Don Lucia won’t gloat now that he’s answered critics by coaching his Gophers to the Frozen Four. It’s Minnesota’s first trip to the Frozen Four since 2005, and follows three disappointing seasons when the Gophers played about .500 hockey and didn’t qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Lucia, who has been coaching the Gophers since 1999 and won national championships in 2002 and 2003, was the target of an angry fan base last year. But with a talented roster and the addition of new assistant coach Mike Guentzel, Lucia has silently answered the criticism in 2012, even if he won’t boast about an overall record of 28-13-1, regular season WCHA championship and beating North Dakota last Sunday 5-2 to earn a place in the Frozen Four on April 5 in Tampa.
“The criticism goes with the territory,” Lucia told Sports Headliners. “We’ve got a pretty good track record (over the years). I am most happy for our players.
“Our staff has worked hard. I am grateful to (athletic director) Joel Maturi for standing by us and president (Bob) Bruninks, too.”
Maturi’s courage in facing the hockey negativity and calls for a coaching change didn’t surprise Lucia. “They don’t get any better. He’s one of the good guys in college sports,” Lucia said. “He stands for all the right things.”
Lucia, who is recovered from the health problems that bothered him a few years ago and has the security of three years remaining on his recent contract extension, will see if Minnesota’s special season can continue in an opening Frozen Four game against Boston College, a team that has won 17 straight and even last fall was creating speculation about a 2012 national championship. “BC is strong at every position,” Lucia said. “There are no weaknesses.”
He wants the Gophers to avoid errors with the puck and be prepared to control the hard attacking BC offense. There will be a lot of pressure on Minnesota goalie Kent Patterson who was an All-WCHA selection this year. Lucia brought up Patterson’s name when asked about next season, indicating that having to replace the senior goalie will likely be one of the team’s few major personnel losses and his 2012-13 group could be even better than this year’s Gophers.