Gophers interim head coach John Hill said Wednesday he feels comfortable in his new role, but it’s still Don Lucia’s team and he likes being his assistant.

 The Gophers plays at North Dakota this weekend without Lucia, who will remain in the Twin Cities to deal with his unknown medical problems.

“I think we all as coaches have a comfort level,” Hill said. “This is my 20th year of coaching for a living and I even coached some youth hockey just to make sure it was truely what I thought I wanted to do.”

Hill said once a game starts, there’s not that much coaching to do. “Really the coaching is during practice,” Hill said. “And you hope that as a staff you have done what you need to do have your guys ready to play.

“There are some in-game adjustments that need to be made, but you do that as a staff. All three of us know who we want playing with whom and who we want out against whom if we can control that.”

(The home team gets the final line change.)

With Lucia working only part-time, Hill said, others have to do more. “ We all have to do a little bit more right now, which is fine,” he said. “And it’s not just Mike and I. Our entire staff, our trainer and equipment manager, we are all are asked now to do a lilttle bit more and that’s what we are doing.”

Mike, of course, is Mike Hastings, the other assistant coach. He  joined Lucia’s staff this season.

Hill said he is serving as the team’s voice right now,  that’s all. “It’s Don team,” he said. “And Don is just not my boss. Like I said, he is probably my best friend on earth. I am not enjoying that he is out and I’m stepping into this role.

“But I think he knows that the players are always going to get the very most we have to give them regardless of where we are at.

“I am still an assistand coach and I enjoy being an assistant coach here an awful lot. I knew what I was coming back to when I left Anchorage to come back here. I am very happy working with Don and Mike and this entire staff.”

Hill was the head coach at Alaska-Anchorage from 2001-05 before rejoining Lucia’s staff.

This is Lucia’s 10th season at Minnesota and Hill was on Lucia’s staff his first two years here, 1999-2001. Add the years up, and Hill has been on Lucia’s staff for six years here.

Before that, Hill was an assistant on Lucia’s staff for four seasons at Colorado College. Lucia had that job from 1993-99, Hill was there from 1995-99. Both then left for Minnesota.