Jason and his teammates faced the Albany Attack earlier this season
at the Nassau Coliseum and defeated them in overtime. Tonight the Saints
traveled north to take on the Attack on their home turf at the Pepsi Arena.
The game proved a struggle for the Saints however. The Attack's star goalie
Rob Blasdell held them to only 6 goals all night and they fell victim to
Albany's undefeated win streak at home. Saul Davidson of arenamedia spoke
to Jason after the match about the NLL and his career.
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You faced Albany at home early this season and beat them in OT in a nail
biter of a game. Tonight you faced them on their turf. you thoughts on the
Saints performance tonight?
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Well, I think we came out really flat right from the start. I mean we
just couldn't get it back. I think they poured it on offensively and their
defense is pretty tough. And their goalie stood up and we had trouble
getting by him.
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What were you personal goals on the onset of this season?
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Well, every year you want to get better. I had a pretty good year last
year and I wanted to top my totals from last year but sometimes the ball
goes in and sometimes it doesn't. And I'm having trouble getting it in this
year. And a lack of confidence doesn't help.
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Looking over the stats that you've had over the past 5 seasons with the
saints you seem to progressively get better each year. Are there any
personal preparations that you do pregame or preseason to get you into the
game?
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No, nothing special actually. It's going playing in the summer in
Canada. Playing year round keeps you in shape. Stuff like that. No,
nothing person. I just go out there and get mentally ready and keep in
shape as best as I can during the season.
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The Saints have played 10 games in the season so far with the way the
NLL schedule worked out. It's also the most games played so far by any
other team. You have a two game home stand coming up against Buffalo and
Rochester. What are the Saints collectively going to have to do to take on
these two teams?
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We have to come out stronger and play tougher defensively. When we get
our chances we're going to have to bury them. I'm not saying that we're out
of the playoffs but we're going to almost have to play spoiler to some of
these teams. We're all confident in ourselves and we have guys that want to
win. So we're not giving up.
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So the attitude of the Saints has remained consistent throughout the
season in your opinion.
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Oh definitely. You can see through our schedule and our standings in
the last few years that we've been there. We've just always been about 1
goal behind and hopefully we can overcome that soon.
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Being a five year veteran with the Saints, you experienced an equal side
to both the MILL and the NLL. You've seen several aspects of this league.
Overall, how do you think the NLL has done as a league in its performance?
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It's been fine. I really haven't noticed any difference. Ah, you can
see it growing in some cities. Philly has stayed strong, Toronto is good,
and in other cities it's not so good. Hopefully it picks up and people get
interested in it and follow it.
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Do you think that there are any changed that the NLL should implement?
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HAHAHA, without mentioning the refereeing, Ah, it's good the way it is.
I like it. I wouldn't change anything that I can think of that comes to
mind right now.
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As far as the collective bargaining agreement coming up at the end of
this season, do you think that may have any implications in conjunction
with this league for the 2001 season?
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To tell you the truth I really don't follow it that closely. But the
way that it's been going, it's been pretty good for the players and the
owners. I think each party is benefiting equally so I don't think that it
will become too much of a problem.
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With the upcoming MLL Summer Showcase, is that anything that you've
shown any interest in or plan to participate in?
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I go back to Canada every year to play in the summer leagues so, no, not
for me, I don't think so. But a lot of the other guys on the team would
definitely be interested and definitely be involved in that.
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Overall, you thoughts on the officiating this year?
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You know, you can say it about everything, it doesn't matter what sport
you play in. It's consistency that you want. And sometimes one game one
week they let some things go and one game another week they call it. So it'
s tough and it's always an adjustment that you just have to do on the
field. You just gotta win.
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Your five year history in this league. What year stands out as the most
memorable for you in your career?
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Well, definitely the first. The first game I remember was in Rochester.
That was kind of a big thing coming out. Ah, last year personally, scoring
was good. And then we went one year to the playoffs and were blown out by
Boston, I think. Overall it's been great. I've had a great time. And I
have nothing bad to say about playing this game.
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