Wisconsin men's hockey head coach Mike Eaves addressed the media Monday, as the men's team returns to action this weekend against Michigan Tech.
No. 9 Wisconsin should be refreshed after having a bye week only three weeks into the season, and Eaves commented on how he used the week off to focus his young squad.
We definitely took time to step back and teach more than we would during a normal week,"" Eaves said. ""Because it's early in the season, we had the luxury of taking a look at some system play and stop and slow it down.""
While the Badgers (3-1) are slowing down their play in practice, it is not affecting their play on the ice.
Two weeks ago against Robert Morris, Wisconsin lit up the Colonials for 15 goals over the two game series, and are averaging 5.5 goals per game to start the season.
However, Eaves knows that his squad cannot get caught up with the past, especially with Michigan Tech, a WCHA rival, coming into the Kohl Center this weekend.
""[Michigan Tech head coach] Jamie Russell has just put into place a solid, time-tested program of trying to have a good hockey team. They play hard,"" Eaves said.
With such a young team and matchups with WCHA opponents over the next three weekends, the question arose as to how Eaves and his coaching staff will prepare the Badgers.
""I think [teaching the young players about seasoned WCHA teams] will take care of itself to the best degree that it can during practice,"" Eaves said.
The old saying of ""you play how you practice"" seems to hold true for Wisconsin, and Eaves feels confident that the team's high-quality practices will pay dividends in the end.
""We were very productive in practice [last week]. We had good energy, and introduced a couple of new things,"" Eaves said. ""My feeling is when you practice and have good repetitions [the success] lends itself.""
Off the ice, UW is still awaiting the return of senior forward Josh Engel, who was injured opening weekend.
While this week is the earliest return date possible for Engel, Eaves was unsure as to whether he will be ready this weekend against Michigan Tech.
""He was back on the ice last week and looked good, but whether he will be ready for this weekend will be known this week,"" Eaves said. ""But only time will tell us.""
Wisconsin will take on the Michigan Tech Huskies this Friday and Saturday at the Kohl Center. The puck is scheduled to drop for both games at 7 p.m., with both games being aired live on My Madison Network TV.
