Gophers hockey coaches, players insist team has enough talent to win conference title

At some point last week, the Gophers walked into their locker room to see a new saying written on the whiteboard.

"We have what we need."

That resonated with the No. 7 Gophers, who sit in third place in the Big Ten ahead of facing conference-leading Ohio State on the road this weekend. With just three series left in the regular season — and three big players still away from the team competing at the Olympics — the Gophers believe they have the makings of a championship team.

Their new motto has stuck with everyone from goalie Justen Close, who took over for Jack LaFontaine when he departed for the NHL midseason, to freshman forwards Rhett Pitlick, Tristan Broz and Aaron Huglen.

The latter three in particular shined in last weekend's sweep of Michigan State. Pitlick tallied a goal and two assists, Huglen a goal and an assist and Broz a goal.

Coach Bob Motzko said at the beginning of the season, there was an unspoken onus on the five freshman forwards to make up for 39 goals worth of lost scoring from last season's team. But the only forward to really take that and skate was Matthew Knies, now at the Olympics. Knies had the benefit of coming in with physical presence beyond his years. Chaz Lucius wasn't far behind him after dealing with an injury.

But it took Pitlick, Broz and Huglen until about the halfway mark of the holiday break to really feel settled.

Motzko said the freshmen had to build up their experience and confidence, which are the toughest to come by when not playing as many games or scoring as many points as they did in their juniors or high school careers. Broz said he had to reframe his goals for the season, which were initially to be just as prolific as he was in the USHL, where he scored 51 points last season. He has five so far this year.

Pitlick also had to adjust his expectations when an AC joint sprain held him out of crucial early season games when the team was building chemistry. But he said the strength of his class helped improve his game, even when he started a bit behind.

"It's pretty cool that all the freshmen forwards are drafted [by NHL teams]. So obviously, there's some high-end talent within the freshmen group," Pitlick said. "And I love that we're all very competitive. … It helps me become better myself. I think it's really unique how everyone is so competitive and plays so hard, and we all kind of just build off each other."

All the freshmen live in the 17th Avenue dorms and caravan for the short walk to the rink. They also eat together every night at the Athletes Village dining hall. But just like on the ice, it took a bit for the group to become comfortable around each other. Broz called his class reserved and stoic, but he's slowly seen them shake off the shyness and start cracking more jokes around the team.

And that "we have what we need" rallying cry, which assistant coach Garrett Raboin initially penned, has given the freshmen another boost of belonging.

"Everybody's got to pull their share of the weight for this thing to keep moving forward," Motzko said. "And I think it's fun for them to get added responsibility in games or penalty kill or power play or even in the lineup.