The Daily hockey beat used to run a video series during the 2011-12 season called “Quick Hits.”
It was a series of one-on-one interviews with players that covered everyday life and all of its funny moments. But now, for budget reasons, it’s in written format.
And for the first season in three years — despite the pleas of the editors — Quick Hits are back.
For the second edition, The Daily sat down with three members of the sophomore class, goaltender Strauss Mann, forward Nolan Moyle and defenseman Nick Blankenburg — based on the frequency of their photos together on Instagram — to talk about some pretty spooky stuff.
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Tien was feeling really festive for Halloween and brought a cowboy hat and crown to interview the players. When they walked in, they noticed immediately.
Blankenburg: Ooooh, a crown. Is that for one of us to wear?
Mann: That crown is for you, Moyle.
Moyle: No, that’s for you lad.
Feeling that these first-time Quick Hits victims didn’t know what was going on, Tien Le and Molly “Michigan” Shea offered up a quick explanation of Quick Hits before getting into it.
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Molly: If the team was trapped in a horror movie who would be the first person to get killed/go missing?
Blankenburg: Jack Olmstead.
Moyle: Jack Leavy, for sure.
Mann: Yeah, either one of those guys.
Blankenburg: I think Olmstead and Leavy are definitely the main two.
Moyle: Maybe Strauss.
Mann: I feel like they’d think they had a smart idea to get out of there or something, and it would just go completely wrong.
Tien: Okay, who on the team would be most likely to cry in a haunted house?
Moyle: Jack Leavy. Again.
Tien: Is he really easy to scare?
Mann: Uhhhh…
Moyle: He just wouldn’t know what to expect, and then he’d probably get terrified.
Blankenburg: I feel like any being scared questions, or crying questions relate to Jack Leavy and Jack Olmstead.
Moyle: Oh yeah.
Tien: Molly had to get dragged out of a haunted house one time because she was so scared she was on the floor crying.
Blankenburg: Oh.
Mann: Nice, nice.
Molly: Hey! I was really young!
Molly: Do you guys believe in any conspiracy theories? Like is the moon landing fake? Is the Earth flat?
Blankenburg: Uhh, I don’t know. I try not to get into that stuff. It’s not my cup of tea.
Moyle: The Titanic was fake, I think.
Molly: Woah.
Mann: Yeah, that’s not up my alley.
Blankenburg: I know Jake Gingell is a big, big, big conspiracy theory guy, so I think that’d be the guy you would ask. He watches alien documentaries and always talks about aliens and stuff like that.
Tien: What’s the worst Halloween candy?
Blankenburg: I don’t like candy corn.
Mann: Really? You don’t?
Blankenburg: Yeah, I’m just not a big fan of candy corn.
Mann: Black licorice.
A key fact left out is that Mann follows a very strict diet that doesn’t include any food otherwise touched by humans besides to cook it, so, in other words, no candy.
Molly: Well that’s just the worst candy in general.
Mann: Well, that’s any candy so…
Moyle: I don’t know, those Rolo things are pretty heinous.
Blankenburg *clearly offended by Moyle’s suggestion*: Wait, fruit roll-ups?? Fruit roll-ups are unbelievable.
Mann: Tootsie Rolls??
Moyle: No, no, no.
Blankenburg: Tootsie Rolls are sooooo bad too, though.
Mann: They’re so good, sooo good.
Tien: They’re a classic.
Blankenburg: Tootsie Rolls are … I don’t even know.
Molly: What are you guys going to be for Halloween this year?
Blankenburg: White Goodman.
Molly: Who’s that?
Blankenburg: He’s on the Purple Cobras from the movie ‘Dodgeball’.
Mann: I’m going to be the Love Guru. Mariska Hargitay….Mariska Hargitay.
Blankenburg: I don’t know. We won’t really have the chance to go out here, I mean, Halloween is, Thursday? Yeah we’re going to leave for Ohio State. Oh! Maybe I’ll wear a nice costume on the bus or something. Maybe we should all do that.
Mann: For Halloween, you (Blankenburg) can just be yourself. That’d be pretty scary.
Head athletic trainer Brian Brewster walks into the room.
Blankenburg: Hey! Should we do that, wear Halloween costumes on the bus?
Brewster: I’d like to see you lead the charge on that.
Blankenburg: I might, I might.
Molly: Strauss, what did you honestly think of when Tien asked to race you at the meet the players skate?
Mann: Ummm, I was just like “Uhh I really don’t wanna do this, but…”
Blankenburg: Actually, he got nervous. Afraid he was going to lose.
Mann: Well, I did lose. I was just like, ‘I don’t know, I can be a nice guy and do it.’ It’s tough with all the goalie gear on. After the game, you (Tien), had me at my worst moment.
Tien: In my story I said, “To be fair, you were in pads and stuff.”
Tien: What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you?
Mann: Scariest moment….
Blankenburg: I think I thought someone was trying to break into my house. One time, when I was home alone, I was down in my basement, and someone rang the doorbell. And when you’re a kid, and you’re home alone, you automatically think someone’s trying to break into your house. But … it was just the mailman or something.
Tien: Someone actually broke into my house two years ago.
Blankenburg: Oh really?
Tien: Two years ago in Ann Arbor, yeah.
Blankenburg: Other than that fake break-in I haven’t really had too much scary stuff.
Moyle: I can’t think of anything like really scary.
Mann: Uhhh … I’m thinking. Maybe anytime my junior hockey coach talked to me. I was afraid I’d get traded or something. *long pause* But he was a good guy. Make sure you put that in there, please.
Molly: Blankenburg and Moyle, if you had to be goalie for the day, who would you least want to face a shot from?
Moyle: Johnny Beecher.
Mann: Oh, for sure.
Moyle: His shot split open Hayden’s head last week.
Tien: Oh right, he had to get six stitches by his eye.
Blankenburg: Slaker or Will.
Moyle: Oh, or Becker.
Molly: Alright, that’s all we have for you guys.
Mann *shakes his head*: Good luck writing this story. We didn’t give you anything good.