DeKeyser previews the weekend ahead
October 26, 2009 | Women's Hockey
Oct. 26, 2009
MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin women’s hockey team will continue its homestand this weekend when Border Battle rival Minnesota comes to town on Friday and Sunday. The Badgers look to fill the bowl for Friday’s game during Kids Day at the Kohl, which offers free admission and parking for all fans.
Interim head coach Tracey DeKeyser met with the media Monday during the Wisconsin Athletics' Weekly Press Conference. DeKeyser talked about the progress of the team, especially with so many young players. She also touched on the importance of this weekend and the competition the Gophers bring.
A full transcript can be found below and you can also watch the archived Web cast on InsideBadgerSports.com.
Opening statement
The team, people keep asking us, comparing us to last year’s program, but I’m pretty excited about the direction we’re heading as a young group here. Again, we’ve commented on the number of freshmen we have, and the veterans and the freshmen alike are really starting to figure out what they need to do and the role they need to play to keep us going in the right direction, to make a successful season that it is.
So, again, I think we’re going in the right direction. Kind of similar to what Coach Eaves had to say about his program, we’re kind of going along the same lines, in some way. So hopefully with the competition we have coming into town this week, it will give us a good kind of evaluation of where we need to be playing at in order to make it to the postseason and do well there this year.
You know, it is early, but how important is this series, knowing where Minnesota stands right now and where you stand in the league?
Well, in watching video of the Gophers, they’re a different team from the previous three opponents, I think, we’ve faced. They play a very quick transition game. They’re not going to clog up the defensive zone in front of the slot very much. They’re going to have, it’s going to be more of an open ice type game with quick puck movement and probably a much faster pace skating style than what we’ve seen. So this will be a great evaluation of what our program can do and what we need to understand or be able to do in order to be successful against some other big opponents this season.
Tracey, what kind of feedback did Mark have for you this past week when he was here?
We talked some drills. Mark was pretty busy with meetings from an administrative standpoint, but he did like the direction that we’re going in. He understands, you know, the hands we’ve been dealt and the types of players we have in terms of the youth of the team. And again, we are in the infancy of our program too, trying to figure out who our go-to players are and who our best power play personnel are, who our best penalty killers are. So it’s taken a couple games to figure out those roles, and we’ll continue to work on them as the next couple series unfold.
You gave Becca a full series start last weekend. I know it’s still early, but do you think you’ll give Alannah the same opportunity?
Every weekend is an opportunity for each goalie to prove who wants to play, and on how they prepare for the upcoming series. So we’ll know probably on Thursday who is playing.
Talking about the Gophers’ style, do you think your team is better suited for that style, as opposed to what the other opponents have kind of thrown at you here the first few weeks?
That’s the style of hockey we’d like to play, and I think we saw a glimpse of that during our second game against Ohio this weekend. I really feel that we played Badger hockey that evening. We were winning 50/50 battles. We were transitioning the puck, moving it with one touches. We were crashing the net. We were doing things that we’re capable of that we haven’t done consistently in the prior series. So I hope that we are able to maintain the level of consistency with that type of play against the Gophers and then we should match up well.
So far, you win one, you lose one, kind of indicative of a young team. Is consistency one of the things you guys are just trying to find at this point?
Most definitely. Consistency is the one theme we keep talking about, in addition to just winning battles, moving our feet. It’s a thinking game, and with young players, it’s difficult to transition to this level or this style of play so quickly with the pressure that they have on them. Yes, consistency is the main theme for this week and probably for the next couple weeks to come.
Tracey, is Becca your number one goaltender? Has she emerged as your person in goal?
Well, she was this week. We felt comfortable with her in net for both games, and she has been the most consistent for us right now. I know the scoring was pretty high 4-3 and 5-3, but she prepares herself very well for the games, and she comes committed every day to practice. So as a staff, as a program, we felt very comfortable with her in net, and we’re hoping that all of our personnel can do that. I mean, we lost some games, not because of goaltending issues, but because of lack of team defense. And so we can’t fault one person for our losses or for our wins per se. You know, we do it as a group. And so we’re hoping that consistency is what we see in all of our players as we prepare for the Gophers series here.
How’s Brianna Decker coming along from her injury?
Coming along pretty well. Brianna has been on the ice every day and doing the necessary conditioning drills to get her, you know, fitness level where it needs to be, and hopefully she’ll be back with us soon, because we could use her.
