Sports

Gophers' focus last weekend was Frozen Four, not UND -- Lucia

Boston College will be the big favorite in the Frozen Four and the Gophers play the Eagles first.

By Roman Augustoviz

March 28, 2012 at 8:28PM

Gophers coach Don Lucia said his team was more focused on getting to the Frozen Four on Sunday than revenge against North Dakota.

"You have the opportunity for payback. [The Fighting Sioux] ended our season," Lucia said, referring to the 2009-2010 season and a first-round WCHA playoff series in Grand Forks, N.D. "We had the chance to end theirs [on Sunday].

"I don't think it was so much payback because we were playing North Dakota," Lucia explained on his weekly radio show on Monday. "It was trying to get to a Frozen Four. If it was North Dakota, or Cornell or Ferris State, it doesn't matter who. It is a big game. It was a fun environment to play in again. North Dakota had a lot of fans. So it was a good crowd for a regional setup. That makes it better,too, because you want to have a good crowd whether they are cheering for you or against you."

Lucia said there was energy on the bench throughout the game. "We were able to get to three and four [goals]," he said, "and then I knew we were in good shape."

THE FIELD

This Frozen Four has two first-time teams from smaller schools. And Lucia said one of the great things about college hockey is to be able to have a Division II school like Ferris State, a Division III school like Union and two Division I schools in the Frozen Four.

"Ferris [State] and Union are in the same position," Lucia said. "They have had great seasons. The CCHA had a great league this year and Ferris State ended up winning the regular-season title. [Bulldogs coach] Bob Daniels is a great guy, just one of the good guys in all college hockey. I am happy for him and his program that they are able to be there."

And at the Frozen Four "everyone is on equal footing in hockey," Lucia said. "You can't do that in any other sport. That is what is unique about what we do. ... Once you get to this part, it is single-game elimination and you don't have to be the best team out of seven [games], you have to be the best team out of one."

BC MOST TALENTED

Lucia said he TiVoed BC's regional games against Air Force and UMD. "There is an exchange you have to do as part of the Frozen Four," he said. "We will get all that done the next couple of weeks. One thing I do know is, we better practice at tempo because the old speed limit is going up.

"BC can really get around the rink. We better take care of the puck. They have a big, strong defensive corps and they have won 17 games in a row. The good news is maybe they are due to lose one. They are the most talented team, I don't think there is an question. We have great respect for them and we know we are going to have to play awfully well.

"If we can play like we did this past weekend, we will be in decent shape."

He expects to get a report on BC from Frank Serratore of Air Force. The Falcons lost to BC 2-0 in the Northeast Regional semifinals. Luica is a longtime friend of Serratore's and his son, Tom, plays for the Gophers. Lucia said he also plans to call Scott Sandelin of UMD. BC beat the Bulldogs 4-0 in the regional final.

"BC has probably got a little more scoring depth than we do up front," Lucia said. "... They have a 20-goal scorer on all three of their top lines. They don't play a fourth line much. They are a three-line team. And all three of their lines have scored 30, 40 or more goals. It is going to be a great challenge for our guys. They are going to have to be dialed in mentally as well as physically every time they are on the ice."

"They are very much a pressure team. They are not going to sit back. ... Everything we do is going to have to be in a hurry. They attack the net so well. ... They just swarm the net, they swarm the blue paint. We will have to be really good around the net and make sure we have sticks up and really work with Kent [Patterson]. Anytime he can freeze a puck [playing goalie], freeze a puck. We can't have those rebounds hanging out there."

Not only is BC skilled, the Eagles are big.

"They got some size," Lucia said. "[Forward Chris] Krieder is a big horse. He is 6-3, 235. And [linemate Kevin] Hayes is 6-3, 200-plus. [Center Bill] Arnold is like 210. A couple of their centers are really big. They have that mix of those type of players and then [winger Johnny] Gaudreau who is 5-7, 5-8, 150 pounds but 20 goals as a freshman. He is a good player, boy."

"It reminds me a little bit of, when Tiger [Woods] was in his heyday, and you could have the choice. You could pick Tiger or the field [in a golf tournament]. Boston College is probably the big favorite right now. If you could pick BC or the field, most people would probably pick BC. It is a a great challenge for our guys. We said all year long, 'Respect everybody, fear no one.' We have great respect for BC, but we are going in there trying to win, there is no question."

THE DON SAYS

On his third line: "We are going to need that line to play very good as we head into BC in a couple of weeks."

On his advice to players: "Don't be something you are not. Play to your strength as a player. Play the way you played all season long. Don't think you have to have a super-human effort and do something that is out of your comfort zone because that is going to get you in trouble. Continue to do things that got us to 28 wins and became WCHA champs and are on our way to the Frozen Four."

On the importance of goalie Kent Patterson: "Kent is going to be huge. I like our chances if he is the MVP of the Frozen Four. The goaltender is the most important thing. We said it this week. We didn't play great in front of Kent the week before [in a 6-3 loss to North Dakota in the Final Five semifinals]. Kent would probably like to have a few of those back. But he rebounded and played terrific this past weekend. I little bit of down time will be good for him now. He should come in really fresh."