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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN HOCKEY MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 16, 2015

Mike Eaves

Madison, Wisconsin

THE MODERATOR: Men's Head Hockey Coach, Mike Eaves is here and will take questions.

Q. Mike, you played with some of the '81 title team, probably knew a little bit the "Backdoor Badgers." What comes to your mind when you think of that team and just from some of the stories you may have heard from those previous players?
COACH EAVES: I just remember hearing -- actually we were at the North Stars at the time, and I just remember hearing they got knocked out in the playoffs, but when they reseeded for the NCAA Tournament, they were able to get back in it and they ended up winning it. So that's how the name came to be as far as I know, and they went on to win another National Championship, but as you said, Walsh, Lacey boys were freshmen the year when we were seniors. And we went to Providence that year and didn't win, but they were with us. They were able to go back as seniors and play again and win it, so that's very cool for them. They got a taste as freshmen and got to experience the win as seniors.

Q. Bye week, was there a focus in what you were hoping to accomplish with the extra practice time?
COACH EAVES: Yes, there was definitely a game plan. When we looked at our numbers, our statistics, analytically there is a couple of areas that playing without the puck that we wanted to shore up so we spent a lot of time dealing with that and also how to increase our scoring chances. We thought the tempo and the pace and the work ethic was really good, we tried to mix it up. The one thing about having a bye week is there is no carrot at the end of the week, so it has to be a little different mind-set, we didn't show as much video our practices were generally shorter. We demanded more from those practices, thought, and in the end they got the weekend off to kind of recharge their batteries. We have been going at it pretty good. You don't have those opportunities, but with their work ethic, we thought it would be good to give them a couple of days off after their week of work.

Q. How different is the Denver program, the team you will be facing without Gwozdecky who we used to see from the times you used to play them?
COACH JOHNSON: We played them last year, we lost 2-1 in a game that we could have won. We played very well, and Jim Montgomery, the head coach, he's been a very successful coach in the USHL. He himself was a player at Maine, was a very determined, aggressive player and his teams play that way. They're well coached. He's got a game plan, and they play well together. They play hard and they try to play as smart as they can.

They're ranked for a reason, and it's another good test for us. I was walking in the Kohl Center last week and ran into Ed Molter, who is an electrician, and has been there a long time, he's seen a lot of sports and athletics, and he made an interesting comment he said, "Well, you beat North Dakota. They're the number one team in the country. I guess that kinda means you can beat anybody now."

Just the whole mind-set was kind of refreshing in its simplicity, and we kind of took that message to the team, and we set a new bar for ourselves, and I think that that's something that we're going to go after every weekend now after the way we played there.

Q. Should we expect Cameron Hughes back in the lineup? What's the prognosis there?
COACH EAVES: I think right now it's doubtful. I think it's day-to-day here, as we get into this week, but speaking right now and what we saw last week, it would be doubtful. But I know one thing about Cameron, if there is any chance, he will certainly want an avenue to get in there.

Q. With that in mind, you do have more options at the center position than maybe you had last year or in previous years? You've got quite a few, don't you?
COACH EAVES: Yeah, our depth really helps there, and nobody is going to replace Cameron, but we certainly have options that are better than we've had in the past.

Q. Brian started off asking about the '81 team, how they got into the tournament, whether there was lobbying, arm twisting, whatever the case. Was, how would that work today if you were trying to seed the NCAA Tournament and trying to get teams in?
COACH EAVES: I'm sure after that there will be no more of that. That was a loophole that was taken advantage of, and that loophole was closed quickly. So it wouldn't happen in this day and age, but -- it's over your body of work now. And I get that will never happen again, but they've got that label and they will hold on to it for the rest of their days.

Q. How much -- I don't know how you quantify it, but how much better is your defensive zone coverage right now than when you start the season?
COACH EAVES: Oh, much better. A little different scheme, in terms of how we play, with the new staff and the discussions that went on, we brought in a little different scheme. So it took time.

I think we're seeing good things and it's one of the reasons that we're having a little bit more success now is because we're playing better without the puck in our own zone and getting it and hopefully getting it out as quickly as we can.

Q. Adjustment for any freshmen starting out their collegiate career, but how has it been for your freshman netminder, and what have you seen in his growth?
COACH EAVES: It's a huge step for a freshman goaltender, because as a freshman forward, you've got a core of defensemen that can cover up your mistakes. As a freshmen defenseman, you've got your goaltender there that can cover up, but as a freshman goalie, you're on your own. So what we're seeing from him is more consistency in his ability to be aggressive and challenging the shot. I think there has been a natural proceedings for him getting used to the pace of the game in front of him and the quick releases of the shot and how hard the shots are at this level.

But more than anything in watching video and him working with Jeff Sanger is the fact that he's more consistent in challenging. When he cowers in the crease, then he's slipping back in an area that we don't want him to go, but he's been more consistent in how he challenges the shooters.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else for Coach? Thanks, Mike.

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