HANCOCK — For a team that is 1-11 on the season and 1-6 at home, the Finlandia Lions men’s hockey team is surprisingly upbeat as they disperse for their annual Christmas break.

So much so that head coach Joe Burcar is scratching his head at the team’s overall demeanor, but also is hopeful that is a sign of good things to come.

The Lions’ record is not where they want it to be at the moment. That being said, they have faced some stiff competition in teams like No. 8 Aurora, No. 13 St. Norbert, No. 18 Wisconsin-River Falls, and No. 27 Bethel, so the outcomes are not really that surprising for a team that dressed nine freshmen for their final game of 2021.

Add to that injuries to assistant captain Phil Schader and freshman defenseman Luke Dobles in a 6-3 loss to Lake Forest on Friday, and it is easy to see how a 10-3 loss on Saturday happens to this young group.

“I give our guys credit for battling back and not just packing and when it looked like, (from) the score, we packed in,” Burcar said. “I truly just want to stay positive with this group. This learning curve is extremely high right now.”

Burcar has spent this week meeting with individual players to gauge how their feel as they finish up the fall semester. The results of those meetings have surprised Burcar, who expected to hear frustration at the team’s results to this point.

“I’ve just been finishing up all our 1-on-1s as they’re leaving for Christmas break,” he said. “Guys are frustrated, but not frustrated because of our won-loss record, frustration in wanting to do more to help the program. They’re just fighting with a lot right now, from injuries to being a young team.

“We’ve had to fight through a little lot of injuries this first half. We put so many freshmen in power play situations, penalty kill situations. We’ve got two freshmen lines going in matchups some nights (against) second and third lines, lines that have fifth-year seniors, or traditional seniors, in these matchups. You’re really throwing these freshmen in a frying pan and expecting them to do these great things. We’ve learned a lot.”

Burcar and his staff see signs of growth throughout their lineup.

“We as coaches would probably be more concerned if we didn’t improve,” he said, “but we’re seeing significant improvements. It’s just you’re asking these guys to do so much at a high level.”

While the final results have not been there, two seniors are leading the way up front for the Lions in ways that the coaching staff is very proud of. Captain Tyler Watungwa and winger Sheldon Brett are tied for the team lead in points with seven each. Brett also has a team-high five goals through the team’s first 12 contests.

“Tyler is obviously our captain, (Sheldon), he’s led by example,” Burcar said. “Bottom line, they’re both leading by example. They’re on the same line, but they have tremendous responsibilities. They’re always matched up against whoever’s top line, but they produce.”

Burcar feels that a number of his freshmen skaters are close to taking that next step, thanks to the examples set by both Watungwa and Brett.

“If we can get some other young guys stepping up to the plate, and help in a lot of different areas, as they have been seeing better results, we’ll see these things change,” he said. “We definitely will.”