HANCOCK — Since he was rehired by Finlandia University in 2016, men’s hockey coach Joe Burcar has had the types of goals in mind that many college coaches want: win games, make the playoffs in your particular sport, and win a national championship. Now in his 15th season at the helm, and those goals feel farther away than they have in either of his tenures with the team.

The Lions are mired in a five-game losing streak that includes a weekend against the St. Norbert Green Knights earned a 9-1 victory last Friday and a pair of shutouts since that loss.

That is not to say the Lions are throwing in the towel on the season, just that they need a breather, and for the players and the coaching staff, having a weekend off is not a bad thing.

Burcar has just one word for how the team feels as they took time off to celebrate Thanksgiving this week.

“I think there’s extreme frustration,” he said. “I think that these next four days of being off is nothing but the best thing that we could do right now. 

“We only have two games coming back after break, but mentally, and more so physically, what we need to break. The frustration is just…frustration, and we need to break, mentally.”

After being outscored 14-1 by the Green Knights, the Lions traveled to Minneapolis Tuesday and fell 2-0 to the Hamline Pipers. Worse than the loss on the scoreboard was the loss of sophomore forward Cameron Conover in the late stages of the opening frame. Conover’s injury was significant enough to stop play for about an hour while paramedics arrived on the scene.

The loss of the Fenton, Michigan, native is just the latest in a line of injuries for a hockey club that has dealt with a two-pronged attack on the program in the injuries and a tough schedule. Burcar doesn’t believe either is a fair excuse for the team’s 1-9 overall record or its 0-4 record in NCHA play. Four of the six opponents the Lions have seen are either ranked or have garnered votes in the latest USCHO poll.

“I just don’t want to use excuses,” said Burcar. “We have played a very tough schedule. Four out of our five, four out of our six opponents, they’re top teams in the country. But, no excuses, we set that up for that reason to prep us, and it didn’t go our way, but we just have to be better, bottom line. There’s no excuse; there’s no excuse whatsoever.”

Burcar feels that players like sophomore winger Tyler Perkins are a great example of how close the team is to taking that next step. Perkins had a breakaway chance against the Pipers that Burcar has seen him close in practice, but not in a game yet.

“He had a 2- on-1, he was on the powerplay, he had probably, honestly, three quality scoring chances,” Burcar said. “Tyler Perkins on a breakaway is the guy you want on the breakaway.

“He really has a knack for scoring. I mean, I’m saying that, but then he doesn’t score. We all go through that. He’s a great kid to coach. He’s an easy kid to coach. He likes being here. He’s a significant part of our team. He’s just got that offensive ability to make people around him better too.”

While Perkins is still looking for his first career goal, another player has continued to take a big step in a leadership role for the Lions, senior center Tyler Watungwa.

Watungwa, who struggled to crack the lineup as a freshman, has taken the team on his shoulders over the past two seasons, and he continues to show each night why he is the team captain. He leads the team in scoring with team-highs in assists (five) and points (six).

For Burcar, Watungwa’s success on the ice comes down to one simple concept: work ethic.

“We tell that story all the time,” said Burcar. “Here’s a guy that barely cracked the lineup, fourth line guy, or he was in the stands. As the year continued, his work ethic kept us keeping him in the lineup. He kept on moving up the depth chart, again, simply by his work ethic. 

“Talk about the model of consistency, being good is being consistent. Tyler, for four years, he has done nothing but out work everybody else. His work ethic is top notch. He’s close to a 4.0 student on campus, on the ice, in the gym. It’s just second to none.”

Watungwa’s work ethic is rubbing off on players like senior winger Sheldon Brett. Brett had two goals and five points in eight games during the spring season after transferring to Finlandia. This year, he has four goals in 10 games and has become the team’s most consistent threat in the offensive zone.

“They’re on the line together,” Burcar said. “I also know they have a great connection off the ice. I can see that. Sheldon himself this summer, he put a lot of time in in the weight room and the cardio and everything that he was asked to do in the offseason. You can see it paying off for him now. He’s definitely just watching what Tyler does, and it has definitely rubbed off on him.”

Thanksgiving

Burcar was excited this week to see the local players on roster offer up their homes and families to teammates who could not make the lengthy trips home to their own. He and his staff feel that will only help strengthen the bonds the team has been building on the ice.

Up next

After the Lions return from their holiday break, they will get ready to travel to Lake Forest, Illinois, where they will face the Foresters to end the first half of their season. They will then have a month off before traveling to Ashland, Wisconsin, to face Northland College.