Jordan Schroeder, a freshman center, is playing on the Gophers’ first line with captain Ryan Stoa and Jay Barriball, two juniors.

He seems to have the right attitude about the position he is in. “Just being able to come in and play right away is a tremendous honor,” Schroeder said before Wednesday’s practice.

Schroeder is one of 12 freshmen on the roster. “All the freshmen are doing really well, playing hard and they are looking to get out there,” he said.

Asked about his older linemates, Schroeder said, “They are great players, great guys. They know how to move the puck well, they can shoot the puck, everything.”

Do they offer him advice? “All the upper classmen have done a really nice job of taking in the freshmen and kind of telling us what to do and what not to do,” Schroeder said, “[and the] coaches as well. If you are having kind of a bad practice, just keep your head up, keep going at it hard and never give up.”

NESS STILL WITH R.J.

Freshmen defensemen Aaron Ness has been playing with R.J. Anderson, a senior, most of the preseason. “It’s going real well,” Ness said. “[R.J.] scored a goal last weekend. We have jived pretty well. It’s a leadership thing, too. He knows little plays [other teams] are going to be running, little things he can fill me in on so I am ready for stuff.”

Another player who has impressed Ness is his roommate, Schroeder. “Jordan he can do it all,” Ness said. “He is a great player. He can score from anywhere. He makes plays, he’s fast, strong kid, I can’t say enough about him.”

At Roseau High School, Ness led the Rams to two Class 2A state tournaments. They won the title in 2007, placed fourth last year.

“I’ve skated with older kids all my life, that’a one of the privileges I’ve had,” Ness said.

His state tournament experience, Ness said, has helped a little in adjusting to the spotlight as Gopher. “When you get into the limelight down in the cities and win a state championship,” Ness said, “you know what it takes to win. [The state title] was huge. That was one thing I always wanted to do, and if you do it with your buddies like that, it is even better.”

POWER PLAY SECRETS

Schroeder is playing on the Gophers’ power play, which was 0-for-5 against the University of British Columbia in an exhibition game last week. The U won that game 3-1, scoring one of the goals five seconds after a pp expired.

How does a team improve on the power play? “It’s the chemistry out there,” Schroeder said, “just getting pucks to the net. Just doing the simple things, not trying to force passes, or make the pretty plays. Just get it to the net. Winning pucks, winning battles, making plays out there.”

Ness, who also saw a lot of time on the pp in the exhibition, pretty much concurs. “We just need to get shots on net, to tell you the truth,” he said. “Not look for the perfect play all the time. Just get pucks on the net and put it home.”

Against UBC, the Gophers had 10 shots on net on five power plays. Not enough. Lucia was saying Schroeder’s line on the pp was passing the puck a little too much. Schroeder and Ness must have listened closely to Lucia’s advice and are repeating it.

Sounds like a simple solution, eh?

LINES UNCHANGED

The lines at Wednesday’s practice were the same as those tried in Friday’s exhibition game. “We have to play some gamesto find out what people can do live,” Lucia said.

This weekend, of course, the Gophers play St. Cloud State twice. Minnesota beat the Huskies 3-2 in the first game of the Final Five on Mike Howe’s last-minute goal.

So the Huskies will be fired up for revenge, right? “I don’t but that theory,” Lucia said. “What happened a year ago, is a year ago. I don’t think there is any holdover. They got a new team, we got a new team. It’s so early in the year, you are just trying to find your way.”

(Mapquest might help. Take I-94 north … Oh, Lucia was just using a metaphor. Why do I have to be so silly?)

“One thing I did like in our exhibition against UBC [the University of British Columbia],” Lucia said. “I thought we played well as a five-man unit both offensively and defensively.”

But the Huskies will be tougher. “We are going to play against higher skilled, quicker players,” Lucia said. “Your vulnerabilities are going to show this weekend, where they didn’t last weekend.”

The Gophers other lines, besides Schroeder’s, at Wednesday’s practice:

Second line, wearing gold jerseys: Mike Carman centering Ryan Flynn and Tony Lucia.

Third line, wearing white: Nico Sacchetti centering Mike Hoeffel and Patrick White.

Fourth line, wearing green: Taylor Marson centering Jake Hansen and Justin Bostrom.

Fifth line, wearing blue: This has four players, Drew Fisher, Michael Dorr, Nick Larson and Joey Miller. These guys are fighting for a chance to move up. Only one or two of them played against UBC.

On defense, freshman Aaron Ness has been paired with senior R.J. Anderson on the second pair of D. All defensmen wear black jerseys, so it’s a little harder to figure out who is with who. But last week, the first pair of D was sophomore Cade Fairchild and junior David Fischer. The third pair listed was sophomore Kevin Wehrs and freshman Sam Lofquist, but Lofquist did not play because of a painful bruise from a puck in practice. He was skating well Wednesday and should be in the lineup this weekend.

TIDBITS 

* Schroeder’s favorite food is sushi. “Usually I don’t eat it before games,” he said. “As a light snack, it is good for you.”

* Barriball on Schroeder: “The first impression I got of him is, he is just a really nice kid.”

* At precisely 2 p.m. Wednesday, Lucia cut off all media interviews with his players. The word is he is going to be more strict with long-winded interviewers than he was last season. … No objections here.

* What does one do for diversion when watching a hockey practice? Count the ads on the new boards ar Mariucci, there are 11 in both ends, 14 on one of the sides, 15 on the other, with two big and one small space for three more ads. That’s 51 total.

* Junior captain Ryan Stoa must be a fan of Alexander Ovechkin. He was wearing a Washington Capitals jersey with the No. 8 on the back and, in Cyrillic script above the number, was Ovechkin’s name. I’d write his name in Russian for you, but I don’t think my computer has that alphabet. It’s looks kind of cool.  … Stoa is a 6-3, 217-pound left wing, Ovechkin is a 6-2, 220-pound left wing. Their frames are certainly alike.

OUTSIDE THE U

* In Duluth, there is a major building project going on, too. The DECC, home of Bulldogs hockey since 1966-67, will be replaced by a $70-million, 6,660-seat arena a few hundred feet away in 2010-11.

The DECC will not be torn down, though. UMD has a 428-339-48 record (a .555 winning percentage) in 42 seasons at the Duluth Enterainment and Convention Center but has not finished over the .500 mark there since the 2003-04 season.

The new building will be a green arena, environmentally friendly.

* In Ann Arbor, Michigan, a running back on the Wolverines football team, is a suspect in the assault on junior Steve Kampfer, a defenseman on the Michigan hockey team.

Kampfer was injured at about 2:25 a.m. Sunday morning after being thrown to the ground. Sources with knowledge of the situation said the perpetrator is suspected to be senior Mike Milano, listed as a 5-foot-7, 196-pound running back from Rocky River, Ohio. He wrestled for Michigan his first two years in school, then walked onto the football team in spring 2007.

Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson said Kampfer will be out of the team’s lineup for a while and is currently missing class to recover from the injuries. Kampfer is a fourth-round NHL draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks.

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