Coach Flip Naumburg's Journal

Saturday, April 30, 2005

BYU   8 -  CSU  7

MONKEYS IN THE WIND

We were outplayed and the better team, BYU, won today, and they are on their way back to Utah with the RMLC Championship trophy we had held for three years. 

As Kale (assistant coach) pointed out, that gets the big UNDEFEATED monkey off of our backs.  The truth is that with the loss today we got rid of many monkeys all at once.  A few streaks came to an end today.

Things didn't go or bounce well for us, or at least that's what it felt like from the get go.  It was not my favorite game in terms of whistles blown.  We did not play an "A" game by any stretch of the concept.  We made less errors overall than we have been making lately, but we made crucial ones, and we made them at critical moments.  Yet the game was close and we had plenty of chances to turn the score around.

When things were at their worst we trailed halfway through the 4th quarter at 7-4, but then we fought back right away to make it 7-6, and we had every opportunity to tie the game up near the end, but we never could get it done.

The Cougars played a lot like they wanted that trophy just a bit more than we wanted to keep it here in the Fort.  Maybe I didn't help that process either, because that has never been the piece of hardware that I ever cared the most about, even though I liked being RMLC Champions just fine.

TAKE ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE OF MY HEART NOW BABY (Janis Joplin)

Yes, this one hurts.  I have never had a loss at any level that was pain free, but I am not angry today.  I still have a dream.  I did not go into the "if we had only done this or that" mode for very long.  That is not what I want to do with this game.  The first action that my mind took as I drove the 40 minutes back to Fort Collins was where to go first, and not where we should have turned earlier or whatever. 

I know that we could have done many things better, but having only 4 goals through 51.5 minutes of a game is the main thing that just won't do.  Anyway, that's where I am going on Monday.  No, actually I already started the journey.

RED FACED

We lost, or BYU won 14 out of 17 face offs.  I don't know exactly what I am going to do when I get there, but I know I'm going to the face off arena on Monday as well.

OH YEAH

Lots of our players got the recognition they deserved for the season's body of work, as we had six players named to the first team All RMLC team.  Four others were recognized as well on the second team or honorable mention list.  I was named Coach of the Year for the league for the very first time since coming to CSU.  It figures.  I never really want any of that stuff to come my way.  I would rather win and get no credit to an almost superstitious degree.  I also much prefer for the players to get these "residuals" of success, and so of course I am named to receive this very nice honor on a day when we lose.  More than that it was the first time we have tasted defeat of any kind since last May.  Tastes like crap.  Let Mikey eat it………….

TRAIN'S LEAVING

I do not know what our "class" status will be for the trip, but I do know that the next stop is Blaine Minnesota a week from Monday.  ALL ABOARD!

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