The Don more concerned about U improving than nonconference foes

Gophers coach Don Lucia said on Wednesday he is not that familiar with Bowling Green, his team's first opponent in the Dodge Holiday Classic.

They play at 7 p.m. Saturday at Mariucci Arena.

"To be honest, I don't know that much about them," Lucia said. "We tried to focus so much -- we do have one game film that has been broken down that we shared. But our focus when you get into these nonconference games is on our own team.

"That's what we have to concentrate on, what the Gophers are doing and not who our opposition is. What we need to do to become a better hockey team."

The Gophers have won three games in a row, their longest winning streak of the season. But Minnesota is still one game below .500 and the opposition in the last two series has been teams below them in the WCHA standings, Minnesota State Mankato and Michigan Tech.

Bowling Green is another struggling team.

"The important thing is we have four nonconference games. Let's worry about today. Let's get better today and worry about tomorrow tomorrow," Lucia said.

"It's always been -- you win at home and split on the road," Lucia said. "We've been good on the road. So that hasn't been the issue. The issue is just winning more games at home and that coorelates with scoring some goals at home."

The Gophers have scored 21 goals in nine home games, an average of 2.3 per game. Of course, Denver shut out the U 3-0, 3-0 in Minnesota's first two home games.

"If you look at it, there have been some tight games [at home]. but we haven't generated enough and scored enough offensively," Lucia said. "When you score, it gets the crowd into the game and it gets your own team into the game. That's the bottom line, if we can get to three, four goals a night at home, it will go a long way into helping us win."