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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN HOCKEY MEDIA CONFERENCE

March 14, 2016

Mike Eaves

Madison, Wisconsin

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

Q. Mike, how would you describe this past weekend against Minnesota and what you can carry forth to Saint Paul?
COACH EAVES: Well, we played some pretty good hockey. I think we got home about 2:30 in the morning the other day, and we met briefly. I mean, we had talked about playing our best hockey at the end of the year, and over the cost of the last four games there is maybe one period that, you know, we were a little disappointed, but we're doing good things, and that's good.

That helps us now as we move forward. We will take the good things we did this past weekend and apply them to this weekend.

Q. Saw Penn State recently. What do those two games -- what did you learn from there and what do you take into this week?
COACH EAVES: We played them four times here in the new year. I think if you were to talk to the boys they would tell you that they feel they could have won all four. Last game we beat them. We know some of their tendencies, and it will be a matter of us executing to a higher level and continuing to have good goaltending and specialty teams, what it always comes down to in the playoffs, but I think we feel good knowing that we played them four times, and feeling like, you know, if we play the way we're capable, especially here in the last four games, then we can do some things.

Q. Throughout your time here you've had a lot of really good freshmen step up, especially at forward. Where does Luke Kunin fit in the conversation with a guy like a Pavelski, like an Earl, like a Turris, with all those guys. He seems to have a different skill set that makes him -- what makes him part of that conversation and what separates him perhaps from those guys?
COACH EAVES: You're right in saying that he should be included in that group right there. I think that every one of those young men that you mentioned is different in their own right. What Luke brings is an exceptional shot, a very -- I think at his age, maybe the thing that differentiates him from the others is how focused he is at a young age, his preparation, what he's willing to do to try to achieve those things that he wants to achieve in his life, you know, separates him a little bit.

But, as with those other guys that you mentioned, he has high-end skill, high-end vision, high-end IQ of the game. What separates him a little bit is just how mature he is at the age he's at right now.

Q. Do guys relish the fact that it is an entirely new season, everybody goes in 0-0, and everybody has the exact same slate head in?
COACH EAVES: Well, I would agree with the fact that everybody is 0-0, but our window of opportunity to get to the top of the mountain here is slimmer than other groups, and so we recognize that. We're not kidding ourselves. We have to play very well from the first game, but we play at 4:00 on Thursday, 4:00 on Friday and then Saturday is a 7:00 game, so we have a span to recover and, you know, it's one game at a time.

Because our sliver of opportunity is narrow we have to win one at a time, and if we can continue to play like we've done here and get better, then we give ourselves a chance. But we're be not kidding ourselves; we know that sliver is there.

Q. Mike, back to Luke and his maturity. He is a young man who is on display every time he's on the ice with a number of gentlemen from the National Hockey League watching him each and every night. There could be pressure on that or he could maybe take it in another direction and say, okay, let's really show 'em what I've got. Do you agree?
COACH EAVES: I agree, and I would say in addition to your comment, it's just become a way of life for him now at the end of the year. I don't think it affects him as much as perhaps it did early into the year. I think it's normal for him now, and I think the one thing that we have seen in the second half of the year is a more consistency in his play, game-to-game, whether or not he is scoring, although that's been pretty good, too, just in terms of the drop in the way he is thinking of playing the game, the energy level we are seeing game-to-game here in the second half, in terms of the pressure of being under that microscope, he kinda got used to it here in the second half.

Q. Mike, this time of year you are who you are in so many areas, and you have so many habits that are defined. If you could change one thing about your team instantly, what would you do?
COACH EAVES: I would push them over to -- I would wish we have made miniscule adaptations and gotten better playing with the lead. That's just a chapter that with a young group it needs to continue to change, but on the spot I wish we were further along in that scale of knowing how to do that.

Q. You mentioned the margin of error you guys basically have to win this week?
COACH EAVES: Yep.

Q. Do you get a sense of confidence from your guys that that's an achievable feat? Do they believe in it?
COACH EAVES: Well, I think it's good to have any -- and Kevin will know, because they were part of that group that did that when we one the WCHA Title their freshmen year, we had to win three games, and it was done. I know they talked about it with the group. So there is a level of having that experience in the locker room that helps. There is a level of knowing that we're coming as a team here, and each time we play we're doing more and more things better.

We are playing our best hockey, and so that little sliver of opportunity that's there, we have some things in our favor in going toward that.

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

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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