Dec. 10, 2010
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UW Head Coach and Player Quotes
Wisconsin vs. Bemidji State
December 10, 2010
Head Coach Mike Eaves
On the discussion in the locker room after the first period:
“It was probably as disappointing of a start as we’ve seen this year. To try to figure it out (how to start better) is still an issue with this club. I think maybe, in our pregame warm-ups, we might have to do some competition drills, just to make sure that we’re ready to play. We’ve talked about their youth and not coming out and having great starts, and tonight was another head-scratcher for a while. The talk between the first and second periods was that, fortunately for us, we had two periods left to get it going. We eventually solved the riddle of tonight’s game, and played ugly, and were able to get a win.”
On his impressions of first-time WCHA competitor Bemidji State:
“(There were) No surprises, none at all. Just knowing Tom (Serratore) and how he coaches, and watching them on video, we got exactly what we thought they would. They skate well, they work hard, they play well together, and their goaltender has been playing really well for them, and he played well again tonight. So there were no surprises.”
On the discussion during the time-out in the 3rd period:
“The line was out there. They were tired, they were exhausted, and they had the defensive zone face-off. At that line we were able to make a change, get fresh legs out there. So it was more of a tactical thing than anything else.”
On the play of senior Goaltender Scott Gudmandson and how he improved from the first period:
“It was a really strong game, mentally and physically, for him. The first two shots he saw were goals, and mentally he just stayed focused and was worried about the next shot. We didn’t get a goal until the second period during a play with some zest and enthusiasm, and he kept us in there for a while. For a senior goaltender, he showed great moxie and experience.”
On freshmen Tyler Barnes and Michael Mersch:
“They gave us some real good energy. If there were some shimmering glimpses of light there, it came from those two young men.”
On senior Podge Turnbull’s play:
“The thing about Podge is his ability to play at a high level all the time and compete, and he did that tonight, and he was able to earn himself some extra ice time based on that.”
On the power-play starting in the second period and bringing the momentum into the third:
“We had some good energy from the power-play. I don’t think there were a lot of goals scored (in the beginning of the period), but we were still able to get some end zone play and create some offense.”
Senior Podge Turnbull
On Coach Eaves talking to the players about improving after the game:
“Our focus throughout the whole game was to stick with our game plan. Things weren’t going right at some times, things were going right at times, and regardless of what happened or didn’t happen, we just have to come out tomorrow and prove our point.”
Sophomore Craig Smith
On the team being able to bounce back after not starting off as well:
“I think it was a big wake-up call. Anytime you get down in a game, you back up against the wall and it’s a fight-or-flight response. So it’s a good sign that our team battles back, but it’s not good when you put yourself in the hole right away.”
On the team not being able to consistently start off well in the first period:
“It’s a tough thing to think about. I don’t know if it’s (that we’re) overly excited about the game or what. We had a pattern of things that we were doing before the game to get ourselves ready, and that broke tonight, so we’re going to have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how we’re going to get ourselves prepared.”
Sophomore Justin Schultz
On what got the team motivated again during the second period:
“I think after that first period, everybody came into the room and said ‘we have to figure it out.’” It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we just have to go out there and get it done, no matter how we do it. And we were lucky enough tonight to do that.”
