After the UW men�s hockey team lost in overtime to the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs Saturday night, head coach Mike Eaves delivered a message of optimism at Monday�s press conference.

Despite the fact that Friday�s victory gave the Badgers sole possession of fourth place in the WCHA standings, a loss Saturday brought them back to where they started � tied with UMD. Eaves emphasized the positive play the team brought to the ice Saturday despite coming up on the losing end.

�We [won] Friday night, but to be real honest I was somewhat frustrated in the way we played, but we [won],� Eaves said in his Monday press conference. �Then Saturday we played close to an A-game, and we lost.�

The disparity in the team�s level of play and the outcome of each game don’t always match up, Eaves said.

�We created great scoring chances, did a lot of good things with the puck and away from the puck,� Eaves said. �Unfortunately we didn�t find the back of the net, and as a result they [got] a tip-in goal to win a game.�

The tip-in goal by Jordan Fulton that won the game for UMD Saturday night came a minute into the overtime.

�We had guys play at a level that we hadn�t seen in a while, like the Ben Street line,� Eaves said. �I really felt bad for them; they were on the ice for the winning goal, but I bet they led us in scoring chances with Mike Davies, Matthew Ford, along with Ben Street.�

Looking at the stats from Saturday’s loss, the Badgers dominated the shot total. They outshot the Bulldogs 32-23.

�I thoroughly enjoyed breaking down most of that game yesterday,� Eaves said. �There is great stuff that we can take to our players and show them �This is us.��

 

Team continues to grow

Wisconsin entered the season as the youngest team in the league, with a roster boasting nine freshmen and only four seniors, and there was speculation as to whether or not experience was going to be a major concern for the Badgers. As the season has progressed, however, Eaves has seen tremendous progression in his young players.

�We have changed a whole deal, especially since Christmastime,� said Eaves. �The freshmen are no longer freshmen.�

This progress is evident in the stats, with freshman Kyle Turris leading the team with 28 points and fellow freshman Patrick Johnson fourth on the team with 17.

Eaves has seen this change in his entire team, not just the freshmen, and he said the overall development was apparent in Saturday’s loss.

�We have grown in so many areas,� Eaves said. �Our defensive zone coverage was better, our breakouts were better, our breakouts in the neutral zone were better and we created scoring chances because we put the puck where we needed to.�

The team got back on the ice Monday, and Eaves is anxious to highlight their achievements.

�We will be able to give them some video feedback to say, �Hey, look at all these things we did,� and if we keep playing like that we will get our W�s.�

 

Street finds power play success

Junior alternate captain Ben Street currently leads UW with 14 goals and is on one of the two power-play units that Eaves has put together. Ironically, Street has yet to score on a power play this season. Eaves said Street has found success on the power play for reasons other than simply finding the net.

�What we have always said about Ben is that he does a lot of little things,� Eaves said. �If you remember the goal against the Minnesota Gophers, Ben took coverage away from Patrick Johnson by going out in the slot and being a target there.�

Being a target for his teammates and a goal scorer during five-on-five play are not Street�s only strengths, however, said Eaves.

�He does a lot of those little things,� Eaves said. �He wins face-offs, he gets pucks, so yes, he doesn�t have any power-play goals, but he is contributing to our power play in terms of [it] being successful