One of the reasons the Gophers are 6-1-0 and rated No. 8 is the strong play of the team's second line.
Sophomore Erik Haula, the Wild prospect, centers that line and had five goals and 14 points going into Friday's game against Alaska Anchorage. On his wings are senior Jake Hansen (3-8--11) who is second on the team in scoring and freshman Sam Warning (3-3--6).
"Erik is no surprise," Lucia said. "Erik is an extremely hard worker. And there is some chemistry with the line that he has, with [Sam] Warning there instead of [Jacob] Cepis and Hansenback from last year.
"It's just a confidence [with] Erik. He is shooting more and he has been through a year of college hockey and he has taken another step in his game. Nobody works harder than Erik and [his success] is well-deserved."
Lucia said Warning, who is from Chesterfield, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis, is improving, too. "He had a good weekend [against Vermont]," Lucia said, "and, as his confidence grows, we have high expectations for him. He played two years of junior hockey [in the USHL]. ... He is young, but he has talent and he will continue to improve. He should have a real nice year."
Combined those three players have 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points in six games, so they are averaging more than five points per game.
The Gophers top line is Nick Bjugstad (5-4--9), Kyle Rau (6-3--9) and Zach Budish (2-4--6). It has 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points.
One could say the Gophers really have two top lines so far.