From each month this year, The Daily Gazette sports department is compiling the 10 quotes from our interview subjects that stuck out the most for us, based on how they either made us think or laugh — or some combination of both.

Selected quotes come both from reporting for stories that appeared in The Daily Gazette and interviews associated with episodes of “The Parting Schotts Podcast.” Not all quotes used were previously published.

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“There’s more to my life than hockey, and I hope I’m lucky enough to have a life that gives me more to live for, I guess, than just hockey — and if that comes next year, so be it. But if I have the [pro hockey] opportunity, which I’m fully capable of and I fully hope happens, great, let’s do it.”

— Former Union men’s hockey goalie Darion Hanson, on Oct. 6, on playing his final season of NCAA eligibility at UConn.

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“We were really a naive family. I committed to Union without seeing it. It’s a place that, quite honestly, changed my life. I have fond memories of Union. I owe much of what I do to Union. Those types of emotions are the ones I have to keep in check.”

— Colorado College men’s hockey coach and former Union goalie Kris Mayotte on returning to the Union campus for games against the Dutchmen Oct. 15-16, on the Oct. 14 edition of “The Parting Schotts Podcast.”

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“We really work for everything that we have. We put in a ton of effort. It’s just kind of our little ragtag group, and we pulled it off.”

— Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake field hockey player Grace Todd, on Oct. 15, after the Spartans — who represent one of the smallest schools in their league — clinched the Suburban Council’s regular-season title.

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“Everyone says, ‘No way; no you’re joking.’ That’s always the first reaction, and then you have to say, ‘No, he really did.’ Then, it’s a ‘wow’ after that.”

— Niskayuna boys’ soccer senior Matthew Stiles, on Oct. 22, regarding his twin brother and teammate Andrew scoring a 1,600 on the SATs. Matthew scored a 1,520.

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“You’ve seen the scores of the games. It’s not difficult to see that if a couple plays went our way, this season’s different and everybody’s smiling and laughing.”

— UAlbany football running back Karl Mofor, on Oct. 23, after the Great Danes lost 19-16 to Maine to fall to 0-7 overall and 0-5 in CAA play this season. All five conference losses came by seven points or fewer. UAlbany lost the next week, too.

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“It’s got to be in the right position of the field, in the right moment. It could be catastrophic if you don’t run it right.”

— Fonda-Fultonville football coach Sean Thompson, on Oct. 26, describing the circumstances around the trick play the team pulled off on Oct. 22 against Mechanicville in which senior left tackle Derek Duval threw a touchdown pass to quarterback Connor Weaver.

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“They’re so cute. I was looking over and threw a little smile over every once in awhile. It’s fun to watch, for sure.”

— Mohonasen senior Loren Cuomo, on Oct. 26, after winning her fourth Section II girls’ tennis individual championship, while bubbly and spirited eighth-grader Jeevika Benki and seventh-grader Olivia Dartawan of Niskayuna were winning the doubles championship on the adjacent court.

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“I was looking at my teammates, and I was just like, ‘What the heck?’”

— Schalmont girls’ soccer’s Gianna Viscusi on her reaction after scoring her third goal in the final seven minutes of the Sabres’ Oct. 29 win in the Section II Class B championship game. Viscusi’s late goals turned a 1-1 tie into a 4-1 win.

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“You can see how calm and cool he appears out on the mound. I tell people, ‘This is his job. Just like you and I go to work, he does it on the big stage and he knows what he has to do out there.’ So far, he’s done pretty well.”

— Bob Anderson, on Oct. 29, before his son Ian Anderson pitched in the World Series. A former Shenendehowa High School star, Ian Anderson ended up tossing five no-hit innings in his World Series debut. Earlier this week, Ian Anderson and the Braves won the World Series.

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“We were doing this for our team this year, and for the seniors last year who didn’t get to play in our final game.”

— Shenendehowa girls’ soccer’s Georgia Greene, on Oct. 30, after the Plainsmen won this year’s Section II Class AA championship. There were no area championships in girls’ soccer last year due to the pandemic, and Shenendehowa’s Suburban Council championship game in 2020 was called off minutes before it started due to COVID-19 protocols.

Categories: Sports