Photo provided by Finlandia Athletics Finlandia’s Marcus Gloss crouches to protect his net during a game against Marian last season at the Houghton County Arena.

HANCOCK — When coach Joe Burcar was deciding on what direction he wanted to take his first recruiting class last season for the Finlandia Lions men’s hockey team, he knew one roster spot that needed help was in goal.

Enter Houghton native Marcus Gloss.

Goaltenders who stand at least 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds do not exactly grow on trees, so Burcar had to be patient with the recruiting process, as Gloss, who was playing for the Comox Valley Glacier Kings of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, an offshoot of the British Columbia Hockey League.

“He was playing juniors out on the West Coast,” said Burcar. “It took some time to get Marcus here. He had some interest from Division I (schools). We had to wait it out.”

Burcar knew that Gloss, a sophomore, who starred at Houghton High School from 2012-15, could step in and be a cornerstone of a complete program overhaul. Being that he was a local kid made him even more desirable to Burcar.

“He come for Christmas when he was out in Vancouver,” he said. “He came in for a visit. He watched practice and we still weren’t sure. We went through the process.”

Arriving on campus in time for the start of the 2017-18 season, Gloss and Burcar met multiple times during the goaltender’s first year on campus and the veteran coach was surprised by Gloss’ assessment of his teammates.

“He would always make the comment, ‘I expected it to be bad once I got here, and the program’s not bad,'” said Burcar. “He said it was way above even what he thought it would be.”

The Lions had not won a game in Burcar’s first season. At times last season, Gloss’ first, it appeared they might not win one again. Despite the struggles he was having in the win column, Gloss plugged along cheerfully. He started putting bugs in the ears of former teammates and opponents from around the area.

His needling paid off at the semester break with the additions of Connor Hannon and Hunter Kero to Finlandia’s mix. This season, Dylan Paavola, Teddy Randell and Dawson Kero joined the team and suddenly Burcar had seven local kids, including Cale Markham who came to school in the same class as Gloss.

“When I moved back from California (I had to) reconnect with what I had missed,” said Burcar. “(My fellow coaches and I decided) he made the list. He was definitely somebody we wanted to go out and get. We got a guy like that and that was the start of (getting) the locals.”

With Hannon and Hunter Kero joining midseason and Markham getting called up from the junior varsity squad, the Lions quickly went from a team losing games 9-2 and 4-1 to a team falling 3-2, 4-2 or even winning.

Gloss quietly put up a very impressive season for the Lions, going 1-11-1 in 18 appearances with a 3.84 goals against average and a .900 save percentage. This season, he is 3-6-1 with a 2.97 goals against average and a .917 save percentage, so he is not suffering from a “sophomore slump.”

“He just takes care of himself in the rink,” Burcar said. “I think he is just well-rounded and focused at this time in his life. He does everything he can to be better.”

Burcar loves the fact that Gloss has a tremendous work ethic and that it shows every day in practice as well as in games.

“He’s a quiet kid,” Burcar said. “He’s somewhat reserved. He’s calm. He’s confident in what he’s doing. He works extremely hard. He puts in the extra time.”

A DEVIL OF A TIME

This weekend, the Lions (3-7-1 overall, 1-4-1 NCHA) will play what amounts to a home-and-home series with Wisconsin-Stout. The Blue Devils are 7-4-1 on the season and have beaten Trine, Aurora, Lawrence and Marian. They have also been beater by Wisconsin-Eau Claire (5-1) and tied Wisconsin-Superior.

Freshman Logan Nelson and junior Conner Valesano lead the Blue Devils in scoring with 10 points each in 12 games.

Freshman Arturas Laukaitis and Nelson both lead the team with six goals each.

Junior Tommi Ahlgren has appeared in nine games, starting eight, in goal. He has a 1.82 goals against average and a .931 save percentage.

GAME TIMES

Friday’s contest is set to start at 7:15 p.m. at the Houghton County Arena. Saturday’s tilt is set for an 8 p.m. start in Eagle River, Wisconsin.