Gophers winger Nick Larson said U tougher opponent now

TWO DAYS UNTIL SIOUX HIT TOWN ...

Nick Larson, a sophomore winger, was the player everybody wanted to talk to last Saturday after the Gophers' 3-1 victory over Harvard.

He was moved up from the fourth to second line, with former Hill-Murray linemate Mike Hoeffel at left wing and Mike Carman at center. Larson scored two goals on hustle plays. The goals were his first of the season and the second and third of his career.

Here's more on what Larson had to say:

* On timing of North Dakota series this weekend: It was nice the last month to kind of build up a little winning streak. Coming in we have a lot of confidence and I am sure North Dakota is going to come in here pretty jacked up and we have to match their intensity. You know it is going to be a grind.

(The Gophers have won six of their past seven games.)

* On what Gophers learned from first North Dakota series in Grand Forks to open season: It is always tough to go up there and play. It's a tough atmosphere. They definitely came out and outworked us.

That's the main thing that has changed [is] we are harder to play against now. Our intensity has been real high the last month or so and I think it is going to be a different story come [this] weekend.

* On playing with Hoeffel in last Saturday's 3-1 win over Harvard: It brought me back to the good old high school days. It is always nice to play with Hoff. He is obviously a great player. And Carman the same thing. Both of them are established players in college. It's nice to play with them [Saturday].

* On Hoffel's waved off goal for a man in the crease: He has enough goals. (Larson was joking, of course.)

A recent interview with Jordan Schroeder, sophomore center, after his return from World Juniors:

* On what Dave Gagner, Vancouver's director of player development, is telling him: Just getting to the net. Being hard to play against, just being a pest. Not taking stupid penalties or going out of your way to hit guys.

Tony Lucia, a senior wing, talking before the Harvard series:

* On center Jordan Schroeder and winger Jacob Cepis playing on first line together: They are definitely offensive-minded players and, when two very offensive-minded players get together, good things happen.

* On how Gophers can make switch from high-scoring to gritty team: It's kind of the evolution of the game a little bit. With game films, scouting and all this, teams get so good you are not going to see those pretty goals down your roster. You might see some flashy goals from your top guys but, from the beginning, you are just not going to see it anymore.

We have been transitioning in practice, trying to implement drills that really focus on getting to those dirty areas and just getting scrappy goals. A goal is a goal in this day and age. You just have to find a way and have the will to score.

* On forwards' role in scoring: It's the defensemen's job to get the puck down there [near the goal], but it is our job to clean up what is left.

Mike Carman, a senior center, before holiday break:

* On one of keys to success: Last year we relied quite a bit on the Jordan (Schroed), (Ryan) Stoa and (Jay) Bariball line did a lot of our scoring. But to be successful this year. It is going to have to be all four lines scoring, all six D. As we've shown, when we do that, we win.

* On seniors determined: Being this is my last go around, I think I can speak for all the seniors, We want to go out the way we started.

(The Gophers in 2007-08 won the MacNaughton and Broadmoor trophies and reached the region final.)

* On the identity of this team: A lunch pail group is the way it has got to be for us. Guys have come to terms with that. That was part of the reason it has taken us til Christmas to figure that out. Most of our team was goal scorers at the last level. And so to come in and fill a different role, and not necessarily be that guy for the team and obviously it is not going to come as easy as at the previous level, it takes a while for guys to get used to that.