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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN HOCKEY MEDIA CONFERENCEFebruary 3, 2014Mike EavesTHE MODERATOR: The men's hockey team returns home for a pair of games against Minnesota this week. Teams will play on Thursday and Friday. Thursday's game starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday is an 8:00 start, and both games will be televised on BTN. Head Coach Mike Eaves is here and will take questions. Q. Mike, how confident are you that Nic Kerdiles and/or Tyler Barnes will play in this series? COACH EAVES: Tyler Barnes is less likely to play. Nic will be in the regular color today, and we'll put him in competition drills where he'll be bumping more regularly. So we're hopeful that he can get through these next three days and be ready to go this weekend. Q. Mike, have you seen any changes in Joel Rumpel here maybe the last month and a half? He's become your number one guy unquestioned. Have you seen him embrace it to a different degree? Have you seen him perform any better? Have you seen anything that would signal that he's going about his job any differently? COACH EAVES: I think Joel has become our number one guy because of his attention to detail in his play, and he's earned it. I mean, you've been with us, Andy, over the last two years, and Petey has pushed Rumps, and they've pushed each other, and Petey was given an opportunity to show what he could do earlier in the year, and it doesn't turn out well. Rumps has jumped in there. And because of his consistency of play and attention to detail, he's stepped up and been the number one guy. So in saying all of that, Rumps has been the number one guy because he's earned it. He's worked hard and paid attention to details and raised his level of play. Q. Did you get the response from your team that you had hoped to see Saturday from Friday? COACH EAVES: Absolutely. It was fun to be around them. I think that not playing on the road for a couple of months, not being in a small barn on the road, there was an adjustment period, and we responded very well on Saturday. For all intents and purposes, we had every opportunity to win that game. It was a great, great atmosphere in there. That game‑‑ I don't know how many folks saw that game, but it had everything‑‑ disallowed goals, penalty shots, shootout, very well played. So it was a fun college hockey game. Glad to see that that was on TV because it gave exposure to our game. Q. As far as TV, have you heard much feedback from the double headers at the Big Ten Network is now providing to viewers or anything like that as far as the additional television exposure for your sport? COACH EAVES: A little feedback. It's just been word of mouth. From people across the country that are down in Florida or Arizona, having access to BTN or finding college hockey on TV more regularly, I don't know that you put much stock in that, but at least that's a beginning. Q. How different is your team than the group that's lost at Minnesota twice in November at this point? COACH EAVES: I think we're seasoned to a higher level now. Looks like a good roast cooking in the oven. It takes a little time to cook. I think we're a better team than we were then. They're going to be better too, though. So it's important for us that Nic gets back in the lineup because, when you play a top level team, you need your top level players in the lineup to really give yourself a chance to be successful. They come to our barn now, and our kids are excited about it. It's another Big Ten contest. We've got a run in them right now, and based on what we saw last week at Ohio State when they were here with us, the fans, the student section, should be a really fun thing to be a part of. Q. Are you okay with a Thursday‑Friday series? I know you have no control over it, but are you okay with it? COACH EAVES: Honestly, I wish it was a Friday‑Saturday. I'm not going to lie to you. But every school is going to get one of these quirky dates. Minnesota has had theirs, a Sunday‑Monday. I probably feel that a Thursday‑Friday may be better in some ways, but it is what it is. We'll handle it. It's Minnesota. It will be exciting. Q. What degree are you impressed with the way Minnesota lost so many kids to the pros? The underclassmen, a lot of young kids, granted, they're very good young kids, but the way this team has pulled it together and made this race a one‑team race? COACH EAVES: It's impressive because they are young. A lot of times a little dog can bite you in the fanny as easy as old dogs. You've got to be ready for anything that comes your way, and they've done a nice job. Q. Safe to say that Grant Besse took a step forward Saturday with his play? COACH EAVES: I think all of our kids took a step forward, to be honest with you, all our freshmen. I think Yost Arena is one of the more intimidating buildings to go into. We've had a lot of good hockey players here‑‑ one guy that stands out in my mind is Ryan McDonough. I remember his first game in Yost Arena. Guys were blowing by him like he was on a merry‑go‑round. He said that was quite an experience. But it made him a better hockey player to see that pace and that lack of time and space. I think a lot of our young guys came out of there with their eyes open but better because of it. Q. Based on the way Grant played‑‑ I know there are moments certainly in Saturday's game where you had him up with Mark. Is that a place for him, especially on that wing? COACH EAVES: Talent‑wise, there's no question. I think sometimes he's got to realize‑‑ like I think his eyes were as big as saucers Friday night as well. He settled down. He had some good scoring chances on Saturday and could have actually won the game late there for us. So it's a matter of his comfort level and being in an environment like this. The more you're in that environment, the more comfortable you're going to be and the better you're going to play. So right now his journey in terms of our line, he's kind of up and down, depending on his comfort level. And always putting your hand in the lower part of his back to keep pushing him forward and having him understand what's going on and how he needs to step up. It's in there. We're just trying to bring it out. Q. How much of it is his comfort level? How much of it is your comfort level? COACH EAVES: I guess as a coaching staff, to put it succinctly, it's his comfort level versus our trust level because we don't want to put him in a situation late in the game where he might turn the puck over and then feel real bad about it. We want him to see that confidence in his eyes, where his coach says I don't want to flinch here. I want to be the man. I'm that shortstop that wants the ball hit to him in the bottom of the ninth inning. As a young freshman, you're looking for that when you talk to him, the way he steps on the ice and plays. Q. You've got a lot of former players moving on to the Olympics this week. What advice would you give those guys? Does it surprise you to see so many former Badgers on Team USA? COACH EAVES: It doesn't surprise us to see so many former Badgers because they're good players that have been able to take that next step. They have that next gear in their gear box to play at the National Hockey League level. I never played in the Olympics in the first place. I don't know if I have any advice for them. But being on a big stage and being in a big game, those types of things, the thing is to enjoy the moment. I know Derek Stepan is taking his family and those type of things. That's what really makes it memorable is enjoying the moment and being able to share it with family. Q. Ryan Suter was named an alternate captain for Team USA. For what he did here, what does it mean for him to be stepping up and representing Team USA in the way he will? COACH EAVES: Ryan is‑‑ it's funny, when you watch a young man like Ryan play, he was meant to be a hockey player. His presence on the ice is much like an actor or a singer on the stage that has that command, a performance commandment up there. When he's on the ice, that's the place that he feels the most natural. So for him to be assistant captain‑‑ it's much like watching Russell Wilson last night. We watched him with great pride because he was part of our camp here for a year. It gives us greater interest in what's going on because of that emotional connection to those type of people. So Ryan being there is going to make it really fun for us to watch him because we know him. His leadership skills can help that team be successful. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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