Final Stats

Postgame Quotes
Wisconsin vs. Ohio State
March 14, 2015
Kohl Center - Madison, Wis.

Head CoachMike Eaves

Onhis opinion of the team's regular season performance:
"Well I'll be honest with you and say that I haven't thought about it. Before I answer that, I'd probably like to sit back and take some time to really answer that properly."

On the turning points of the game:
"There's not one young man in that locker room that didn't want to play really well tonight, but it just didn't happen. We came out and were playing okay, we were trying to get a goal and they were excited, but I thought one of the turning points of the game was when Jedd [Soleway] came over to the bench and was out of wind. We tried to get him over to the bench, but the next thing you know as Cameron (Hughes) is going along the wall, he then gets pushed into the open door, so I think he broke him arm. The anguish in his face was pretty good, and that was just typical of the night. We then lost a guy, (Matt) Paape, to the five-minute penalty, but there was still a heartbeat of hope. The guys did not quit, we were just thin and the guys didn't have there `A' game. Because of the play of Joel Rumpel, we were still hanging around but we just couldn't do enough to get any goals."

On Hughes' injury:
"He's going to go get some more medical attention. He'll go to the hospital to get some X-rays and see how everything is, and then that will lead us to the next part of what we do."

On the status of Grant Besse:
"He was a little better today, so we are hopeful that we can get him on the ice here and get him going in preparation for next week."

On the team's outlook for the post-season and next year:
"It was one of those nights that proved tough times don't last, tough people do. We have to work through this, and the good news for our boys is that once our season is done, we have a new season. The question was asked, `do you think we have what it needs to beat these teams we play against?' Absolutely, we just have to regroup, find out who is healthy, and go play our game."

JuniorEddie Wittchow(D)

Onthe state of mind of the team going into playoffs:
"Going into playoffs I think coach had mentioned when we was up here, it's a totally new season. We have a lot of guys on this roster who know how to win conference championships. My freshman, sophomore year we did it, Rumps (Joel Rumpel) has been a part of it. We've done it the last two years, so I think with that experience, along with the youth on our team that are now in full force, ready to play, I think we can make noise going forward."

Onif there is more on the "to-do" list than more offense:
"I think the last few weeks here, we struggled a little bit on special teams, but this weekend we were very good on the penalty kill. We saw some improvement on the power play, so that's a positive moving into next weekend. Continuing to get shots on goal, obviously to break scoring droughts you have to put pucks on net, so going forward I think that's what we will look forward to doing."

SeniorJoel Rumpel(G)
Onhow the regular season looks in perspective now that it is over:
"You learn a lot. With the struggles we've had, you find out what people really are. You learn a lot more from losing games than winning. What we've learned is that we battle, we've never given up. We're trying to get better every day. So I guess that's what I'll take away from this regular season."

Onif you are discouraged:
No not at all. Looking forward to it, whoever we are playing in the first game in Detroit: They better look out.

FreshmanRyan Wagner(F)
On what you've seen from this team that makes you feel good or bad looking back on this season:
"It's been a tough season, but I think the guys have handled it well. Everyone is sticking together throughout the season. Come playoff time, anything can happen, and I'm really looking forward to it. I think the guys can pull through and we can do well here."

On the how the seniors on the team handled the season even though it's not how they wanted to go out:
"They handled it very well. I couldn't have asked for a better group of seniors to come in as a freshman and leave after this season. I think they did a wonderful job."