Our (third and fourth line) is gonna be important, a big factor, especially when you play every other night for the rest of the season. The third and fourth lines have to pick it up and be the difference most nights.

You get your third- and fourth-line guys contributing offensively and it's a big bonus for you.

I think we hit some hit posts, especially in the third and fourth quarters. Take nothing away from Watson, but we did hit the inside of the pipe a time or two. But we're gonna break out sooner or later and get a pit full one game, where there's 15 or 20 on the board for us.

It was two different teams. (Friday) night I felt we came out ready to play, and that was a big game for us. One thing I was afraid of was having a physical and emotional letdown, and I felt that definitely happened today. The feeling in the locker room before the game was mellow, and there wasn't much talk about basketball. Rice Lake came out and got after us. That's what good teams do.

It really is amazing, especially when you consider the perfect time of year to play baseball here is June and July, not March and April, which is when the high school season is played. Our kids play under difficult circumstances sometimes. They have to be tough to play a doubleheader when it's 25 degrees outside. It's either get tough or get in the dugout. But I really believe that helps them when they get to the next level.

We always seem to play better when the competition is tougher. With my guys winning the other night [2-1 in overtime over Passaic Valley] in a tough game, that really helped them. They love the fact that they had to fight to win.