Mike Eaves Quotations

When you talk about big players you talk about Brian Elliott.

We briefly talked about the fact that it happened. We said let's be intelligent about it and learn a lesson here, and let's play the game we want to play.

Whenever you talk about the game of hockey and if your team is playing well or if your team is struggling, you always start with the person that's playing between the pipes.

One thing we wanted to focus on was the heart. That's the base of our pyramid, so it was probably the most rewarding thing because we can now build on that.

I'm a good player and I'm going to show you once again.

I can tell you this explicitly, that nobody was looking at this as just a third-place game. There was a lot of pride on the line.

I don't want earplugs in their ears. I want them to relish that. Because unless you relish it, having earplugs is a false way to play. You've got to be able to play at a higher level, and I don't think earplugs are going to do any good. I want earplugs out. I want our guys turning the volume up.

For those of you who don't know Ross Carlson, he makes his best plays when he's spinning like a top or he's laying on his back or he's on his knees. I like to see him down in those positions, because, usually, good things happen.

He has the head for that, the skill for that.

We thought we saw something where we could draw them up, get it low and take what was given.

He represents that reference that you can always turn to and pull off the shelf and ask questions.

He's gotten his imprint on that (program) and he's done it as a head coach, which I know is something that Mark really wanted to do. And now we're on that same path. We've got a couple more things we need to take care of, but we've given ourselves that chance, too.

He just has to do his part, let his teammates do their part and we should come out all right.

Joe has the ability to make something out of nothing, and it's hard to account for skill like that. That makes him an effective offensive player.

Joe has picked up right where he left off last season. There has been no sophomore slump or slide of any kind. I think part of the reason is that Joe has great internal motivation.

I think destiny is preparation meeting opportunity, but there's an X-factor that's uncontrollable, and maybe that X-factor was being here in Wisconsin. But we worked hard. We prepared ourselves for this opportunity.

I saw him move a little too quick at times - anticipate rather than be patient. But I think that just comes from not playing for a while. I know he'll get better as we go along.

Our team played with great balance tonight. If each line can go out there and keep the tempo at a high level, it makes it very difficult for the other team to play against that.

Robbie has had disappointment in his life before and he's always bounced back.

That early goal (in the second period) really took us another notch down in terms of anxiety that we had. We started to skate more freely and do the things were capable of. That was a big step.

I think most guys, when they see a problem, they want to fix it. Sometimes less is more, and that's a hard concept for all of us to understand at times.

I think Joe's overall game has seen him competing physically at a better level this season. He'll be even better after working out all summer.

We've tried to apply that lesson all year. It's a very profound game for these young men because we've talked about it all year and we've talked about it as a group. It's the application of the lesson that becomes the important part.

That was the best start we could have hoped for.

You keep your routine. You talk about the things you've talked about all year and you go out and play. I think sometimes when you try to hype it and you get excited and you're all wired, they're going to pick up on that, and that doesn't help them play the game they're capable of playing.

Three of them (in the second period) were Grade-A scoring chances.

We know they can beat us. Maybe that will put a little fear in our hearts.

We definitely saw glimpses of the Brian that we knew before. I don't think he had a bunch of Grade A scoring chances against, but when he had to see the puck and control it, he did a nice job.

We definitely saw glimpses of Brian like we did before.

We were riding a really good wave. But when you've been around this game long enough, you know you're going to hit some storms.

The only thing we ever asked is they'd be the hardest-working boy on the ice, whether it's practice or games. Above and beyond that, that's all you can ask. I think that helps create a healthy relationship.

When she's aggressive and getting to the rim, she's awfully tough to stop. Our goal was to get some shots, and eventually we started to get them.

Tonight was what the doctor ordered. Tonight, the game itself, the outcome was like a B12 shot. We're feeling better.

This week was unique in the energy that it brought to this team and the players. It will springboard us through our last few weekends of the regular season and into the playoffs.

When you lose a key figure in your machinery, you obviously have to have some adaptation. Just think how the Pittsburgh Steelers would've been if they would've lost their quarterback going into the Super Bowl; it gives you a completely different look. That's the kind of position (goalie) is.

We were playing 1-on-4 hockey. One guy would have the puck and everybody else would watch him instead of 4-on-1 with everybody working for the guy with the puck.

Even though we've slipped a little bit, we understand that at the end of the year is when it truly matters.

Being the head recruiter, he knows the battles that we're up against. I'm just grateful that he's staying with it. He's got some other things in mind because he knows when we bring (recruits) here, until we get a new building, we have to spruce this up.

Don't you think we've earned it? It's not a matter of advantage. We earned the No. 1 rating, and it makes sense to put us up there, so I think we've earned it.

(Elliott) demonstrated tonight how he got those numbers early in the season. It was nice to see that for him.

The whole weekend was an opportunity of growth for us as a team. We took that opportunity by winning two games here at home against a quality team. We talked about before the game that it was an opportunity for us to grow and forge ourselves into the type of team we want to have at the end of the year, when we can do some things.

The thing that came out of that game, what guys talked about, (was) the way Michigan came out and dictated. They were a senior-laden team and they came out and they dictated the game in that first period.

Sometimes he does get pulled down, but the fact is, he does have that reputation.

North Dakota stayed with it and got themselves back in the game. It's at that point, I don't think we responded very well.

As individuals learn at different rates, so do teams. Apparently, we have a pretty thick skull right now. We're still trying to learn this lesson.

That's going to be one of the things we talk about. Who's going to turn up the volume?

This is the exciting part of the year. Now it's coming down to the wire.

The way we played didn't give them a chance to get any life.

This game went in phases for us. We got off to a great start, and North Dakota got back into it. We didn't respond like we needed to. We didn't handle the riddle of having a team come back on us.

They know the kind of raucous atmosphere they're in for. They've faced it all year, so I don't think there's much preparation we need to do with them.

It's truly a thrill to be asked to coach the U.S. Men's National Team. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

It's like anything, you saturate the market. But we're still in that early stage of being one of the first three, and I think that's pretty neat.

That's the first thing that kind of jumps off the page at you, what kind of guy he is. As we came to discover, he's just a tremendous hard worker. He's got a great mental outlook.

That's a big factor, the recruiting factor and being able to state that we have the highest average attendance and what a great building it is to play in. The other thing that it does is, for our guys, they (the fans) become a factor in the game. We can feed off the energy that they give us.

That's a college hockey game that everybody will be talking about for a long, long time. When you play in a game like this, the will has to be greater than the skill and the will of both teams not to give in was just tremendous to watch.

That's a college hockey game that everybody in the building will be talking about for a long time.

It's nice, because we are creating more of an emotional tie to that area, because of the fact that we've been there so much recently.

It was like if you were a defensive back, that was a breakdown and the guy's got a seam for a touchdown.

It was my contention that if we had another day or two to rest and recover we would have been better prepared. It's a little similar right now. While those other teams are having to play that extra game, we have the luxury of having a day to rest and recover.

The turning point was Brian Elliott. He was outstanding.

I'm going to need some Grecian Formula after seeing that puck hit the post.

I'm kind of surprised at the timing of it. I thought if this was going to happen, it would've been earlier this summer.

I just think they didn't handle the riddle of having a team come back on them.

In the opening game of a national tournament there is questions because you know its could be one and done. It was important to get that lead.

If you take a look at longevity, Craig passed that test. Craig's strength as a college coach was to get kids to buy into his vision, and he worked that strength. He got a lot of talented players to come there.

I guess we can take some credit with how well they're playing right now.

Before the game, they hadn't felt that feeling of what it's like to be a confident team. After the game, they have that inside out now.

He's skating, and that's a step. He's still a big step away from being ready. It's nice to see him out here and I know he desperately wants to get back in.

I didn't say a word. The penalty-killers jumped up and they started talking about what they needed to do.

(Hook is) a really good player and just took the game over in the fourth quarter. She has my full respect.

He's like a surrogate grandfather. He represents a reference you can always go back to.

If he's ready, then we'd look at it. But we're not going to go in there and jam it down his throat.

I can't answer that. I know within our league that reputation is there.

I don't think that would be very prudent on our part.

He's not going to give you fantastic offensive flair, but he's never going to let you down defensively.

He's got a good group of teammates. They're pulling for him. I think that speaks to Shane as a person. I think his teammates generally like him and they're hoping the best for him. They understand what he's up against.

You could use the analogy that tonight was what the doctor ordered. The outcome, the game itself, was like a B-12 shot. We're feeling better.

The guys talked about how Michigan came out and dictated. That's one thing this group wanted to do, to implement that part of the game, and they did a pretty fine job.