Feb. 18, 2012
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Wisconsin vs. Denver
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Mike Eaves
On how well his advice to the team to relax was received after last night:
"They went to a real good extreme in terms of taking some of the advice that was given. It was nice. I thought at first, watching Mark Zengerle, I thought he was too relaxed. You've got to find that balance. In terms of competing over the puck, he lost a few of those, really. But he found that nice balance between hard and the creativity part, which Justin (Schultz) did the same. We scored five goals, and this had been a long time coming. It was fun to be in on the bench with these kids and see them get rewarded.
We go to North Dakota, play pretty well and don't get rewarded, we come home to St. Cloud and we don't score enough and we lose there, and then losing last night in a game that we did some good things. To stay with it and to do the things we needed to do. Having Landon Peterson jump in and have a big win, finding a way to win a game, he's played well for us at times this year, but finding a way to win a big game.
No matter where we end up in the standings, this is the type of game we are going to need when we go into the playoffs. This is a playoff-ready type of game. And that's the mentality we need to have as we go down these next four games."
On scoring this game:
"We talked about it on the bench, it becomes an old cliché, but if you get one, because it's been so long, maybe the dam will break and we will get a bunch of them. Getting five tonight seemed like a bunch for us. When that first one went in and then we got that second one, it was like, 'okay, we really can score'. So it was a good feeling."
On Mark Zengerle's play tonight:
"We spoke last night after the game and he was beside himself with frustration. He was on the floor and I grabbed him by the shoulders and looked him in the eye and said 'you are a good player. You need to remember that and just relax and play.' And he did that today, he came out and did good things."
On the penalty kill tonight:
"Coach Bill (Butters) and the penalty killers had a scheme. Based on what they were trying to do, we tried to counter-punch, if you will, and take their shooting lanes away, try to take some of their tendencies away and take them out of their comfort zone. The boys did a nice job; they blocked a lot of shots and took shooting lanes away. It's a pretty good power play and I was happy for Bill and those boys because it was a good part of today's win."
On Justin Schultz's play tonight:
"When he was pressing, there were actually two things that showed up on film: that he was taking that extra stick handle before a shot and he was sliding too far in the zone, which allowed people stick on puck. Just move back a little bit, take that stick handle out of there and I think that if you go back and look at it, he did those things tonight."
On if this was the best win of the year:
"Yeah. I think playing a quality opponent at this time of the year and rising to the occasion in front of a big crowd, all those factors playing into that, I would agree with that assessment."
Sophomore Forward Mark Zengerle
On how much Coach Eaves talking to him about easing up and just playing helped him:
“Last night it was kind of hard for me to settle down a little bit, but I ended up settling down. Today was a new day, a fresh start. I didn’t really want to think about yesterday anymore. I came out and played a really good game. But yeah, it helped. He recognized that I was gripping the stick a little too hard. Today was a new start and it worked out well.”
On if there was any inspiration in his celebration after his first goal:
“I’ve done that a few times before – Bow and arrow. I kind of messed it up actually, but I’ve done that a lot.”
On if Denver getting out to an early 1-0 lead made it feel like it could be another long night:
“I thought we actually did a really good job on the bench of not getting down on it. I don’t think anyone sat down and pouted about it. We got right back out there and got to work and then we got the next two (goals). We were playing well, and we just had to keep going and just needed to get one. Once we got one the floodgates opened and we played really well.”
On what clicked in his mind today and if there was something different than any other game:
“Not really. Usually after a bad game I’m kind of upset and being a loner. Today I woke up, I was happy, we had a game tonight and I don’t think I tried to do as much. Last night I was trying to do a little too much and skated it and I was losing it. I just tried to play what I was doing back in my 20-game streak. I was just trying to play my game and it worked out.”
Junior Defenseman Justin Schultz
On if this was the best the team had played all year:
“Yeah, I think so. We were scoring goals tonight, which I think hasn’t happened. We had a lot of shots on goal, a lot of chances and played well defensively. So I’d say yes, that was one of the best games we’ve played this year.”
On if the team fed off the sellout crowd through the second and third periods:
“Yeah, definitely. That was one of the things we talked about in the dressing room is getting these fans a goal and getting them going because they were hungry for one. Once that happened, we kind of fed off it and you could tell in the third period the boys were all fired up on the bench.”
On what was going through his mind as he lingered at the end of the game and listened to the band:
“I was just kind of taking it in. Who knows if this is going to be my last time playing here. I’m not saying it is, but I was just kind of taking it in just in case I never get to play here again.”
Sophomore Forward Keegan Meuer
On what it’s like being on a team with athletes like Schultz and Zengerle leading the way:
“Well a lot of the times I’m on the bench watching these guys, and they’re very fun to watch. They’re very unpredictable, and I don’t mean that in a negative sense, they’re just always dangerous with the puck and you never know exactly what play they’re going to make because they’re capable of so many different plays. You see [Zengerle] who last night had a tough night personally, gripping the stick tight, and for him to get a goal and then feel good the way he did… and then Schultz puts the dagger in tonight. It got the boys pretty fired up.”
