by By Bruce Brothers bbrothers@pioneerpress.com , St. Paul Pioneer Press

Lucia, in his 10th season as head coach, missed one game, watched one from the press box and has missed Gophers practices for the past week and a half while Hill has been running the show with assistant Mike Hastings. Lucia, 50, has another test scheduled for Friday, so Hill will be in charge of the Gophers on Friday and Saturday nights at Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks.

A two-stint assistant to Lucia with the Gophers, sandwiched around four seasons as head coach at Alaska Anchorage, Hill is tighter than tape on a goalie stick with Lucia.

"I told my wife last night that since 1995, she's the only person I've spent more time with than Don," Hill said. "I have, on a personal note, missed Don's friendship. I miss the fact that we haven't been able to talk about the bowl games, the coaching carousel, the NFL playoffs, college hockey matchups ...

"I'll be glad when he's back to being around here all day, and his normal banter."

After the Gophers' workout Wednesday in preparation for the Fighting Sioux series, Hill talked about the uncertainty surrounding his buddy.

"I'm not sleeping real well at night right now," he said. "Until Don is on the road to recovery and feeling good, there's going to be disturbance internally for me. That's OK. I can handle this. I have faith in God."

Hill learned his friend was suffering from something worse than the flu during the team's Christmas break. The conversation took on a slightly ominous tone when Lucia informed him that "something's not right," and it really grabbed Hill's attention 48 hours later when Lucia told him he was worse and would miss practice the next day.

Said Hill: "When people you care about are not feeling well, they're struggling, it affects you."

The results from Friday's test aren't expected before early next week.

"I know that he's anxious to find out why he's not up to feeling 100 percent," Hill said, "and then doctors can figure out what it is that they can do to help."

Lucia and Hill go way back. Both worked in the mid-1980s as assistant coaches at Anchorage, where Hill became a part-time undergraduate assistant while finishing his degree after a brief fling in pro hockey.

"But the real friendship began in 1995 when I went to work with him at Colorado College," Hill recalled. "Even the four years I was in Anchorage, we talked on the phone constantly."

Lucia has visited his Mariucci Arena office every day this week to go over game plans for the Sioux.

"Really, other than the fact that Don wasn't on the ice for practice, it really has been a normal week for us," Hill said. "Obviously, it'll be different up there. And I feel bad, because I know this is his most favorite road trip in the WCHA. He would love to be up there.

"He had a heartfelt message for the guys today, very passionate about his feelings about the rivalry and the series. It was good to see that, because it reassured me again that Don might not be feeling 100 percent, but the fire still burns and the passion is still there."

Hill said he'll be checking his mobile phone between periods in Grand Forks, noting that he and Hastings "are hopeful Don will be able to call or send us a text and help us out."

Hill, 48, has had a circuitous 20-year coaching career that included two seasons at Minnesota as an assistant to Lucia before he coached the Seawolves from 2001-05. Although Hill grew up in Anchorage and played college hockey there, when Bob Motzko left Minnesota to become head coach at St. Cloud State in 2005, Hill "knew this was a place I could come back to and that I would be happy to stay here for quite a while.

"This is a tremendous program. In my eyes, it's the No. 1 program in college hockey," he said. "To have a chance to be on the staff is something I'm thankful for. ... I know that I often drive in and I look at Mariucci and can't believe that I actually work there. How fortunate am I to have this opportunity?"

All that's missing right now, he said, is his good friend's health.

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