Brian Gionta
Brian Gionta
Brian Joseph Giontais an American professional ice hockey player and the captain of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. He goes by the nickname "Gio" from his teammates and The Rochester Rocket, dubbed by the media. Although small in stature compared to most other players, he is known for his tenacious play...
ProfessionHockey Player
Date of Birth18 January 1979
CityRochester, NY
chances goals number
We dominated. The number of chances we had didn't show in the goals.
fancy passing plugging shots trying
We've just got to keep plugging away. We're trying to be too fancy at times, passing up some shots that we should be taking.
games key olympic points relax
With only two games before the Olympic break, we want to get all the points we can get. The key for me is to refocus every game and not relax or back off what is making me so successful.
far hard press stick
We just have to stick with it and know that we are doing the right things. We can't press too hard because you get too far away from your game.
knew mistakes reason
We were shocked, obviously. But we knew what we did wrong. We made some mistakes and that was the reason why we didn't come out on top.
erase losses matter records three tough
Three one-goal losses are tough to swallow. We need to erase that. It's single-elimination now. It doesn't matter what our records are.
care couple knows played stuff taken
Yeah, we had to do it but that stuff was taken care of before we were over here. I've only played in a couple of world championships and world juniors. He's been around a lot longer, so he knows more than I would.
care families plans stuff taken
Yeah, we had to do it. But that stuff was all taken care of before we got over here. Our families were pretty much set, the plans were set when we got over here. So I don't know about that.
chasing gave guess needed points regardless team
We needed the two points regardless if we gave one away. I guess that is the team to do it (against), they're at the top, and not to a team that is chasing you. We got the two points that we needed tonight.
board dominated drawing great learned periods smarter
We'll go to the drawing board and tighten things up. I thought we dominated two periods and everyone was great for them. We learned a lot. We got here, and we learned something - learned that we have to be smarter in how we play.
honor
To be up there with him is an honor.
brings needs respect rest sets team
What he brings is that threat. The other team needs to back off a little because they need to respect him. That sets everything else up for the rest of us.
keel staying waiting
We're staying patient. We're staying on an even keel and waiting for our chances.
atmosphere careful ceremony felt home kept playoff whenever
Whenever there's a ceremony like that, if you're home or away, you always have to be careful not to get too stale. But it sparked a lot of emotion, and that kept us going. It felt like a playoff atmosphere out there.