Nov. 29, 2014

Recap |  Final Stats

Recap |  Final Stats

Head Coach Mike Eaves
On how last night’s postgame talk factored into tonight’s play:
“I think it’s hard to measure. I think right away in the beginning there was some apprehension about how we were going to play because of the talk last night, [with] how honest and how straight-forward it was. The thing that our guys did is they built on little victories during the course of the game, and we kept building and we got stronger as the game went on. You could feel the energy on the bench increase as the game went along. There were moments— Keegan Ford had a big hit, Mr. [Grant] Besse blocked a shot at the end of the first period. Those are the little victories that we’re talking about that create energy, and that built as we went along.”

On if the talk had the desired effect:
“Yes, it’s something that needed to be done. If we don’t have that talk, we’re fooling ourselves, thinking that if we got a tie and went into a shootout all is good. It was an honest talk. That’s the way you’re going to grow by being honest with each other.”

On how heavy the weight was of not winning any games until now:
“You watch a lot of pro athletes that when they haven’t scored for a while and they get that goal, they reach back and drop the monkey off their back. We can do that collectively as a group tonight because of the win.”

On Joel Rumpel’s performance:
“It was good all weekend. You can just put an A+ for his efforts this weekend. He was there when we needed him. Again, Joel is going to cover up a lot of mistakes that we make in front of him and he did that a lot tonight for us. He was a big part of the equation in asserting the victory.”

On the players’ scoring tonight after a drought:
“It’s a great relief. We had talked about all over the course since we haven’t won, the fact that we work hard in practice and get a level of confidence there, we need to do things in a game and win a game. That’s what’s really concrete and makes the cement harden. So now we bring that confidence into next week’s practice, and hopefully we can continue to build on that.”

On if he gets sick of talking about their losing streak:
“No, it’s where we are. Even in the meeting [last night], we asked the team a question: “What are we going through right now gentlemen?” They almost in unison said, we’re in the middle of a process. I have an article in my office that’s called “Love Your Fate”— you have to in the moment. The moment that we’re in is about meeting this challenge to help these guys grow and become big-time college hockey players.”

On the direction the team is going:
“It’s a beginning. We’re not playing to the consistency level with the things we want to do, but it’s certainly going in that direction.”

Freshman Forward Corbin McGuire
On how last night’s talk helped in tonight’s game:
“I think Coach Eaves gave us the message of ‘It’s really time to figure it out’, he wrote that on that white board in the locker room, and guys kind of looked at themselves and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, it really is time to figure it out’. We won in a shootout, but it doesn’t count as a real win. So it’s really nice to go out there and get a real W tonight.”

On the weight of the losing streak on the team:
“To be honest with you, we didn’t really think about it as wins and losses. I think ever since Saturday night in Denver, we really started growing as a team, and that was a stepping-stone towards this weekend. We were able to get three points, and I think it’s a stepping-stone towards good things to come heading into the Big Ten season.”

Freshman Defenseman Jack Dougherty
On whether “the talk” had its desired effect:
“Oh yeah, I think it was just a matter of looking inside ourselves and figuring out whether we want to compete for a national championship, or if we are satisfied with losing games. I guess we got the right answer tonight.”

On his first collegiate goal and its meaning:
“It was pretty exciting, but I guess I was more satisfied with the win. It couldn’t have been more deserved – guys from the fourth line to the first line were playing their roles, and it really showed tonight. We really deserved to win that game, and it’s really satisfying.”

On his shot for his goal tonight:
“It was a really weird play, I saw a rolling puck and I figured I could somewhat put it where I wanted to. I just let it go, and there was a guy kind of close so I figured I might as well put a little quick release on it, and it happened to go in.” 

Senior Forward Matt Paape
On how it felt to score a goal after such a long period:
“I heard right as I walked down here that it’s been 77 games, but I tell you what, it sure feels a lot longer than that.”

On how it felt to finally get a win:
“It’s been a long time coming. I know we’ve got a young team, but hats off to the young guys and the older guys for sticking through it, staying together, keep battling against each other each week in practice. It was definitely a good win for us, and it was nice to be able to earn it.”

On needing to really earn the win against Ferris State:
“Yeah, that’s really been a theme for us this year. Wins are earned, never given, and that’s been a theme for us, so we need to keep moving forward.”

On how to build on this weekend going forward in the season:
“It kind of started last week while we were out in Colorado. We had a really good showing against Denver, and then we came back to the Kohl Center and didn’t really play our greatest game yesterday, but we were able to move on and put our best foot forward and grow from last night. With a young team, it’s good to show that growth.”

On Joel Rumpel’s play throughout the series and season as a whole:
“The numbers don’t show it with the wins and stuff, but he’s given us a lot of chances and kept us in games. That’s what he’s done for his four years here. You know what you’re going to get with him. He’s an outstanding goalie, and that’s what we need out of him.”