The Men’s hockey team (2-0-0 overall) will make its way to the East Coast for a weekend series that begins with No. 6 Boston College (1-1-0) on Friday night, and concludes with No. 15 Boston University (2-0-0) on Saturday.
This is the first time Wisconsin and Boston College will meet since 2010. The Badgers are coming off a home-opening sweep of Northern Michigan, where an aggressive forecheck and quick puck movement propelled them to 5-2 and 2-1 victories. Head coach Mike Eaves addressed the media on Monday about his team’s performance last weekend and the challenges that lie ahead.
“I thought Saturday structurally we were much better than we were Friday night,” Eaves said. “Friday night we scored goals so it made the game a little easier for us.
“Saturday, it was more of a battle, which was good. I think we’d rather have a game like that where we found out early if we can solve a riddle in a tight game,” he said.
Eaves has some familiarity with Boston College’s hockey program. Both of his sons Patrick and Ben played for the Terriers early in their careers.
“[Boston College] gets good players. It’s a good school,” Eaves said. “They get good players and they do things right. I think it’s a great challenge for our team.”
Last season, Wisconsin had some difficulty finding its stride early on, going just 1-7-2 in the first 10 games. And so far, these first two wins have given the Badgers the push they need to do more of the same.
“You’ve got a couple of wins under your belts and you’ve got a little jump in your step,” Eaves said. “Now is the time that you can put the pedal to metal. So as a staff, that’s our task to push [the players] now and see how much better we can get this week during practice.”
After last weekend’s performance, Wisconsin moved up a spot in the Division I men’s poll to take the No. 2 spot. The Badgers look to defend that ranking and possibly make the case that they deserve to be No. 1 beginning Friday night at 6:00 p.m. against Boston College.
