‘“How competitive our players are, that they felt that loss was unacceptable from a, ‘We’re so close and now we’re not in,’ ” said General Manager Kevyn Adams, reflecting on what he saw from his team as it went 9-2-1 over its final 12 games to finish with 91 standing points. “They felt that. It also showed me how much they cared about each other. They knew that they needed each other, to do this together, and they were upset. They felt we could have gone in, and we should have gotten in. It’s fueled them all summer.”’