Robbie Earl Quotations

Yes, I have that kind of title on my back. But I'll put up my numbers. It's just going to be a little harder.

We know what's at stake and what we have in front of us. Good teams know in the beginning of the year what kind of destiny they can bring to themselves. I think we recognize that. My class and (the senior) class, we've been here quite a long time and we're at that point where this is our year and we'll try to make the most of it.

We're just trying to mature. We've got a lot of freshmen who really don't know what to expect. The coaches are just trying to calm us down and get us on the right track, but jitters are great. That's why you play this game, to have those jitters and have that opportunity to be successful.

Like coach (Mike Eaves) said, the season's not over. We've got bigger accomplishments to seize in the next couple of weeks.

I always wanted to go to Michigan since I was pretty young. When you thought of college hockey, you usually thought of Michigan.

He's been a big part of this team, just like all of us. With a big injury like that, it does hurt the morale.

I take great pride in showing that I'm able to step up in key times. My role is to score goals and put up numbers.

I think the league did a really bad job this year with obstruction. They talk about cleaning the game up a little bit and making it more free- flowing like the NHL. That definitely did not happen.

I think this is the first step of championships. We want to win this championship, and it's just going to build up. (We'll) use this as preparation to upcoming championships. We want to win this tournament, and that's our main focus. In previous years, that hasn't been as high of a focus as it is this year, and I think that's a very good thing for us.

I think that's huge, going into a situation where you're fighting for spots.

That was the story of the year. Hard work and going to the net.

That's what is so great about this line, that each player has his own different identity. That's why it clicks so well.

You learn how to enter those games with an open mind and just not try to do too much. The last two years I've tried to take it on myself to do stuff. It has to be a team effort.

We try to create offense right away and throw them back on their heels. That's going to be the biggest thing. We take great pride in that, coming out strong. That's why I think our line plays the first shift every game, because we want to get that pressure, we want to get that scoring chance right away.

Very much so. He's a looser coach nowadays. He's not so uptight and not so vocal out there. He sits back and lets the leaders do their jobs. I think that's definitely helped to mold the team.

At the beginning of the year, I think we hit our stride pretty well. But getting down the stretch, teams are keying on certain players and that's something you need to adjust to. I think we struggled with that of late, but there's definitely another level we want to get to and I think we're capable of. That's going to have a big impact on how far we go, and we realize that.

The big thing is we just got outplayed this weekend. Granted, we lost Elliott. We just got outplayed.

This is a different part of the season - different mind-set, different everything. You're not worried about your points anymore. You're not worried about individual achievements. It's more of a team part of the season.

It's kind of a double-edged sword. In a way I didn't care, but it kind of hurts knowing the (numbers) you put up and not be respected that way.

I took my licks, but it's well worth it. I saw the opportunity and I saw a chance to score, and I took it. It was just a great, great pass. That's how our season has been going all year. It's all about heart and being relentless.

It was something I had to battle through. It was frustrating. There were a lot of different emotions. I wanted to battle through it. You only get this chance once in your lifetime. It was something I wanted to get through, and it was something the guys fed off it well.

It was a unique game and I just wanted to be a part of it. I had a little system going. I'd go on, cramp up, get off, get fluids, stretch out and get back out there.

It's funny, I didn't even really know (about the award) until I got to the locker room and Coach (Mike Eaves) told me. It's been a long road. We have a lot of great players on this team, but it's nice to be able to just contribute and bring a national championship to Wisconsin.

It's my job to put up the numbers and do my job offensively, and I thought I did that tonight. I guess it's just another day at the office and we'll come back Saturday and, hopefully, do the same thing.

Each stick out of the box isn't always the same and you've got to make adjustments. I enjoy that. That's a part of hockey that I like. You take care of your sticks, they'll take care of you. That's the policy that I go by.

They did a good job of trying to get into my head. I think they accomplished that in the second period.

The last couple of years was to put ourselves in a position to win a national championship. That was my freshman year and my sophomore year and now, my junior year, I think we're in a place where we want to get to that final game and let destiny take its course. That's what our team sees happening.

I know they've slipped a little bit, but we hope to bring the program back to where it should be.

I knew I was going to have a great night because I was well-prepared, well-focused. You know when you're on top of your game right away. I knew it was going to be a special night. It was unreal.

I just did my part. It's my job to put up the numbers and I thought I did that.

I decided to take a chance and went to the net. Things just worked out.

I am proud. I fought hard. It's been a long road. We have a lot of great players on this team who have their accolades and have had a great year. It's nice just to be able to contribute and bring a national championship to Wisconsin.