U men’s hockey: A Lucia update
Posted on January 7th, 2009 – 4:04 PMBy Roman Augustoviz
Wednesday was media day at Mariucci Arena, the day Gophers coach Don Lucia and his players talk after practice.
Lucia was not there. But assistant coach John Hill, who was filling in for him as the voice of the team, spoke about his boss — and a man he called his best friend.
“Don has been in all week,” Hill said. “He spent half the day with us Monday, Tuesday and today. We were able, the staff, to go over our personnel, getting the three guys back from the World Juniors.”
Forwards Jordan Schroeder and Mike Hoeffel and defenseman Cade Fairchild played for the U.S. team in the World Junior Championships in Ottawa, Ontario. The tournament ended Monday. The U.S. team’s final game was Sunday; the U.S. beat the Czech Republic 3-2 in overtime for fifth place.
Hill said he, Lucia and Mike Hastings, the other assistant, discussed a lot of things.
“We were able to talk about what we thought we needed to focus on this week in practice heading up to Engelstad, playing on a small sheet,” Hill said.
The Gophers play at North Dakota on Friday and Saturday and the Sioux’s rink at Ralph Engelstad Arena is NHL-size, smaller than the Olympic sheet at Mariucci. So Hill and Hastings have been leading practices this week at Ridder Arena, the rink the U women’s team uses.
Hill went on, discussing this week: “We were able to stay on top of recruiting,” he said. “Really, other than the fact Don was not on the ice for practice, this has really been a normal week for us.
“Obviously, it will be different up there [in Grand Forks] and I feel bad because I know this is the one road trip — this is his most favorite road trip in the WCHA and I know that he would love to be up there.”
Lucia shared some of his thoughts about the Gophers-North Dakota rivalry with his players Wednesday morning.
“He had a heart-felt message for the guys today,” Hill said. “[He was] very passionate about his feelings about the rivalry and the series and the upcoming games. And it was good to see that because it re-assured me again that Don may not be feeling 100 percent but the fire still burns and the passion is still there.”
Hill said that the Gophers’ basic approach come game time will be the same.
“I know I have mentioned it before, that nothing really changes,” Hill said. “Sometimes during the game you have to make adjustments. But Mike and I will talk about that and I am actually hopeful that Don will be up to sending us a text [message] in between periods and letting us know what he sees from the game on TV.
“Because the one thing that I believe you miss, and it didn’t dawn on me until Friday night when it was just Mike and I, [is] the one coach who is not active in the bench management, the guy that is observing what is going on, who can help you with adjustments.
“I know like on Saturday, after the first and second periods, Don was able to come down and he had some good points. And I think [his points] helped out, especially after the second period.”
After missing his first game in 22 years as a head coach on Friday, Lucia came to the second game of the Dodge Holiday Classic at Mariucci. Lucia spoke to his players between the first and second periods and then to the media.
He sat in the press box the second period and reportedly was in the locker room watching the game the third period.
“I think we both — Mike and I are hopeful that maybe Don will be able to call or send us a text [message] and help us out.
“But other than that, we as a staff have always had input into what we are doing, what we think we should do and I am certainly not about to change anything the three of us feel is going to be in the best interest of our program.”
So it looks like the status quo ahead.
The reason he is not going to Grand Forks this weekend, Lucia said on Saturday during his lone public appearance recently, is because he has one last important medical test on Friday.
So when will he have the results? “They are hopeful to know something by Tuesday at the latest,” Hill said. “I know he is anxious to find out why it is he is not up to feeling 100 percent and [to] begin either treatment or whatever it is that they need to do.
“He is missing this and we are certainly missing him,” Hill said. “I know that it is comforting to have him in here for half days, but I told my wife [Patsy] last night that since 1995, she is the only person I have spent more time with than Don.”
(Hill was an assistant of Lucia’s at Colorado College from 1995-99 and at Minnesota from 1999-2001 before taking the head coaching job at Alaska Anchorage.)
“I, on a personal note, miss Don’s friendship,” Hill said. “I miss the fact that we have not been able to talk about the bowl games, and the coaching carousel and the NFl playoffs, the college hockey matchups. …”
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