Gophers won't have home-ice advantage at X, Lucia says

Don Lucia's most recent comments about playing at the X reminded me of a former Gophers men's basketball coach.

In 1993, Clem Haskins' basketball team won the NIT title. But on the way to New York City, where the semifinals and championship game of the NIT are played every year, the Gophers beat Florida and Oklahoma at Target Center and Southern Cal 76-58 at Met Center.

Williams Arena was undergoing renovations at the time and unavailable.

Haskins, always sensitive to criticism about his team's so-so road record, called those three victories road wins.

Lucia on Monday said his Gophers do not have a home-ice edge even though the West Regional is at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Lucia did not go nearly as far as Haskins did, though, saying the Gophers woulds have a homertown advantage.

That's pretty clear. The University of Minnesota is the host school of the regional. And Mariucci is maybe a 15-20 minute drive from the X.

Here is the background ...

Lucia: "I am going to say it -- the Xcel Center is not home ice for us. If we are playing at Mariucci that is home ice. We are on a small sheet [at Xcel]. We are playing in a building that our kids have played [on] twice in four years. It is not like we are used to playing there in any stretch."

(The seniors on this Gophers team are 0-2 at the X, losing to UMD 2-1 in a Final Five quarterfinal in 2009 and to North Dakota 6-3 in a semifinal last week.)

"Hopefully, we will have a great crowd this weekend," Lucia said. "North Dakota is going to be there. We are going to be there. So there should be a decent crowd. I don't think we will see the kind of crowds we had this weekend for the WCHA Final Five because going into the weekend you have 10,000-plus tournament passes sold for that WCHA tournament.

TOUGH REGION

"But hopefully we will have a good crowd because, like I said, I don't think the Frozen Four will have more glamor teams than what we are going to have in our regional.

"Experienced coaches, teams and certainly with BU and Minnesota, it's like original six teams playing in the NHL. Both have great tradition and they have won a lot over the years."

Lucia said any of the four teams could win the regional title.

The other three teams in the West Regional all play on smaller rinks. "Like I said, there is no home ice advantage for us playing in the Xcel Center," Lucia said. "We have a hometown advantage, but certainly not home ice."

He said his players will be ready for this weekend: "The guys feel good. They are excited to know they are in the NCAA tournament. This is what you work all year long for starting this weekend."

TIMEOUT QUESTION

"If I had to do it all over again, I probably would have taken one after their second goal," Lucia said. "You get those four one-minute timeouts. So they are coming every four minutes."

He said he used one of the TV timeouts to tell his players: "We have to keep playing. We have to pressure the puck and get in the offensive zone. We have to continue to make plays. We can't sit on our heels.

Between two TV timeouts, North Dakota scored two quick goals. " We just couldn't seem to stem the momentum. In hindsight, it could have helped maybe," Lucia said, referring to calling a timeout. "It certainly could not have hurt. ... I wouldn't have used it at 3-3. I probably would have used it when it was 3-2, when we still had the lead. Just to try to -- 'Hey guys, we have to start playing now."

OFFICIATING TIGHTER

Lucia said penalties are called differently n the NCAA tournament. "Normally when you get into into the NCAA tournament," he said, "the game is called tighter. And there is more penalties called.

Lucia said he expects a crew from the ECAC and perhaps one from the CCHA perhaps to be at the X. Either one could work the game between the Gophers (WCHA) and Boston U (Hockey East).

"Going in the understanding is, the game will be called more by the book," Lucia said, "than what we have in our league."