Wisconsin men's hockey head coach Mike Eaves addressed the media Monday, with a bulk of the conference centering on freshman forward Patrick Johnson. Johnson scored a goal and tallied an assist in Saturday's 2-2 tie against Minnesota.
Eaves talked about all of his freshmen and how they have faired this season.
I would say that our freshmen have done what we thought they would, in terms of coming back from the break and not looking like freshmen,"" Eaves said. ""They have come back and have turned that corner like history tells us freshman do.""
Patrick Johnson is one of many freshmen who have contributed this season.
Johnson, who is the son of Badger-great and current women's hockey head coach Mark Johnson, has played well this season, especially during the second half. His six points (two goals, four assists) over the last five games is a tie for the team lead in that span.
""All our freshman have turned that corner, are doing some good things,"" Eaves said. ""I would say that with Kyle [Turris] he is doing what we expected, with Patty Johnson, I know that people look at his numbers and say that is a little surprising.""
While Johnson may be turning heads around campus, Eaves and his coaching staff have seen the Madison, Wis., native show potential all season.
""We saw glimpses of it, and what we are seeing now is more consistency and confidence,"" Eaves said.
Much has been said about Johnson and the amount of pressure that may be on him considering his father's success at Wisconsin, yet Eaves assured the media that Patrick only worries about things he can control.
""We have talked about [living up to his father's reputation] zero [times],"" Eaves said. ""He is such a live-in-the-moment young man ... In the locker room not a word about it. That's who he is. He is just having a great old time being here at the University of Wisconsin.""
The No. 11 Badgers are playing some of their best hockey, and are currently riding a five-game unbeaten streak. Wisconsin welcomes No. 12 Minnesota-Duluth to the Kohl Center this weekend in a highly anticipated matchup.
This will be the only time these two teams meet during the regular season, and with both teams tied for fourth place in the WCHA standings, the result of this weekend could be costly.
""If there is a tie, we are all in a log jam,"" Eaves said. ""It becomes a very important series for us for more reasons than one, and the fact that we only play them twice highlights everything.""
The young Badger squad has played well during the early weeks of the second half of the season, and the team's recent success shows that.
But Eaves was quick to point out that he is not satisfied and plans to keep pressure on his team as he has done all season.
""You're always doing that. I think with a young team ... I think with college kids you are always doing that,"" Eaves said.
""I think once in a while you back off on your pressure but your hand is always there. We still have to have our hand in their lower back maneuvering them along, for different reasons more-so than earlier in the year.
