Coach Don Lucia brought in 12 freshmen this season. The class was considered one of the nation’s best.

Their performance so far has been very mixed. Lucia, at a recent Blue Line luncheon at Jax Cafe, talked about those first-year players.

“There is a difference between being a junior-senior team and a young team,” he said. “I think we have a pretty good mix. The big thing for us from here on out is that some of the young guys have to take a step the second half of the season. They have to be a little bit more productive.”

Editorial comment: In some cases, maybe a lot more.

“They have been pretty good on the defensive side,” Lucia said. “Been responsible, but now we would like to see them be a little more physical, block a few more shots, contribute a little bit more on the offensive side and not just try to survive.

“Sometimes freshmen early just try to survive and not make a mistake. Now don’t be afraid to go out and make plays.”

Lucia said North Dakota’s sweep might have taught the freshmen a good lesson. “I think the young guys are learning how hard they have to compete every night,” Lucia said, “and if they didn’t learn it [against the Sioux], they are never going to learn it.”

* Taylor Matson: The fast forward had really found a niche on the team, killing penalties. Every game he would make a great play or two. Too bad he suffered a season-ending knee injury on Nov. 28. He played in 13 games. He seems really upbeat during his rehab, is walking well and has a bright future.

* Kent Patterson: The backup goalie to sophomore Alex Kangas. Three times he has been called on to come during a game in relief. He has a 2.72 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. Has done pretty well actually. Would be nice to see him get a start. Not sure if he will. Perhaps at Alaska Anchorage or Michigan Tech if the timing seems right. Those are the two teams at the bottom of the WCHA standings.

* Jake Hansen: The big forward has played in 19 games, bounced around usually between the third and fourth lines, sometimes second. Has only one goal and five assists. Is a minus-1. … Still unproven.

* Nico Sacchetti:  He has played in 21 games, usually at center, mostly on second or third lines. He has two goals and two assists and is a minus-7, which ties him for worst on the team with Matson and junior defenseman Brian Schack.  … Still unproven.

* Sam Lofquist: The freshman defenseman leads the first-year players with the most penalties, 11. He has one goal and three assists. His goal was memorable. He scored it in Wisconsin and imitated Phil Kessel’s celebration moves: putting a hand to his ear while the fans booed. The Gophers coaches were not happy with that. He is a minus-six, usually plays on the third pair of D. … Still unproven.

* Joe Miller: The two-sport former Wayzata star has played in only eight games, but seems to be patient based on one conversation we had. He said as long as the team is winning, he understands he has to wait to get into the lineup. He has two goals. Seems to provide some energy. … Another unproven.

* Nick Larson: Another forward with limited time so far. He has played in 11 games and has one goal and one assist. He missed all of last season recovering from a serious back injury, cracked vertebrae. He is a plus-3. Lucia likes the progress he has made and said early in the season he was not going to rush Larson into action. … Unproven.

* Michael Dorr: Another forward. He left the team during the holidays after playing in only two games.

* Grant Scott: A 6-3, 219-pound defenseman who maybe can provide the Gophers some of the muscle at the blue line they are missing this season with Stu Bickel gone. Seems like he will be red-shirted since he has not played a minute yet. He is making the switch from forward last season with the national development team in Ann Arbor to D, but he has been a defenseman before so it’s not totally strange. He is from Pennsylvania. He had his wisdom teeth pulled during the season, which set him back a little. … An unknown. Maybe a bit of project.

* Jake Kremer: The third goalie. Valuable for practices. Hasn’t played a minute yet. … Another unknown.

Overall, this group has under-impressed a bit if only because expectations were so high for them. But it has promise.

THIS IS NOT USHL

Jake Hansen passed up his senior season at White Bear Lake last season to play in the USHL.

He thrived there. So I am using him as an example of how well almost all of the 12 freshmen did last season, and how most of them have had a reality check so far as freshmen at the U.

They are not in the USHL anymore.

Hansen played for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL. The 6-1, 182-pound forward was a second-team, all-USHL pick. He had 32 goals and 27 assists for 59 points in 63 games.

In the regular season, Hansen was ninth in the USHL in scoring with 58 points. He had 10 of his goals and 12 assists on power plays. He had five game-winning goals and scored on almost 15 percent of his 208 shots.

At the U, he has one goal on 17 shots. Of course, if he pops a couple shots in the net, that 5.9 percentage would soar real quickly.

I think scoring is contagious. That’s why the St. Cloud State series could be a good sign of things to come. The Gophers had 13 goals in the two games. Next up is a home and home series with Minnesota State Mankato.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 26th, 2009 at 11:01 am and is filed under Gophers men's hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.