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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN HOCKEY MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 9, 2015

Mike Eaves

Madison, Wisconsin

THE MODERATOR: Men's Hockey Head Coach, Mike Eaves is here. We will have some opening comments and take questions.

COACH EAVES: First of all, we usually, on a bye weekend, don't have come in and speak, but I actually called Paul Capobianco this morning and asked if I could have a few moments up here, just because of the fact that I think what transpired this past weekend was worth celebrating, and because we had a bye weekend off, we really don't get to talk about it, but put it in perspective a little bit is the fact that, you know, for a football team winning at Clemson or the basketball team winning at North Carolina, and beating the number one teams in the country, it would be a really awesome thing for them, as it was for us beating North Dakota, but then having to play them the next night, that's a tough task, because they're upset.

We talked about poking the bear in its own den, and we had to stay in the den and play it again, and it was 1-1 going into the third period, and I think it was just a terrific experience for our young group to go in and compete on a Friday and play well enough to win and then the thing that happened on Saturday that most people don't know about is the fact that we lost our first line center in the first four seconds of the game.

Young Cameron Hughes went out with a shoulder injury and we had to kind of adapt to that, but the kids hung tough and fought their way, and there was a lot of disappointment in that locker room after the game, which I think is a good thing, because we were close, it hurt.

And the message to our young people this week is to celebrate the fact that we defeated the number one team in the country on Friday and even though we lost, our goal this week is to get better. Just go into the weight room, get back on the ice, and let's continue to get better, so that we can improve as a team and get closer to playing what we talk about all the time is "championship hockey" because when you start doing that then the score will take care of itself. I wanted to share that here today and as we talked about it as a team, I think it's a good thing; we're going in a good direction.

I'll take questions now.

Q. Is that a light bulb moment this weekend?
COACH EAVES: Absolutely! We talk about the fact that you can get confidence, a little bit, to some degree in practice by working hard and executing there, but you have to have a signature victory, a game in which you rise to another level. The light bulb goes on, you know, like, these coaches aren't crazy, we're doing the right things, and this stuff actually works!

You can equate it to that frontal lobe thing that maybe something turns in there, that they actually -- it reasons out for them, and it was one of those weekends for us. Even though we lost the game on Saturday, it was good growth. We weren't where we wanted to be, and I don't know if you've been in that atmosphere at North Dakota, but it's a great place to play. They're like rats hanging off the ship, and they're on top of you, and it's loud, and it's an amazing thing. And to see our kids respond and play and not cower and take charge at moments was a really "light bulb" moment, as you said.

Q. Obviously the win is huge, but like you said, being there again the next night, is that almost something that you're more proud of, the fact that they really competed and had a chance to get at it again on Saturday?
COACH EAVES: No question, no question, and this morning was it was on my heart to -- before the boys got into the weight room this morning at eight o'clock, I went down there and pulled 'em in and explained to them after watching video, as disappointed as we were after the game, what an achievement you had! And even though it's eight o'clock on a Monday morning, to go back in that weight room with the mind set that we're going to get better this moment, then when we practice this afternoon, even 1% better this afternoon, and keep this thing going in the right direction, because pulling something like that off is really a boost for our morale and our confidence and everything else.

Q. You kinda joked that, "these coaches aren't crazy and the stuff that we work on works," but as coaches do you need that moment, too, to just sort of maybe not validate it but just to have that moment, that signature win, and to say as a staff we're going in the right direction? Do you need that?
COACH JOHNSON: Validated is the right word. I was thinking about that this morning. What it does is it creates a two-way confidence between the players and the coaches and the coaches and the players, and I think they're more eager to listen and to learn and to push themselves, so validation is a very fair word in this instance.

Q. How is Cam doing?
COACH JOHNSON: You know what? Andy dropped by this morning; he's getting better. He actually -- he looked at Andy and kinda said, can we tape this up? And Andy said, no, we can't tape this one up. We'll see how his pain level goes. Last year he played with another shoulder injury of a different nature and was back way sooner than we thought, so he's a "gamer," he's a tough young lad at 165 pounds, and I wouldn't be surprised if he comes back earlier rather than later.

Q. Not only did you have to play without Hughes but you're killing off seven penalties, two 5-on-3s and you're still tied after two, you know?
COACH JOHNSON: Yeah, we knew it was going to be a dog fight. The penalties, the two 5-on-3s, that was all part of poking the bear in his den, and we did a great job. I don't think they scored a power play all weekend, and those are just phenomenal things! If you've not been in that atmosphere and know what it's like, and the band, and the crowd, and all the stuff that goes with it, the hoopla, the people behind the bench whispering through the crack in the glass, it's just hilarious. So for them to respond like they did on Saturday with everything stacked up against them was phenomenal.

Q. By beating the number one team in the country, suddenly you've raised the bar that much higher. Is it fair to expect that level of play that you played on Friday night the rest of the way from your team?
COACH EAVES: No question, I think the boys would even tell that you. Like, this is fun, to be able to compete at a high level, and we're starting to get back to that level of play -- our mission from a hockey standpoint is to play "championship hockey" because if you do that, you get back to where you want to be, then you can set your goals that you want to set, but this weekend was a significant step for us in getting back to that level of playing championship hockey.

Now we have to do that game in, game out so we can be where we want to be at the end of the year.

Q. How much do you think going to BU and B.C. at the beginning of the year kind of played a role in this?
COACH JOHNSON: For our young team it was a significant. And even going to Ferris State, where it's this tight little barn, where everything is just on top of you and the play is like this. Those are all steps in our growth here, and it culminated on this past weekend, on Friday and Saturday night, being able to compete against a significantly great team and win a game and be there in the third period so, yes, they were a big part of us getting to this point that past weekend.

Q. I don't know that I've ever seen you have this much spring in your step for a Monday press conference. When was the last time you were this happy to sit up there?
COACH EAVES: Let me say, I was excited for the kids. I mean, you could tell -- I mean, I woke up this morning and this was on my mind, and the fact that -- to go down and bother them before they go into their eight o'clock workout, they knew something was up, it was on my mind, and we want to celebrate this. And I think that's why I wanted to be here in front of you today, because this is significant, and it was exciting, and it's a great goal for our team, that we've been talked about, you know, as being a young team, and what the heck is going to happen, but this is a great step for us, and to be here and be able to celebrate it with you, like I did with the kids this morning, is a good thing.

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

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