Head Coach Tony Granato

On if he felt the team found a way to make plays tonight
"I do, especially as the game went on. I thought the first period again, even though we jumped out into a lead there, I thought we got back on our heels and we let a really good team attack us, and that's what we did for most of the game last night. So, the second period on I thought we got to being the team that we had been most of the year. I think we've been a complete team, a four-line team, that's been able to go after teams and keep them on their heels. So I thought as the game went on we were able to finally get to it. You know last night we did some really good things, it was a heck of a hockey game, but tonight I thought the second two periods were our best two periods of the weekend."

On if he saw any spark from the team by shuffling the lines
"Yeah, I just think our rhythm in the first period tonight was no good, or not good enough I should say, especially if you look at lines one and two on the sheet. Whether you're first or second line doesn't matter, I didn't think they generated anything. I thought they were playing poor without the puck and I think we needed to mix it up a little bit, and they got going. There were a lot of different combinations. I thought the fourth line both nights was how you have to play against Minnesota. You got to win battles, you got to be ready to compete for every inch of ice and they really set the tone for our team both games. They gave us a chance in overtime last night and really tonight as well. That's more of what I think we needed out of all four lines and by mixing the lines up and getting some different combinations, I thought we started to see that as the game went on."

On how big that five-on-three kill was tonight
"It was big. We did a really good job of staying out of the box in key situations most of the weekend and then all of a sudden, third period the whistle started to blow a little bit more. So, they were confident – the P. K. was confident, obviously Matty [Jurusik] again made some big saves on it. We've been in a few situations like that where five-on-three is when the game was on the line, in a few games earlier when they stepped up and did a great job, including that one against Michigan State just a couple weeks ago where a lot of big blocks and I think our guys were willing to stand in front of pucks and do the job and get it done, and they did."

On why he decided to put his fourth line out on the ice on the power play
"Yeah I thought the other two units were a little bit tired and I thought to be successful on the power play you have to have jump and you have to be fresh, and the other two units I thought were a little bit on the tired side at that point. Obviously, with the way those three guys played they had a lot of jump all game. So I didn't really expect them to jump on a puck and make plays like that to get us a power-play goal, but I thought they could establish some work ethic and finish the power play strong. I think you look at that goal and it's how they played all weekend. They played hard and they went to the net and they created a lot of trouble for our opponents."

On how to avoid the slow start to the game going forward
"You know what, this is really the first weekend in a long time where I can say we didn't have a solid 60, or really consistent 60. So I'm not going to read too much into it. There were a lot of factors that went into this weekend. We played two games coming into this weekend in the last 40 some days, so we hadn't had a lot of game rhythm. I think that probably played into it a little bit. All of a sudden you get a full house in here and you played two games in the past month, or month and a half at least. So we hadn't had a lot of rhythm and all of a sudden you become a little uptight and you stop your feet for a little bit to think and the other team, when they're good like that, if you give them any room or space, they're going to make you pay, and I think that was part of it. So there were some different things that went into. So I'm not going to panic and say we got problems and everything or anything else like that. We handled it well on how we responded both nights and that's what we'll think of moving forward."

On if the guys were excited and thought opportunities would come as the game went on if they continued playing in their style
"Yeah, because last night we were down 2-0 going into the second too and we knew did get to our game the night before to create a lot of offensive chances off of our forecheck and off our offensive zone plays. So they were confident in that, that we could get to our game and get back in the game only being down by one goal. So like I said, I think the second period the line combinations changing up a little bit created probably a little bit of a spark. I like the way we played the last 40 minutes a lot. So we should feel good about it and we'll be ready to play our next game at the start. Like I said, it hasn't happened much at all, all year. I think we've been a 60-minute team pretty consistently, so we'll have a few good days of practice, a shorter week, so it'll be a new challenge for us from that standpoint to get ready to travel on Wednesday for Thursdays game, but we should feel pretty good about the way the weekend went."

On what it's like to be behind the guys on the bench after they scored their fourth goal
"I think the building and the weekend and playing the Gophers and pretty close to a full house, I like looking around the stands seeing that many people in here so the players did as well and I think the nerves of the start and whatever else, we settled into it. We started to believe and we started to know, okay we're going to finish them off and we're going to win this game, but obviously we got an energetic team and we got a team that I thought really played for one another as the game went on and when your teammates score you get a chance to celebrate like that, you celebrate."

On how this win ranks in comparison to the other wins this season
"I like where you're going with that. I didn't think too much about it because as a coach when the games over you start thinking about your next opponent, but I am going to tell you that with how you just phrased that this was a big one. It was a big one for a lot of reasons and you pointed them all out. The fans being here, we knew they were going to come back. We knew they'd get them in here and we've played entertaining hockey all year and we wanted to make sure that when we got a bunch of them in here that we play well and we're able to find a way to win and that's what happened." 

Forward Trent Frederic

On the numerous line changes
"It was the right decision to shake it up and get everyone playing hard. There are really no definitive one, two, three, or four lines – you can put them in any way. I think everyone played hard and well together."

On slotting a rebound goal today
"I guess anyone could put that puck in the back of the net, I just happen to be there at the right time. If you work hard and get a little puck-luck, that's all you need. That's what a lot of guys on our team are doing right now."

Forward Will Johnson

On finding a way to win today
"The versatility of all of our players is really great. You can mix and match guys, which you saw in the second and third periods. Guys started playing with everyone and I think it really helped. We were doing what we were supposed to do and it worked out for us."

On finding ways to win after losses
"We could have won every game that we have played. That is something we discuss. We're expecting to beat these teams. It's a completely different mentality in general. We're expecting to go in every weekend and come out 2-0. If we lose Friday, we're looking to get a win on Saturday. We showed that today. It's just a different mindset that we have to come in every weekend and win."

On making plays any way possible
"There is always a variety in scoring. You adjust to the team you're playing. This was a team that we knew we could physically overpower with our speed. Even with my line, if I have (Jason) Ford coming in, I can chip it in there and (Ryan) Wagner can battle it out. They did a lot of the work for me this weekend."

Defender Corbin McGuire

On what this win means
"This is a huge win for our team. It's a huge win for our program. It's a huge win for our fans. It's a huge win for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. We're all so excited after tonight's win. This is why you come to Wisconsin – for these full-house games at the Kohl Center. Hopefully we can carry this win over to next weekend against a very talented Ohio State team. I like the way we played and competed. It was really fun to play in the building with all that energy."

On the prospect of cracking the rankings
"It's definitely something to look especially nowadays, when you can go on your phone and pull up the rankings right away. It was a huge win for us to beat a top-10 team like that in a full barn. Like coach told us in the locker room, we should be expecting to beat teams like this. This shouldn't be a fluke. We should be going into every weekend against teams of this caliber and expect to win these games."

On getting the fourth line getting a power-play goal
"That was a big goal and moment with three guys that deserved to be on the ice all weekend. They battled hard all weekend for us. All three of those guys – Jedd Soleway, Matt Ustaski, and Aidan Cavallini – deserve to be on the ice. For three years, we've been the "Special Sauce Power Play Unit" as the "mock" power play. For us, it was pretty standard for our unit."

On the difference between tonight's win and last year's 9-2 loss
"It's the opposite end of the spectrum. Every guy in the locker room, even the freshmen that weren't here last year, deserve it. We deserve it, the fans deserve it, our school deserves it. I'm so glad that we we're able to come out and compete both nights. To come out with a victory in front of that many people is special. I can't be more excited for this program and this school and where things are going from here."