Wisconsin Postgame Quotes
Wisconsin vs. No. 6/9 Boston College
October 14, 2016
Kohl Center - Madison, Wis.

Head Coach Tony Granato
On what allowed the team to win tonight
"Power play and Matt Jurusik tonight I think were two parts of the game where it's all said and done were the difference. There were sloppy parts of the game where we survived. There were some really good things in parts of the game that we really liked. I think this is one game where we did enough to win and I think there's enough from the video that we're going to watch tomorrow that there are areas we can improve. I think they're a really good skating team. I think they get great speed, very talented. So for parts of the game I thought we did a really good job of neutralizing them, but they're good."

On the team's composure
"Better. It's getting better. We took six penalties, and that seems like a lot, but I thought we were pretty disciplined. They got eight. So, it's just the way the games are going to be called. You got to be used to it and you got to be able to do well in that area of the game. I thought the game 5-on-5 was even and I thought we were able to get those two power-play goals which made the difference and like you said, Matt (Jurusik) made big save and after big save when we needed him."

On the three rebound goals and overall performance by his team
"Well, I think if you're going to win games like that, you're going to beat teams that are elite teams, you are going to have to score goals like that. So, I love the way [Grant] Besse took the puck to the net on the power play on the first one. I love the way [Wagner] stuck his nose in there on the second one, and even the third one by Seamus [Malone] he drove the net well for that. So, that's how you've got to score goals. We didn't get a ton of chances, but rebound goals, if you're going to score like that you're going to have to pay a price and know you're going to have to score on a rebound, so obviously three rebound goals in a game is pretty significant."

On how big this win at home was for the team
"It's important I think for our players to gain confidence in themselves. Boston College is an elite program. We had a lot of respect for them coming in. Obviously, we wanted to see where we were at as far as a measuring stick at this point in the season, so I think it was really important for us to have a team like this on the schedule early. We also know we're going to have to be a lot better as we move forward. You don't want to rely on your goalie and make him make as many big saves as he did tonight. You don't want to rely on your power plays to score two goals every night. So there's 5-on-5 parts of the game that were just okay and that we have to be a lot better at, and like I said, there were parts we played really, really well. We recognized their speed. They have some forwards that can scoot and I thought we took that out of parts of the game. But you got to do it for 60 minutes. So I think that's the lesson for us tonight, but the positive part was, like Todd said, I think our composure was different. Even when we weren't going wrong, even when we took a penalty, we didn't go back on our heels and we didn't make the next mistake and I think that was important."

On a different energy in the room tonight
"Well we've been looking forward to it for sure. I think last weekend against Northern Michigan when we came out of that weekend we thought there were areas we could have played better in. I thought the focus all week was we knew we were playing a top team, we knew it was a game where we had to be at our best. So, it was energized from our room for sure. Morning skating today, you know, guys were bouncing off the walls, like let's drop the puck, let's play. I was happy with the energy. I think our group, you know like I said, it was just important for us to have a team like this come in at this point to see where we're at. They'll bounce back on Sunday and play a lot better I'm sure and we have to make sure we do too."

On if practicing special teams this past week was effective tonight
"Yeah, and I think most teams right now, based on the fact that we didn't have a lot of practice time leading up to start of the season with the rules. I think a lot of teams probably practiced special teams the way that the games are being called. I think we've worked hard at it in practice. I think our penalty killers made big strides during the week, and I think that carried over into the game. Two power-play goals is two power-play goals. Were we as sharp as we were last weekend against Northern Michigan?Probably not, but again we were able to get the two big goals."

On playing aggressive defense
"Yeah, we didn't really want to play aggressive defense. We wanted to play more of a shift like the Wagner's group had there in the second where we fore checked them and we hung them in there. I thought we could do better with that part of our game. So, that would be the best way to play defense against a fast team is make them play on their end and grind them down that way. That will be a key factor in Sunday afternoon's game of being able to do that a little bit more consistently."

On how important it was to get the first goal
"Big. That first goal is a big difference because if you remember last week against Northern the first shift of the game was in our net and I remember what we felt like, just chasing all night and to get that, especially a power-play goal like that, got our bench going and gave us a little bit of confidence and it certainly carried over in our 5-on-5 play."

On the crowd at home and the play of the first line
"The crowd, I would have loved to see more people here. You know, that's a work in progress. I think the people that come, hopefully, they like what they saw and want to come back and tell friends and everybody about some of the things that impressed them. Hopefully we win on Sunday and within a few weeks we'll be looking at a much bigger turnout. They were energized. They were good for us. As far as the top line, I think they can be better. I think there are areas they get sloppy in. They want to score so bad sometimes. The more patient you are, the better you are offensively. I think tonight we were a little bit jumpy when we had our chances, but they've been good. They were really good last weekend and I'm sure they'll be good Sunday."

On Jurusik letting the puck come to him
"Yeah, he really looked composed today. He was nice and calm and confident, top of the crease, in control, and Jeff Sanger said that's the Jurusik you'll see a lot … he calmed our team down a lot with big saves. That second period breakway save he made was spectacular. He didn't move and just made a great save there. There are probably three or four other situations when they started getting momentum ahead of big chance and he was there to shut them down." 

Matt Jurusik
On how he felt tonight compared to last weekend:
"You know, it was good to get that confidence back those first two games this season. I was a little shaky coming off a long off-season, but I felt really comfortable in net today and I think it showed."
 
On the pregame energy in the locker room:
"I'd say there's a good positive energy. Everybody got their feet wet last weekend and got all the jitters out, now we're ready to roll this weekend. Coming into this game we had a lot of confidence, a lot of poise, and like I said, I think it showed out there."
 
On what he has learned from the Badger goalie alums in attendance tonight (Jim Carey, Graham Melanson):
"We didn't really talk about hockey that much, me and (Jim) Carey when we passed each other as I was going out to practice. But it's always cool, seeing all those alums and seeing these really talented guys that have come through this program. They're just kind of mentors to me, you look up to them and try to emulate what they've done.
 
"With [Brian Elliot] training here all summer, getting to be with him all summer was pretty awesome just to see his work ethic and his commitment to the game. You don't really have that at a lot of other schools. You get to see the guys that are at the level you want to be at. It was huge."
 
 
Tim Davidson
On the composure of the team tonight:
"I think a big thing about last weekend was it was a lot of jitters from the coaching staff and us, with it being our first weekend of games. We watched a lot of film this week on Boston College and kind of found out what they're going to be doing. Coach did a great job of showing us what they're going to do and we were able to utilize that and come out tonight and kind of shut them down. 
 
"Like you said, we played pretty confident as a unit of five in the D zone, so that was nice to see and hopefully we can build off that."
 
On what he learned tonight:
"I think I learned that, to build off the last question, we have confidence as units of five out there. We also, opposed to the past couple years, we've found a way to win even though we didn't have our A-game. That was very good to see and I think we just have to keep working off that and keep moving forward. Take every day one day at a time and every game one game at a time."
 
On the defense counteracting Boston College's speed:
"They have good speed, they have some forwards that can really wheel out there. We knew that coming in and a couple times I think we just got caught staring at the puck or anticipating something else. Tip their hat to their defensemen, they were able to find the weak side floaters that were kind of running the gun.
 
"I think coach will have film for us, we'll watch it tomorrow and hopefully we'll be better at that on Sunday."
 
 
Ryan Wagner
On the importance of creating turnovers:
"Its a huge part of our game. Coach Tony stresses a lot keeping your stick on the ice and having it in the passing lane and stuff like that. Guys are just working hard to get in lanes and block shots, and if they get by we've got Jurusik back there keeping us in it."
 
On the hungriness of the team:
"Kind of the mentality of the guys going into games is, 'outwork the other team and work as hard as you can.' Ninety percent of those goals are going to be right in the paint and you just gotta grind."
 
On the play of the special teams:
"It was a great game for power play and for penalty kill. That's kind of something coach has been stressing after playing last weekend, there was 20-plus penalties both ways. We've just been working hard in practice and looking to improve each and every game."