Gopher Women Hockey's Head Coach Brad Frost addressed the media in the Club Room of Ridder Arena this afternoon to discuss the season so far, and this weekends matchup with the Wisconsin Badgers at Ridder Arena. The undefeated and #1 ranked Gophers will take on the Badgers Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 PM. This is the first game between the two teams since Minnesota beat Wisconsin in the 2012 National Championship game. Fans can get into Saturday's game for $1.00.
Brad Frost:
Regarding the team…. "We've obviously had a tremendous start to our season being 16-0, and setting a couple of NCAA records along the way for most consecutive wins (24), and tying an NCAA record for the most consecutive road wins (15) this past weekend. Things have certainly come together significantly faster than we originally thought. But at the same time, we still haven't arrived yet, and we still have a long way to go. But it's a tremendous group to work with, and the team is playing at a really high level. Last year we finished playing at a very high level. What I've found is, once you win one (NCAA Championship), you have a blueprint as to what you want your team to be about. We were fortunate with that Championship last year to really dial into the things we want to do. And we've been fortunate. We need to continue to play well defensively. And we've started quick. We've only been down one time this year, and that was for under a minute. So we haven't faced a ton of adversity yet, and I know that will come, so we try to prepare our team as best we can for it. We talk a lot about our culture, and being tough, grateful, disciplined and devoted every day, both on and off the ice"
Regarding winning streak(s)…. "We didn't even know the NCAA road streak was going on. And even the winning streak we didn't know about until the day of the game. I don't talk about it…..but not because I'm superstitious or anything"
Regarding Hannah Brandt…. "I don't think you ever dream she's going to be playing as well as she's been playing. I mean, she has 43 points which is a heck of a season for most people, let alone a Freshman. The day she committed, I had it in my head that she was going to play on a line with Amanda Kessel. Hannah and Amanda both see the game at such a high level. They work well together"
Regarding Wisconsin…. "Obviously it's a big weekend coming up with the Badgers rolling into town. They started slow this year, but they have picked it up as all Mark Johnson Wisconsin teams do, and their now back ranked in the top ten. In my opinion, they're probably the second best team in our conference right now. I always look at Wisconsin as a top two team in our league. They have a lot of Freshman on their club, and started a little slower than they have in the past. But they've won seven of their last eight, their not giving up any goals, their starting to put the puck in the net, and they have two of the best players in the country in their goalie Alex Rigsby, and Briana Decker, who won the Patty Kazmaier award last year. I know it's a cliche, but, when you drop the puck here on Saturday, it doesn't matter what the records are, it's going to be a great hockey game. I think confidence is a big reason for their success. Briana Decker is starting to take over hockey games. They're playing for the end of the year, not worrying so much about the beginning of the year. I think there could be some emotion. I expect, for a midseason game, it should be quite intense. It's such a healthy rivalry. Our staffs respect each other, and there is a lot of respect between the two teams. But both want to beat the other"
Brad Frost:
Regarding the team…. "We've obviously had a tremendous start to our season being 16-0, and setting a couple of NCAA records along the way for most consecutive wins (24), and tying an NCAA record for the most consecutive road wins (15) this past weekend. Things have certainly come together significantly faster than we originally thought. But at the same time, we still haven't arrived yet, and we still have a long way to go. But it's a tremendous group to work with, and the team is playing at a really high level. Last year we finished playing at a very high level. What I've found is, once you win one (NCAA Championship), you have a blueprint as to what you want your team to be about. We were fortunate with that Championship last year to really dial into the things we want to do. And we've been fortunate. We need to continue to play well defensively. And we've started quick. We've only been down one time this year, and that was for under a minute. So we haven't faced a ton of adversity yet, and I know that will come, so we try to prepare our team as best we can for it. We talk a lot about our culture, and being tough, grateful, disciplined and devoted every day, both on and off the ice"
Regarding winning streak(s)…. "We didn't even know the NCAA road streak was going on. And even the winning streak we didn't know about until the day of the game. I don't talk about it…..but not because I'm superstitious or anything"
Regarding Hannah Brandt…. "I don't think you ever dream she's going to be playing as well as she's been playing. I mean, she has 43 points which is a heck of a season for most people, let alone a Freshman. The day she committed, I had it in my head that she was going to play on a line with Amanda Kessel. Hannah and Amanda both see the game at such a high level. They work well together"
Regarding Wisconsin…. "Obviously it's a big weekend coming up with the Badgers rolling into town. They started slow this year, but they have picked it up as all Mark Johnson Wisconsin teams do, and their now back ranked in the top ten. In my opinion, they're probably the second best team in our conference right now. I always look at Wisconsin as a top two team in our league. They have a lot of Freshman on their club, and started a little slower than they have in the past. But they've won seven of their last eight, their not giving up any goals, their starting to put the puck in the net, and they have two of the best players in the country in their goalie Alex Rigsby, and Briana Decker, who won the Patty Kazmaier award last year. I know it's a cliche, but, when you drop the puck here on Saturday, it doesn't matter what the records are, it's going to be a great hockey game. I think confidence is a big reason for their success. Briana Decker is starting to take over hockey games. They're playing for the end of the year, not worrying so much about the beginning of the year. I think there could be some emotion. I expect, for a midseason game, it should be quite intense. It's such a healthy rivalry. Our staffs respect each other, and there is a lot of respect between the two teams. But both want to beat the other"