Transcript: Eaves previews Ferris State series
November 24, 2014 | Men's Hockey
Nov. 24, 2014
MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin men's hockey head coach Mike Eaves addressed the media at Camp Randall Stadium during UW's weekly Monday news conference and answered questions about the team's upcoming series against Ferris State.
A complete transcript of his remarks is below.
QUESTION: You guys still looking for that first win. How hungry are your guys and how much does it mean to be able to come back and play a long home stand like this?
COACH EAVES: Very hungry, to answer your first question. We actually just got the stats from Saturday night's game in Denver – we out-chance our opponents, we outhit them, we out-[shot block] them. The only stat that we didn't out do them was goals for.
It's an interesting journey we are on right now because we have not had a lot of puck luck, and we believe the harder you work the more you get and that's an old quote. We sat in that locker room after the game and went around the room and we knew how well we played. What do you say when you're 0 8, you can only say so much, and say the same things over again but they knew internally they played a game they should have won. So we went around the room and every guy talked about what they did well and there was the feeling of you know this damn win is going to come sooner rather than later, and now we come home and we get to play a lot at home here and I think some good things are on the horizon for this young group. They're going to be rewarded for the efforts they're giving each other, they worked their Fannies off and they're playing some pretty good hockey right now.
QUESTION: Do you have an update on Jack Dougherty?
COACH EAVES: No, I do not. He will see a doctor at 3:00. He is walking around. We will get an update and see where he's at today.
QUESTION: Mike, who would you say the emotional leader of your team is?
COACH EAVES: Up to this point, being on the bench and in the locker room, who I think has done a good job on the bench in keeping the energy there, has been Matt Paape and G -- I was going to say Gino -- Aiden Cavallini. They're guys when they go on the ice, their job is to create energy with their play, to be detailed in the shift and give us energy, and they did a great job Saturday night. There was one shift, I know watching the game Sunday, Aiden himself had three hits in one shift. He was going out there, doing his part, but on the bench the way they talk and in the locker room. Those guys are keeping the energy level at a good place even though we don't have a win yet. They pick up on the idea that we're doing good things and they build on that for us.
QUESTION: Do you think there was a sense of relief for Joseph LaBate after potting that one on Saturday?
COACH EAVES: That's funny, now with our son playing down in Dallas. I saw Jamie Benn, when he goes into these phases when he doesn't score, and when he scores he reaches down to his back and pulls the monkey off and I thought Joseph was going to do that on Saturday and he was excited to get that first one.
He played well all week end. I thought he played like a senior, like he did his parts. He did it well. He didn't do it with fanfare, but he was consistent throughout the weekend. So as far as being a senior in college hockey, I thought it was one of his better weekends.
QUESTION: The fact that Jack didn't play gave an opportunity to Cullen Hurley. How would you assess his weekend?
COACH EAVES: Not only Cullen, but it gave Jake Linhart a lot more responsibility as well and Jake assisted on the power-play goal on Saturday and did some good things. Watching film yesterday, I walked away from that film about Cullen Hurley going, you know what? He did okay. For his first college experience playing a position he's not played at this level before, being a forward turned defenseman, he did okay. I thought Coach Shuchuk did a nice job of putting him in at the right times, not against Denver's top lines and the ice time that he had, he did a nice job.
QUESTION: With the team being so young and not getting that first win yet this season, how much do you have to fight maybe that sense of doubt that might creep into the back of a young player's mind of thinking maybe I don't cut it at this level?
COACH EAVES: I'm hesitating in answering because I think there is a lot more awareness on the coaching staff's part to make sure that we point out good things when they're happening.
We may not be able to measure ourselves by our wins and losses yet, but certainly video and in our comments on the ice and off the ice and in extended meetings that we have had, we're able to point out and talk about areas of growth.
So that's kind of that bridge between not having success in wins and losses, but having sight that we're going in the right direction and seeing good indications of growth.
That's been our emphasis as a coaching staff, so I think that's what the guys are hearing and when you see the effort that we gave on Saturday, they're buying into that. They know what's coming.
So we just keep beating that drum of growth.
QUESTION: You do have a nice stretch of home games coming up here, but there may be those that aren't very many with Ferris State saying, who is Ferris State?
COACH EAVES: I appreciate the opportunity to talk about them because they're a darn good hockey program. They were in the regionals last year. They went head-to-head with North Dakota. Bob Daniel is a very fine coach. They have a great staff. They recruit very well. They get older guys that are bigger, stronger and they find that diamond in the rough once in a while and it gives them a little magic up front and on the blue line, so they will be a formidable hockey team. Our fans might not know them but we as a coaching staff certainly know them well.
