Coming off his team's difficult road series against Denver to open the WCHA campaign, Wisconsin men's hockey coach Mike Eaves spoke positively at Monday's press conference.
Although Denver came in just 1-2-1 on the young season, Eaves was positive after his young Badger team managed to scratch out a point in hostile territory against the perennial WCHA rival Pioneers.
""They jumped into the deep end on Saturday with the WCHA,"" Eaves said. ""Going to Denver, playing at altitude against a team that can skate.""
While two late goals Friday led to a defeat in the opening contest, UW showed a lot of improvement in playing to a 2-2 draw in a game that could have easily been a win Saturday night.
""We hung around on Friday night but didn't quite play good enough to win,"" Eaves said. ""But on Saturday, we could or should have won. We played well enough to win.""
With 17 of the 26 scholarship players in either their first or second year of eligibility, Eaves talked about the adjustments these young players need to make in order to handle the level of play in the WCHA.
""They're all growing,"" Eaves noted. ""It's really a growth process in having these guys understand what level they need to play at … I think for some of these young men, they have to change their game to adapt to this level; and so they're going through that process right now.""
Amid the youth movement seemingly taking over most of the Wisconsin program, one stronghold of experience is in the goaltending position. Although senior goaltenders Brett Bennett and Scott Gudmandson have both performed well in the early going, it seems Gudmandson's recent performance has given him the upper hand.
""I thought {Gudmandson} was very solid … He played very confidently, he played big. I thought his puck handling was above average,"" Eaves said. ""I think his performance was very good for us.""
Still, Eaves was quick to note that nothing is set in stone.
""[Gudmandson] will play Friday night and then we'll see how he plays and where we are and make a decision for Saturday.""
Coming off Friday's tough loss, Eaves was impressed by the effort turned in the following night. Especially at the defensive end, it was this gritty effort that allowed the Badgers to improve their level of play and scratch out a point in Colorado.
""We blocked 32 shots on Saturday alone. A lot of guys sacrificed their bodies. There were ice bags going all the way around the locker room. When you have that situation, you know you've played well enough to win.""
As the Badgers return home to open up the home portion of the WCHA schedule, the growth process is certainly progressing on a respectable, if not excellent pace. With Michigan Tech (1-0-1 WCHA, 3-0-2 Overall) set to come to the Kohl Center Friday, Wisconsin doesn't have much time to get ready for what is certain to be another difficult test.
