2/11/99

Steve: Erik, this is going to be your second interview with us, and sadly your last, as you are heading off to college. We won’t get any of the background information about your family, etc. - the fans can read your other interview for that. Let’s first talk a little bit about the playoffs last year, the sweep of Green Bay, and then Omaha swept us, and the national championship. Talk about the Clark Cup first. How can a team go from winning one series completely and then losing the next like that? What happened there?

Erik: Well, the playoffs are weird like that. There is just a lot of emotion. We sort of had Omaha’s number during the regular season, and there is just a lot of emotion involved there. We came off a big win off Green Bay and I think Lincoln, and we were just physically worn out and just beat up, I guess. We had a lot of little guys on the team and they were just taking a toll. Omaha was just pretty jagged and they got that first game. They always say that the first game is pretty important; it sort of sets the tone of the series. They got right on us and we just never rebounded back from it, I guess. It was almost better that we lost it though, I think. It made us think that we weren’t the best team. It opened our eyes a little. It sort of set the tone for the national tournament then. We had something to prove.

Steve: Tell me about the national tournament. What kind of an experience was that? Obviously, it was great.

Erik: Yeah, it was great. I was in high school last year so I had a week off from school and that was awesome. Yeah, the whole deal. Just flying out there. Billings is a great place to hang out and take a vacation. There were a lot of great teams out there from all over. It was sort of the "best of the best" and just a good time. I think five games in six days or something. Just hockey all the time.

Steve: Good fans out there. They were real excited about the tournament being in Billings.

Erik: Yeah, they were pretty excited. It was really nice though cause we almost had more fans than a lot of the other teams there. It was almost like a home ice advantage there, which was pretty cool.

Steve: We were loud. When we played Billings that first Friday night, it was full but we were loud.

Erik: We can always hear everyone in the stands. We usually override their fans in their building which is just pretty cool. It always helps us out.

Steve: Were you guys convinced you were going to win? I mean, were you on a mission to beat Omaha or what was the attitude?

Erik: Well, we had a pretty good attitude going into there. If you win the Anderson Cup, it’s almost sort of set that you win the national championship. We just had a good attitude going in there. It wasn’t just a screw off tournament for us. We knew what our goal was. It was five games in six days and that is what the whole season boils down to, I guess, and we knew it had to be done and we just did it. We went to work.

Steve: Now what about this year? Obviously, this is just a phenomenal year with only five losses. There is like 14 or 15 games left and if you win 11 of them, you have got the championship. Is that on your minds?

Erik: I think everyone is thinking about that right now. We know what has to be done. We’ve just got to keep on winning. We have got a pretty good lead right now. I think we’re five games ahead of everyone. We certainly can’t get cocky and we’ve got to stay mentally tough and just finish off strong. If we don’t win the Anderson Cup for some reason, then just set the tone for the playoffs and keep rolling through.

Steve: Now you have had an injury the first part of the year. I bet that was disappointing. Was the injury your knee?

Erik: Yeah, I tore my ACL in my knee. It happened last year and I just never got it fixed. It was an operation that had to be done. Now I am back in the line up, just trying to work.

Steve: After we win the Gold Cup again this season, you are off on a college scholarship. Tell me about that.

Erik: Yeah, I am going to Madison, Wisconsin. That is my hometown. They just got a new facility there and stuff, and they have got a great program. It is just a great atmosphere there. It should be a good time.

Steve: Do you know any of the players that are up there playing right now?

Erik: Yeah, actually I do. I worked out with them some over the summer and I always see them around at the rinks anyway. There are a couple guys actually from Madison. I played with one of them at high school when I was in Madison. It is just going to be a good time.

Steve: Now if you’re from Madison, then do you know any of the people in Green Bay at all or that team?

Erik: Yeah, I know most of them. I know the owner and his son and stuff cause I used to play against them. They were like the rival high school team. It is pretty funny cause that is where I actually wanted to go. When you are in Madison, all you hear about is juniors and then Green Bay is the place to go. Luckily, it worked out that I came here.

Steve: How did that happen? Refresh my memory.

Erik: I got drafted here, I think. That means I couldn’t go to Green Bay then, which worked out for the best cause we won the national championship.

Steve: So where were you playing when you were drafted?

Erik: At my high school in Madison.

Steve: So we drafted you in your own hometown?

Erik: Yeah.

Steve: So was it a disappointment at first?

Erik: Yeah, it was a little frustrating cause all I had heard about was Green Bay, and that is where my friends were going to. I just thought that was the place to be, but actually it is longer road trips and stuff. Actually, it has been a great experience here all together, I mean, with the fans and the national championship. Just everything is going right here, and I got a scholarship also.

Steve: As you head off to college, do you have any specific goals? I mean, do you want to end up getting a degree and getting some type of major and working, or would you like to try to get into professional hockey? What kind of goals do you have?

Erik: I don’t really have any goals right now. I guess it is all open. I just want to work hard and establish myself there, I guess, on the team and at school and just make the grades. I guess hopefully something will open my eyes there at school, and I will find a major that I like and pursue that also. Then with hockey, I will just keep playing and hopefully that works out, too.

Steve: And if you can go on to the pros, great! Right?

Erik: Great! If not, I will have a college education to start off my life after college.

Steve: Well, since this is our last interview, is there anything that you would like to tell the fans?

Erik: Yeah. I just want to comment on Peter Smrek.

Steve: Okay.

Erik: We all went home for break, and when we came back, he had the ugliest hair cut I think in the league when he came back. Just this little bald head that was dyed like yellow and he looked like Uncle Fester. So if any of you guys see him, just say hi to Uncle Fester. He’ll like that!

Steve: I didn’t happen to notice that. Otherwise, I am sure we would have mentioned that in the rant. You can be sure that in Sarah’s Rant she will mention his hair. She has mentioned hair in her rants before, actually it was a Green Bay native, Mike Nooyen. Do you know Mike Nooyen?

Erik: No, I don’t.

Steve: Well, he had quite a hairdo that was commented on a couple years ago. So we will comment on that. Well, thanks a lot, Erik.

Erik: Yep.