was just a matter of getting it done when it counted. We had a really great core group of guys from the seasons we were really successful. We had a lot of really hard workers and really good hockey players. I don't want to say I never had any doubts, but I just had that feeling that we were going to win it all. It was a big relief when we did.

How high do you have your expectations set this season?

You know what? I feel the same way though. I feel that even though we're not as successful as I hoped we would be in the regular season, in the National Tournament, anything can happen on any given day. For some reason, this team has always played our best hockey in the National Tournament. I have no idea why, but it's a good thing. We always play our best when it comes down to it, when it means the most.

What was the transition like from Division 2 to Division 1?

It was a lot harder than I thought. When we were Division 2 and we won two National Championships, I thought we'd be a Top 4 team in Division 1. And a lot of Division 2 teams think that. That's just not the case. I'm not saying we're not talented enough, but when it comes to what the Division 1 schools have to offer players compared to what we have, it's a lot different. There's a lot of teams in Division 1 that have their own rinks. We have to pay for our ice time and a couple nights a week is all we can afford. So when you're on the ice every day like those guys are and you're in the workout room every day, you better be better than us. That being said, the fact that we do as well as we do, you can attribute it to our guys. They work hard with what we have to offer. But it's a lot bigger step than I thought it would be.

How do you think the team is living up to your expectations?

I knew we were going to be a Top 16 team. I think we're going to be in the National Tournament, and that's what our goal was, at least be able to compete for the National Championship.