Andre Tourigny spoke about the need to work hard and play hard as a team throughout a long season.
An 82-game regular season can be monotonous sometimes.
If it extends into the playoffs, it turns everyday routines into mundane activities.
That's why head coach Andre Tourigny said he wants his team to "laugh every day" heading into tomorrow's showdown with the Ottawa Senators.
It's definitely easy to be enjoying yourself, though, coming off the 2-1 overtime win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday, where the Utah Hockey Club played its most complete game to date.
"I always say, there's the person, and there's the player," Tourigny said. "That's the way it has to be. We're serious about our business, but we can do it with a smile."
Part of the business has been trying to find a stable rotation, especially with the newfound depth Utah has this season.
Forwards like Michael Carcone and Liam O'Brien have been making way for each other, but the insertion of Kailer Yamamoto and his brilliant play created more issues for Tourigny.
(Spoiler alert: Tourigny confirmed Yamamoto will remain in the lineup tomorrow.)
However, the competition seems to have unified the team and brought them closer together, which is huge, especially this early in the season.
That might explain, then, why Utah is off to such a great start and is looking to create even more havoc in an already topsy-turvy beginning to this new year.
"There's two ways you can react to adversity or competition: you can crumble or rise," Tourigny said. "They want to play, and that ends up bringing the best out of everybody."
Read about tomorrow's opponent here, and visit The Hockey News' Ottawa site for more from their side: