Jan. 3, 2010

Recap |  Box Score

Head Coach Mike Eaves Post-game Quotes
On UW’s performance this weekend: “I am [happy with the way my team played] because I think we were a resilient group this weekend. We played this game with five defensemen and basically five defensemen last night too, and I think the fact that we had to mix our lines up and were trying to find chemistry, and as we ran along and things didn’t go as we wanted it to…I just saw the third period we got shot out 18-3, we were back on our heels, but the resilience of this group showed up.

It’s five defensemen playing back-to-back nights after being off three weeks; it’s a lot to ask. And you’re asking a forward to play defensemen and guys to play with different guys. I just think the resilient mindset of the guys just hung in there. They just did what they could; they blocked shots and so I think the resilience of this group is something that stands out in our mind as a coaching staff.”

On Michael Davies: “You take a look at the box score and you’ll see that he scored a couple goals and then he scored in the shootout. The other thing you notice is that he made himself noticeable with his physical play—he played with an edge. He was comfortable out there and was one of the guys that I think was flourishing in this atmosphere and this setting, and in the championship kind of mindset. He’s a senior and it’s nice to see him stepping up to do those kinds of things.”

On the five-minute major kill late in the first period: “Again, there was no panic on the bench. We said, ‘Okay, let’s talk about the things we need to do—200-foot clears, good sticks, let’s get three rotations of forwards going, don’t stay out there too long—and that’s exactly what we did. You’re right, they could have spread the margin there on a back-to-back night. It would have been tough to come back from with five defensemen.”

On choosing the shootout lineup: “Yes, we had that list in our hip pocket ready to go. I wanted Michael (Davies) to go [first]; I think getting the first goal is really important and I thought Michael would have been a good guy for that. Putting our captain as the last guy and putting that weight on his shoulders because I thought he’d respond and he did, just as we hoped.”

UW Player Quotes:
Blake Geoffrion
On the resiliency of the team tonight: “I think as a whole on the weekend, last night we got down 2-0 and came back to get the lead; they tied it up, but we found a way to win the game. And tonight we didn’t have our best game, but we found a way to get it done. We won the last battle in the shootout. Yeah, it goes down as a tie in the pairwise, but we got it done, we found a way to get it done, and that’s what championship teams do. When you have injuries or people are sick or people are out of the lineup, championship teams find a way to get it done. That’s what we did this weekend in two games. It’s a start for us to build to where we want to be at the end of the year.”

Michael Davies
On his performance as of late: “I guess [I am on a good streak]. I guess I’m getting the bounces right now and I think the whole team is, and we had to keep it going in the second half [of the season].”

Scott Gudmandson
On being mentally tough in high-shooting games: “I like [seeing that many shots]. I find that when I’m facing a lot of rubber, it helps keep me in the game. I think I’d rather face 40 shots than 15 shots every night. You get in the swing of things and keep rolling with it.”

Ben Street
On the importance of leadership in close games: “I think a lot of guys stepped up, maybe not on the scoreboard, but they did a lot of good little things, like blocking shots or even something as simple as getting the puck out of the zone. We were running around a little bit early and we needed to keep it simple. I think guys were getting a little excited and maybe a little uptight. [Leaders] try to keep everyone relaxed and make the simple plays and build on that. I think the leadership that we showed tonight was to get our guys to calm down, to do the simple things and get back to basics. That helped us out in the long run.”