Secrets are few for Badgers, UM Frozen Four coaches discuss teams

University of Wisconsin men’s hockey coach Mike Eaves is no stranger to the University of Maine Black Bears.

Two years ago, the Bears beat his Badgers 2-1 in overtime in their NCAA Tournament quarterfinal in Albany, N.Y., on a Mike Hamilton goal.

Maine and Wisconsin will meet again in the Frozen Four on Thursday, April 6 at 8 p.m. at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Boston College and North Dakota will square off in the 3 p.m. opener. The championship game will be Saturday, April 8 at 7 p.m..

“We certainly know their style from a couple of years ago,” said Eaves on an NCAA conference call involving the Frozen Four head coaches Tuesday. “They play hard and they play with a great will. Sprinkle in some pretty good players and a good goaltender and that’s a pretty good equation for a good, solid team.”

“We had a terrific game against them two years ago and we expect another one next week,” added Eaves.

Eaves is also familiar with Maine senior right wing, captain, and Hobey Baker Award finalist Greg Moore.

Moore played for Eaves when he coached the United States National Team Development Program’s Under-18 squad. The U.S. won the gold medal at the U-18 World Championships and Moore was an assistant captain.

“He’s a terrific player,” said Eaves. “He has been around a lot of good players and leaders. With the national program, [current Boston Bruins defenseman] Mark Stuart was our captain and he set a great example. Being on those winning teams, Greg saw what it took first-hand to lead a winning team.

“I’m sure he’s a great leader. He’s a horse as a player. He’s hard to play against. He’s powerful,” Eaves added. “He’s strong and fast and he goes to hard areas. I’m sure that’s where a lot of his goals have come from.”

Maine coach Tim Whitehead, who said Moore’s leadership has been just as important as his goal production, was asked about the daunting task of facing Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

“We’re very used to it. This is the fifth straight year [we’ve played somebody in their backyard],” said Whitehead. “Our guys won’t be fazed by it. We understand it’s going to be a very tough challenge for us. But it will be a great environment to play in.

“I’m sure it will be packed to the rafters. If we had met Cornell [1-0 triple-overtime loser to Wisconsin in the quarterfinals], we wouldn’t have that type of atmosphere. This will guarantee a very special moment and I hope we rise to the challenge.”

Whitehead and Boston College coach Jerry York were asked about leading their Hockey East teams back into the Frozen Four after an all-WCHA Frozen Four last year.

Maine and BC were in the Frozen Four together two years ago in Boston.

“The WCHA has won four straight national championships and Tim and I are trying to bring one back to Hockey East,” said York. “The WCHA has had a terrific run and they’ve made the other coaches work harder.”

Whitehead said that last year’s all-WCHA final was good for college hockey.

“It was unique, so it was good for college hockey last year as a one-time thing. It was a great story. But it would have been a negative thing if it had happened this year,” said Whitehead referring to the fact the WCHA would have been perceived as the dominant league in college hockey.

Whitehead praised Moore and the determination of the senior class for not allowing the loss of All-American goalie Jimmy Howard just before the start of school to deter them.

“They didn’t want to have just a decent season, they wanted to do something special,” said Whitehead, whose team was 7-7 in Hockey East play at one time this season.

“They weren’t going to let the season slip away. They kept chipping away, they built some momentum, and before you know it, we were on a real good run down the stretch,” said Whitehead, whose Bears are 14-2-2 in their last 18 games.

Wisconsin will be making its first Frozen Four appearance in 14 years.

Eaves said his team hasn’t played or practiced in the Bradley Center this season but knows his team will have a huge following as it did in Green Bay in the Midwest Regional and as it did earlier this season at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field, home of the NFL’s Packers, when his Badgers and Ohio State University drew more than 41,000 for an outdoor game.

They also sold out several games at their 15,237-seat Kohl Center.

Boston College and North Dakota will be meeting for the fourth time in seven years in NCAA Tournament play.

They met in national championship games in back-to-back years with North Dakota winning 4-2 in 2000 and BC triumphing 3-2 in overtime the following year.

Coach Dave Hakstol’s Fighting Sioux eliminated BC 6-3 in the quarterfinals last year.

All four teams went through tough stretches during the regular season, but all four coaches said their teams are playing some of their best hockey right now.