Gophers coach Don Lucia has his radio show on 'CCO every Monday. I listen to learn as much as I can.

Here are highlites from this Monday:

* On his son Tony, who has three goals vs. Alaska Anchorage: "I guess he said if no one else is going to score, I will. He is not a big-time scorer for us. It has never really been his role but he is the type of player who always shows up on the shot block. He always shows up with hits and being responsible.

"It was nice to see him get rewarded this weekend and he really had a great weekend. And breaking down the film, he had even more scoring chances. He hit the post, which I didn't even realize."

* On other big goals last weekend: "It was nice to see some guys like Zach Budish get his first goal. And for him it was probably his first goal in a year when you look at the knee surgery that he had. [Budish missed last hockey season at Edina after suffering a knee injury in football.] He has been improving each and every week.

"I thought [Josh] Birkholz had his best game on Sunday. He was very noticeable. His speed. He was making some plays. That was nice to see.

"[Junior defenseman] Kevin Wehrs got his first career goal as a Gopher. And you see the enthusiasm, how happy guys are for each other. That was great to see as well."

*On Friday, Sunday schedule: Lucia said the U of M paid the Seawolves' extra costs for staying three days in the Twin Cities. He said the only option was playing Thursday and Friday, but he did not want his players going to school on two game days when the Seawolves were not.

* On Nick Leddy's return after surgery Monday for a broken jaw: "I don't think we can put a firm date on it. Is it six weeks? Is it going to be four, five weeks? We don't know. I think we will know more in a few weeks that we certainly know today.

"The hit as far as I am concerned should have been a penalty. The video that I saw originally was from a different side. The picture in the Trib had a perfect shot of what actually happened. I can't sit here and say that the kid who hit Nick did it intentionally. But like a hit from behind, the onus is on the player doing the hitting.

"And when you look at the rulebook, there is supposed to be zero tolerance for a hit to the head. And it's for good reason. It's for protection.

"To me this is a real teachable moment around the league. ... You could say Nick was bent down and he's taller, He was in a vulnerable situation. That may be, it doesn't mean you can hit him in the head."