Steve: Noah, is this going to be your last year with the Bucs?

Noah: Yeah, my last year.

Steve: What are your plans for the future?

Noah: I am going to Colorado College.

Steve: How did you narrow your choices down to Colorado College?

Noah: Well, it kind of started over the summer. A lot of schools were showing interest. At the tryout camp, a lot of schools were there. And then just coming in, I kind of narrowed it down to Colorado College, Denver, and then I went on to visit Ohio State and I was thinking about UNH. I went on my visit to CC and I was real comfortable with them even before my visit. When I got there, it just reinforced that and everything fit for what I wanted.

Steve: When you said the tryout camp, that’s the Buc tryout camp this summer?

Noah: Right.

Steve: So there were actual scouts from colleges there watching?

Noah: Yeah. Like the first camp there were probably 10 or 12, and then the second camp as well, another 10 or 12 scouts. It seems like it gets earlier each year. You know, they want to get their kids signed early or commit early and then they don’t have to worry about it.

Steve: So did you actually visit Colorado College?

Noah: I visited Ohio State and Colorado College.

Steve: How come you gravitated towards Colorado College?

Noah: You know, it is out west and a little closer to home. The style of play that they play, it is the big rink on a big sheet. It is real wide open. Their whole coaching staff likes the team to move the puck and it’s all puck control and just attack offensively and be creative. I think that is what I like to do. I think that’s one of the reasons. And then also the school is on the block plan, which you only take one class for 3 weeks and then you have a five-day break, and then you take the next block. So you just come straight out of one subject at a time.

Steve: Now do you get a complete scholarship there?

Noah: Yeah.

Steve: Cause Colorado College is very, very expensive.

Noah: Yeah.

Steve: I think Garrett told me it was like twenty-some thousand a year, twenty five thousand.

Noah: Yeah, I got a full scholarship.

Steve: So it is all paid for?

Noah: All paid for for four years.

Steve: Wow. That’s a hundred grand.

Noah: Yeah, I was pretty happy about that.

Steve: Now when will you be leaving to go to Colorado College?

Noah: I think the freshmen get there a week before school starts, and then your classes start in September.

Steve: Do you plan on playing right away do you think, or do they hold the freshmen back a little bit?

Noah: Well, this year they had six freshmen and all of them are playing pretty regularly. Next year they lose two of their top forwards so they said hopefully I will, you know, as long as I keep progressing and stuff then I feel I can play right away.

Steve: You come in maybe a week early, but when does the actual season start then for your college play?

Noah: I think it starts in November. Official practices are in November or late October.

Steve: And you only play half as many games as the Bucs, right?

Noah: Yeah. You only play, I think regular season is only like 28, 30 games. And then, NCAA rules and all that. I think the maximum is like maybe 35 or 40.

Steve: So do you know any of the people on the team at Colorado College?

Noah: Yeah, I know Justin Morrison and Burt Nelson. They are both from California. I have played with Justin ever since I was a squirt or peewee.

Steve: So that will be good for you. Let’s talk a little bit about last season. Obviously, we were the national champion. Tell me some of your thoughts and memories about that trip to Billings.

Noah: We were kind of coming off a sweep on Omaha. You know, we just knew what we had to do. And we get there and it felt like, you know, cause we don’t go to many tournaments during the year, it’s all league play. So you are facing teams you haven’t played. You’re staying in a hotel and it’s just kind of a different atmosphere. You start out the first game and I didn’t think we played particularly well but we got the win. It just seemed like each game we got better and better. And then finally, we had a 2-1 game against Omaha. You know, what a way to end it. It was great!

Steve: What did you think about the other league teams like the AFHL, like the Billings and the Bozeman and the Compuware.

Noah: I didn’t think the Frontier League was that strong, they had a couple good guys but they just really dropped off after that. That’s where we would beat those teams. Their goaltending was not the greatest. But the North American teams I thought were pretty good. You know, Compuware we took in overtime. Even though I don’t think we played particularly that well against both those teams and Springfield. But I just think the USHL, as a whole has more depth. This year I think we have depth, that is what’s going to carry us is our depth, and I think this last year too was our depth.

Steve: So are you guys going to win the national championship?

Noah: Yeah.

Steve: No doubt?

Noah: No doubt.

Steve: Okay. One other question I forgot to ask you. Will there be a lot of difference when you play college hockey from the USHL? They don’t allow any kind of rough stuff, do they, checking or fighting or anything like that?

Noah: Well, there is checking but there is no fighting. You would be suspended one game. There is no touch icing. As soon as it crosses the goal like they blow it down. And also there is no two-line pass, which really opens up the rink. A lot of the rinks in college hockey are Olympic size sheets. In our league it is only Waterloo that has an Olympic sheet. It’s more of a wide-open game, you know, but at the same time the guys are bigger, the guys are stronger, the guys skate faster, and the guys shoot harder and the goalies are better.

Steve: Do you have any idea what you want to major in at Colorado?

Noah: I think I am going to go into economics or maybe something like pre-law. I am not really sure. I think I am going to get there my first year and kind of take some different classes, see what I like and then decide then.

Steve: Well, with this being your last year, is there anything you would like to tell the fans or firing shots?

Noah: I would just like to thank everybody like the fans, the Des Moines Buccaneers organization, my housing family. Everybody just for making my two years in Des Moines memorable and a fun time. A lot of people come to the games, a lot of people support us and I think that is great. The organization supports us, our housing families support us and I just think it is great. Everybody is behind us. Hopefully I will look back on this, well, I know I am going to look back on this and just say those were a pretty good two years of my life.

Steve: Well, great. Thanks for the interview Noah.

Noah: Thank you.

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