Transcript: Eaves previews Big Ten opening weekend against Penn State

Dec. 1, 2014

• Eaves News Conference

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 Penn State.

A complete transcript of his remarks is below.

QUESTION: Have you kept track of the things to the point that as your view    has your view of the conference changed at all the way the teams have evolved here?

COACH EAVES: I would say the evolution of the Big Ten is that it's going to be tougher this year, Andy. We talk about this every year, the word "parity" and it's no different this year, you look at the records, Penn State, they jump right off the map, their improvement, they're four or five games above 500.

The league has improved, everybody is evolving, and we get the test right away by playing a pretty good Penn State team.

QUESTION:After some of that nonconference challenges that you had, does the Big Ten season feel like a fresh start for your guys?

COACH EAVES: That's how we're presenting it. We're 0 0 right now in the Big Ten so it's a fresh start in that aspect. We're a better team than we were 10 games ago, we have had our trials and tribulations here and we have our first tie going into the Big Ten so we have hope for us to continue to get better and it starts in the Big Ten this weekend.

QUESTION: Would you say a light went on this weekend or you were rewarded for what you've done up to that point?

COACH EAVES: I think I'm hesitating because I want to clarify how bright that light is. I think it's on, it's growing brighter. In watching the video on Sunday, the difference between Friday and Saturday night was the issue we addressed Friday after the game -- our turnovers got way better on Saturday. That was a major factor in us finding a way to win that game so that light goes on a little bit brighter for us and as a matter of fact the film that they're going to watch is that very fact that    here are the numbers, these are the things we did different in bringing some of those things down, so the light is growing brighter.

QUESTION: Have you had any issues with effort up to this point?

COACH EAVES: No. As a matter of fact, we talk about playing hard and smart and sometimes we play too much on the hard side, that's the effort part of it. I think for some of our guys, they have to have that balance but the effort has been there, Andy.

QUESTION:When you look at how the top of the rankings have changed here of late. You've seen Minnesota fall out, schools like Michigan Tech, this week it could be Minnesota State, Mankato, smaller schools that have a niché for themselves but maybe people who follow college hockey don't really understand how good they've become? How do you let people know that this is not just the Big Ten?

COACH EAVES: I think the perspective you need to put on that is when you see schools like Union win, Quinnipiac win, the fact is there are two different ways you recruit. There are some schools that have that kind of sexy look that they can go after the young, talented hockey player and they can attract them. Then there are the schools that they know they can't get in that game so they go after the older, more mature, physically mature, mentally mature hockey player and once in a while they find a diamond in the rough that develops later in their career. They bring them in and they play well as a team so that older maturity verses younger talent sometimes balances out and you've got a war going on so the Mankatos and these schools that we just talked about, that's their modus operandi when it comes to their recruiting and that is what creates the parity that you see in college hockey in some degree.

QUESTION: Further that point, apply that to Penn State, where have they made their improvement in their program?

COACH EAVES: You look at their team last year, anybody that played them had fits with them because they were big, they could skate, they had good goaltending. They were missing maybe the game breaker in their lineup and what's going to happen    they're going to get a couple of those kids in there and then they're going to be up there fighting. Their coach does a great job with them as a whole unit and having them come together and play well. They were just missing a couple of pieces and they're just going to go out and pound the pavement and find those couple of guys that are going to be difference makers in games and then they're going to be knocking on the door trying to win championships.

QUESTION:Mike, who among your freshmen have moved down the road a little further down the road here in the last couple of weeks?

COACH EAVES: Separated themselves from the other freshmen? I don't think there has been big separation by any of them. I think we've seen them all grow a little bit, to some degree but to say that one has stepped that much further ahead than the other, I would have a hard time saying that right now.

I think to answer that question completely, we will look at that when we come back from Christmas once we get into the games in January. That's usually the time when we see who has settled in and who kind of gets it, is after Christmas.

QUESTION: This is your last series for almost a month. What do you expect to see from this team and what improvements do you hope to see?

COACH EAVES: In coming back or this week?

QUESTION: This week.

COACH EAVES: I hope we're a smarter team than we have been. I think we're going in that direction in terms of, again, it goes back to the light turning on. The fact that we did a good job with taking care of the puck on Saturday, will we be able to do that Friday and Saturday this weekend. This would be a major goal for us, because you talk to any coach in team sports turnovers is the thing we're most concerned about and if we can take care of that part of the game then we really have a good chance of being successful.

University of Wisconsin Athletics

Transcript: Eaves previews Big Ten opening weekend against Penn State

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