After a week off, the UW men's hockey team is ready to play against the University of Minnesota-Duluth (2-2-2 Western Collegiate Hockey Association, 2-3-3 overall) at Duluth this weekend. The Badgers (0-2, 4-4) were swept by Denver (3-1-0, 8-2-0) during their last outing.
\At first I was somewhat disappointed that we had to take the week off because of the fact that we [have] done some good things against Denver'it would have been nice to keep going and build on those things,"" Wisconsin Head Coach Mike Eaves said. ""Looking back over the week, it was good to have the time off and I say that now because of the fact that it is so intensive for these young men with all the changes that have gone on.
""It was probably a good time to back off, let them regroup, let them refocus, let them reenergize their battery, knowing that now we are going to push until Christmas time.""
Junior defenseman Dan Boeser, who injured his hand earlier this season, said the first eight games have taken the team on a roller coaster ride.
""It is kind of hard to know what to expect with the new coaching staff and a lot of young guys. We're building slowly and at each game, we get better at something and it's all you can ask for,"" Boeser said.
Two weeks ago, the Badgers lost to then-No. 2 Denver. According to Eaves, the team's youth became apparent on the ice.
""We gave ourselves a chance to win because we played hard,"" Eaves said. ""Did we have system breakdowns? Absolutely, because we are still young in those things, but if we look at the things we can control, our effort and our intensity and our focus and our will, I would give those things strong marks.""
Eaves was pleased that in the second period of that game the Badgers had the lead and ""the crowd gave the boys a little of an ovation and that was very good feedback [for the effort the players are giving],"" Eaves said.
In preparation for the Duluth game, Eaves stated that the team has to control aspects of the game that suffered, such as putting pressure on opponents' forwards, in order to defeat the Bulldogs.
""[The team] has been doing different breakouts and worked on their special teams to get better,"" Boeser said.
Eaves appreciates the efforts put forth by both senior goaltender Scott Kabotoff and sophomore goaltender Bernd Bruckler.
""In both of their hearts, they feel they can play better, which is great, that's what you want. You never want to be satisfied,"" Eaves said.
Discipline has been a key attribute to the team this season. However, Eaves considers himself accountable for the players' behavior.
""One thing that a coach controls in a young man's life is his ice time. So, by their play, by their actions, their ice time will either grow or diminish. I think a word that we tend to use is accountability,"" Eaves said.
Since returning to Madison from his position at the USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, Eaves has enjoyed his time as a head coach at UW.
""When you are a player, you only have to worry about one person, and that's yourself. With coaching, your ... responsibilities grow,"" Eaves said.
