Sixth-year University of Minnesota hockey coach Don Lucia said Saturday’s NCAA West Regional game against Maine will pit two similar teams.

“We’re a lot like Maine. We don’t have any superstars,” said Lucia. “We had two [All-WCHA] third teamers in [Ryan] Potulny and [Danny] Irmen and [Alex] Goligoski was on the all-rookie team. We have to do it with balance, with somebody different [coming through] every night. We’re at our best when we’re all playing well and contributing, not when we’re relying on a couple of guys.”

The Gophers lost their top four scorers from last year’s 27-14-3 team.

“We were picked to finish fifth in the league, so in many ways we’ve exceeded expectations,” said Lucia, whose Gopher teams won back-to-back NCAA titles in 2002 and 2003.

“We played 32 games against teams under [NCAA Tournament] consideration,” said Lucia.

That list includes 18 games against NCAA Tournament teams.

The 26-14-1 Gophers, who have 10 NHL draft choices on their roster, would get a lift if leading scorer Tyler Hirsch (11 goals, 33 assists), who is tied for fifth in the country in assists, returns to the lineup. But they may be without defenseman Goligoski, who suffered a hand injury in the 4-2 loss to North Dakota in the WCHA consolation game Saturday.

The emotional Hirsch had a mental meltdown following a 3-0 loss to Colorado College in the WCHA semifinals last Friday.

Hirsch reportedly returned to the ice after the loss to CC, skated toward one of the nets, took a slap shot and purposely crashed into the net, which caused the Zamboni door to open. Moments later, he took his stick to center ice and set it down before skating off.

He wasn’t in the lineup against North Dakota but Lucia said it wasn’t for disciplinary reasons. It was out of concern for his well being.

“My number one concern is making sure he’s OK,” said Lucia.

Hirsch was scheduled to return to the practice ice Wednesday.

The 26-14-1 Gophers have had their share of injuries, which contributed significantly to their 10-10-1 record over their last 21 games. Just eight players have appeared in all 41 games.

“They’re a good skating team, no question about it,” said St. Cloud State coach Craig Dahl. “They have a few forwards who can score some goals and their defensemen skate pretty well and move the puck pretty well. They don’t have any superstars back there but they don’t have any liabilities either.”

The Minnesota defense corps averages 6-foot-1, 191 pounds.

The Gophers, like Maine, are young with five of their top eight scorers being either sophomores or freshmen.

Right wing Irmen (24 & 19) and center Potulny (24 & 17) are sophomore linemates with freshman Mike Howe (6 & 6) on the left wing. Irmen and Potulny are tied for fifth in the country in goals and are among the nation’s leaders in power-play goals. Potulny’s 14 power-play goals are tied for second and Irmen’s 13 leave him in a tie for fourth.

Potulny leads the team with five game-winning goals. He is the younger brother of former Gopher Grant Potulny, whose power-play goal beat Maine 4-3 in overtime in the 2002 NCAA championship game at the Xcel Center in St. Paul, Minn.

Center Gino Guyer has 11 goals and 19 assists, and fellow junior Chris Harrington is one of the nation’s top-scoring defensemen with 2 & 24. Harrington is the son of 1980 U.S. Olympian John Harrington.

Right wing Kris Chucko (10 & 11) and defensemen Goligoski (5 & 15) and Derek Peltier (6 & 13), all freshmen, and senior right wing Barry Tallackson (10 & 8) are the other Gophers with 18 or more points.

Minnesota is the nation’s fifth highest-scoring team with 3.66 goals per game. Its power play is ninth best with a 21.6 percent success rate.

Sophomore Kellen Briggs (19-11-0, 2.51 goals-against average and .910 save percentage) returned from a broken hand to play against North Dakota on Saturday.

Senior Justin Johnson (7-3-1, 2.34, .914) played well in his absence and Lucia said he hasn’t made up his mind who will play Saturday.

Lucia expects a one-goal game like the last two NCAA meetings with the Bears, which both went into overtime.

“There’s no question it’s a very difficult first game for us,” said Lucia. “They’re a very good defensive team with a great goaltender and they have four balanced lines that come at you. They always have a very good skating team. I don’t think you’ll see many goals scored.

“We’re excited to play a great program like Maine. It will be a very entertaining game for our fans,” added Lucia.