Nov. 22, 2006

MINNEAPOLIS, MN. - The University of Minnesota hockey team's strong start through the first two months of the season has reached 6-0-2 atop the WCHA, and 10-1-2 atop the national ratings - so impressive that the only remaining person predicting the likelihood that the Golden Gophers might falter is...Golden Gophers coach Don Lucia.

Lucia is not a pessimist, but he realizes the unlikelihood of avoiding a slump all season. And he's painfully aware of what can happen if that flat spot comes too close to the end of the season.

It seemed unfair when the WCHA coaches picked Minnesota as preseason favorite, since it was clear the Golden Gophers would have to count on freshmen to fill the very large skates of players like Ryan Potulny, Phil Kessel, Gino Guyer and others. But so far, Minnesota's freshmen have played a pivotal role, outplaying the best freshmen on every other WCHA team and helping Minnesota roar off to first place in the WCHA and the No. 1 rank in the nation.

Tyler Hirsch, returning from a redshirt year off, leads the team, and the WCHA, with 17 points in all games, and tied for second with 16 points are Gopher freshmen Kyle Okposo and Jay Barriball, both with 9-7-16, ahead of sophomore Blake Wheeler (7-7-14), junior Ben Gordon (5-9-14) and senior defenseman Alex Goligoski (4-9-13). The play of Okposo has been little short of spectacular, while Barriball has been an unexpected sparkplug.

"We're not going to play nine freshmen and not have our ups and downs," said Lucia. "We'll go though a couple of weekends with some injuries or something, and my thought is that if we can just find a way to get points every weekend, we should be OK. We've been fortunate to catch teams when we have. We played Colorado College when they had a couple defensemen out, and Duluth was a little banged up when we played them, and Wisconsin was missing Jack Skille, and then got a couple more guys banged up against us in the first game.

"I think you'll see our league have more compression, instead of separation," Lucia added. "We haven't seen Denver or North Dakota yet, and we know they're both tough. Michigan Tech and Alaska Anchorage are much better, and CC will be fine, and St. Cloud is in good shape right now. But while we've been fortunate when we've played teams, we've taken advantage, too, and put some points in the bank."

So far, the Golden Gophers have faced good teams, bad teams, inexperienced teams, traditional rivals, and the defending NCAA champions, and they've done more than just take a point or two every weekend - they haven't lost a WCHA game. Their only loss this season was 3-1 against Maine in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul. Since then, the Gophers have put together the nation's longest undefeated streak (10-0-2).

Now, at 6-0-2 atop the WCHA, Lucia says he focuses on the "lost" column of the standings. That shows Denver is second at 5-2-1, North Dakota 4-3-1, and Colorado College 4-2, but while all of them are certainly within striking distance, that zero in Minnesota's loss column looks larger and larger. The toughest games in that 12-game undefeated streak were a pair of ties, 5-5 and 3-3, against St. Cloud State, but the Golden Gophers came back from that to topple defending national champ and archrival Wisconsin 2-1 and 3-1. That sweep was a role reversal from a year ago, when Wisconsin came to Minnesota, swept the Gophers, and it seemed the Badgers were going to run away with the WCHA title.

"But look what happened last year," said Lucia.

True, last season the Badgers lost All-America goaltender Brian Elliott, dropped into a slump for a few weeks, and Minnesota stormed past to win the league title and gain the No. 1 rank. However, at the end of the season, Wisconsin beat the Gophers 4-0 in the WCHA playoffs, and the Gophers never recovered, losing to Holy Cross in the NCAA regional, while Wisconsin got things back in order and went all the way to the NCAA title.

The Gophers are going so well right now that Lucia pulled star winger Tyler Hirsch out of the lineup against Wisconsin. Lucia said Hirsch had fallen behind in a couple of classes, and he not only has decided to tighten up his discipline this season, he wants to make sure he has Hirsch's skills for the whole season. "When Tyler came back this year, I said I wanted two things," said Lucia. "I want him to have a big year, and to graduate."

Without Hirsch, the Gophers had to work harder to score, but, as usual, they scored just enough to sweep Wiscoonsin. They won 2-1 when Goligoski scored on a first period power-play, then Barriball made it 2-0 in the third period with a goal that looked more like a veteran than a freshman. Wheeler had skated up the right side and passed across the slot. As Elliott, Wisconsin's ace goaltender, slid anticipating the shot, Barriball already had anticipated that move and had quickly rapped a backhand for the far side of the net to score.

"I'm not surprised by Kyle's play, but Barriball is definitely a surprise," said Lucia. "He was going to play at Sioux Falls in the USHL, and when Phil Kessel signed a pro contract, he came in. He's tenacious around the net, and he's got great hockey sense - the instincts about where to go, and the puck finds him. He also has a good shot, and he has that habit of scoring goals."

Barriball's goal proved to be the first game winner against Wisconsin, after Ross Carlson's goal broke the shutout bid of senior goalie Kellen Briggs.

The next night, Minnesota fell behind 1-0 on Ben Street's deflected goal in the second period. In the third, Ryan Stoa tried to pass out front to Okposo, but the pass hit the back of Elliott's blocker and caromed into the net for the equalizer.

With 5:43 remaining, the winning goal was an all-freshman happening. Tony Lucia - the coach's kid - played an outsnding shift, hustling and forechecking and circling to attack again. Amid the flurry, freshman defenseman Brian Schack got a shot away from inside the left point. Elliott blocked it, and it popped up. Minnesota's Mike Carman went hard to the net, and it was impossible to tell whether Badger freshman John Mitchell shoved him into the crease or chased him there, but they both bumped into Elliott, who fell facing south, while the puck landed in the north end of the crease. Lucia, about 20 feet out from the cage, saw the congestion of bodies and zipped around to the right and made a headlong dive, poking the free puck as he slid to the end boards. It was his first goal, and it was a reward for an outstanding shift.

At the end of the game, Okposo fed Wheeler for an open-net goal, and the Gophers had a 3-1 victory for the sweep.

Sophomore Jeff Frazee tended goal in the second game, as Lucia - the dad - continued to alternate him with Briggs. In league play, both have 3-0-1 records, and Frazee has a 1.71 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage, while Briggs is 1.96, and .924.

Goaltending has been easier because of strong defensive play. Goligoski, a junior, pairs with senior Mike Vannelli, the captain, while junior Derek Peltier pairs with freshman Erik Johnson, the NHL's No. 1 overall draft pick last summer. The third unit has a pair of freshmen, Brian Schack and David Fischer, but the rookie blueliners have been solid, rather than inconsistent, and their size - all three are over 6-foot-2 - lets them make up for any uncertainty with a dose of aggressiveness.

So far, everything has fallen into place so well, it's understandable that coach Lucia might be looking for a possible flat spot, and he'd prefer it to come early enough for the Gophers to be able to rebound. Of course, there's always a chance there won't be any slump, but if there isn't, it will take coach Lucia until about a week into April to realize it.

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