Player Spotlight

Player Spotlight highlights the finer details and elements while supplying insight to the fans on what a player's thought process may be pertaining to a certain play, game or situation. It brings the intensity, passion, and inner most thoughts of the individual player that otherwise may not be felt or heard.



04/09/02

The Albany Attack's Gary Rosyski had a few words with PLPA Correspondent David Unkle following their 14-10 win over the Rochester Knighthawks. The Attack takes on the Toronto Rock at the Pepsi Center (The Wolf Den) in Albany, New York this weekend for the 2002 Champion's Cup. It will be the fourth consecutive appearance in the Champion's Cup finals for Toronto and Albany's first.




Question The Champion's Cup game features two of the NLL's top defensive teams; in the regular season Toronto surrendered a league low 176 goals and Albany gave up the third lowest at 194 goals. What can the fans expect Saturday night?
Answer It will definitely be a low scoring game. The two top goalies in the league will be playing [Albany's Rob Blasdell and Toronto's Bob Watson] and the defense on both teams will keep the goal scoring down. Both teams have strong offenses…hopefully we can outscore them…I expect both teams to score less than ten goals.


Question What does Albany need to do to win against Toronto and do you expect to have as much success against Toronto as you did against the Knighthawks?
Answer We need to dominate in shots on net and score goals… we need to stick to the basics and work hard a both ends. We have strong team unity…the coaching staff put together a group of guys who jelled this year. We've played against each other in the summer leagues and knowing your teammates has made a difference this year…we went into last week's game and expected to win.


Question What style of game do you expect to be played?
Answer The game will be physical with an emphasis on defense. Both teams like to match up against certain players. The key will be to shut down Toronto's offense [which scored 223 goals this season] and control loose balls. Each team will try to control the pace of the game but whichever team comes out too physical and draws penalties will suffer.


Question Can you talk about the impact of special teams on the game?
Answer The penalty killing for both teams is pretty even [Albany was ranked first in the league with a 58.2% success rate and Toronto was second in the league with a success rate of 57.9%]. Our power play unit is not as good as we would like it to be but we need to stay focused and take advantage of opportunities.


Question How much of an impact will coaching play on this game?
Answer I think that coaching will play a big factor leading up to the game. Once the game begins though, it will be won or lost by the players. At this point in the season, there is nothing that we can learn other than to study tendencies of Toronto. We have a solid team and we've had a solid team although our record did not show it [in reference to last year's 5-9 record]. This year we bought into the coaches system, we listened more and as a result, we won more.


Question Who do you see as the unsung players on the Attack?
Answer Rob Blasdell is one of the league's best goalies. Josh Sanderson [35G, 68A, 14PPG, 1SHG, and 2GW] is really coming into his own. Jim Moss and Cam Woods have made contributions all season long.


Question What do you attribute your success to this season?
Answer I started out a little more confident and with more experience…we have an awesome offense…there are no selfish players. As a result, everyone, including me, had their fair share of shots.


PLPA Correspondent

David W. Unkle is the host of The Topcat & Taggart Sports Show aired on WNJC 1360-AM...Philadelphia's Renaissance Radio Station every Sunday from 4:30-5:30 PM (Eastern Time). The Topcat & Taggart Sports Show brings local and national sports figures of yesterday and today to the airwaves highlighting both the professional and personal dimensions.

David also is a Staff Writer for South Jersey Sports On-Line (www.SJSports.com) covering the Philadelphia Wings. A former semi-professional football player and ice-hockey enthusiast, David covers the Philadelphia Eagles (NFL), Philadelphia Phantoms (AHL), Trenton Titans (ECHL) and Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies (ECHL).

You can write to David at: dunkle@sjsports.com