Lucia said everybody has to be ready for Sioux

FIVE DAYS BEFORE NORTH DAKOTA HITS TOWN ...

"We had to work to score, but we scored some goals we needed to score," Gophers coach Don Lucia said after his team's 3-1 victory over Harvard on Saturday. "One-timing the puck. We had one called back because we had a net presence. [That's a nice way of saying that Jacob Cepis was laying in the crease after being pushed.]

"We scored on the power play again. Our penalty kill did the job. [Goalie] Kent Patterson responded real positively after letting in that first goal. [It went 5-hole, from 45 feet out along the right boards. The shot looked very stoppable.] That was a good test for him that after he gave up that goal -- it showed a little mental toughness -- you know what, he closed the door thereafter.

"You wouldn't want to see another [goal] like that. But we didn't have to worry about that. We talked after the first, 'OK, let's see where he goes from there.' And he got more comfortable as that [first] period went on and after that he looked like he was in good control.

"So I thought it was a good workmanlike win for our team."

The sixth win in seven games and now the Gophers have a winning record, 11-10-1.

Sophomore winger Nick Larson scored the second and third goals for the Gophers.

Larson's goals were his first and second of the season. Junior defenseman Cade Fairchild also scored his first goal, on a power play in the last minute of the first period.

"He is probably our biggest threat from the back line," Lucia said, "and to go to the end of the year without scoring a goal -- but again it's shooting off a pass. Those are the things you have to do in order to score."

Fairchild came into this season with 11 goals his first two seasons. In his first 21 games, he had nine assists but no goals.

TIMING RIGHT FOR NODAK

With his team on a winning streak -- the Gophers are 6-1 in their past seven games -- Lucia was asked if this was the right time for Minnesota to play North Dakota again?

"We are the type of team, we are not going to rely on one or two guys. How many different goal-scorers did we have this weekend? (Seven,) That's the way this team has to be. Somebody different from night to night has to step up."

THE DON QUOTES

* On whether he knows this team now: "We have a pretty good idea where this team is at. Some guys are growing. It will be a big week to find out what will happen to [Taylor] Matson. Whether he will be out six, eight weeks or shorter, if he has surgery or not. Getting him back will help us, especially with penalty-killing and energy.

"Some guys are playing better. Nick Leddy looks a lot more steady and better now since sitting out that month [with a broken jaw]. That was an important time for him to grow as a player. He and David [Fischer] play pretty well back there, And we are in a situation we feel comfortable with four D who can play against anybody."

(Those four defensemen are Leddy and Fischer, and Aaron Ness and Cade Fairchild on the second pair.)

* On the power play: "Our power play is getting better. It has a much better rhythm right now. We need to score on that. You win games like that on your power play."

* On what is different from Gophers' first series with North Dakota: "I don't know. We'll find out. We got to play the games. The second half of the season, obviously, we have to have good goaltending, we have to have good specialty teams, and we have to grind out wins. We have to be a shot-blocking team. We have to defend well. We need a break or two go our way the second half of the season because we didn't have any from the injury standpoint, from goals going off skates, you name it.