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Oleksiak feeling fatigued; praises Brenden Dillon

Tuesday, 09.13.2011 / 6:50 PM

By Jamie Oleksiak - Special to NHL.com / Jamie Oleksiak Traverse City Tournament blog

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Jamie Oleksiak Traverse City Tournament blog
Oleksiak feeling fatigued; praises Brenden Dillon
Well, just finished up our third game of the tournament -- a 6-1 loss to St. Louis. We got into some penalty trouble there and discipline issues early on in the game and that really hurt us.

Personally, I'm not too happy I got a delay of game penalty in the third that created a 5-on-3 for them, but that's what it really came down to. We never really got momentum, got a penalty or a call against us and that kind of killed it for us. They capitalized on their chances and played a great game. They found a way to bury. It was tough for us because it seemed like whenever we got going there was always something knocking us back.

Their goalie (Jake Allen) played well. They came out to play hard. It was the same situation on Sunday night when we lost; they got us early and we got down on ourselves. A couple guys stepped it up with fights there, (Brenden) Dillon and (Oliver) D'Aoust, and I think we battled hard but they got on top of us early.

'Besko' (goalie Tyer Beskorowany) played a pretty good game but we didn't really give him a lot of help defensively and he stood on his head a couple of times on 2-on-1's and 3-on-1's. It's upsetting because it's not the result we wanted. There are some things we'll have to work on, especially disciplined.

I want to say that Brenden Dillon is a phenomenal player. I've had the pleasure to room with him as well, so I get to see how he carries himself and I think he's a real natural leader. He's got a lot of positive things that he does on the ice, he moves the puck and plays the PK and works it in on the back end on the PP, and is able to get some shots on net. He also stepped up for a teammate and got in a big fight (in the second period) so he's a player I definitely try and watch and learn from.

Overall, after three games, I think I'm getting used to the pace of the play and everything but the schedule is starting to get to me a little bit … three games in four days. With guys battling for spots, everyone is bringing their 'A' game every night on a consistent basis and I'm starting to feel it in the legs. It's a matter of fighting through it though and sticking to my game. I don't want to do too much; just play through it.

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