Just four games into his sophomore season, Josh Lunden has almost half as many goals and points as he did in 31 games last season.
His four-goal, four-assist, eight-point totals are light years ahead of his 11-9--20 totals from last year. And even those got him a third-place tie among Seawolves scorers.
Now Lunden is tied for the team lead in scoring with linemate Kevin Clark and is tops in goals as UAA prepares to host Minnesota State-Mankato tonight and Saturday to open Western Collegiate Hockey Association play.
"I think it's more of a team thing," Lunden said. "We're working on getting pucks to the net, we've got bodies crashing. That's what our line has been able to do so far in the first few games. Really get a lot of pucks to the net and bang home a couple of those."
Lunden and Clark were paired with center Paul Crowder for the first two games and the start of the third. Coach Dave Shyiak juggled lines a bit between the first and second periods of last Friday's Governor's Cup game against UAF and had freshman Craig Parkinson center the duo.
The goals and points started rolling in again, and that threesome will be teamed again this weekend. Lunden and Clark have an obvious chemistry, which is reaping rewards for them and the rest of the Seawolves.
"That plays a huge role with your linemates, getting along with them when you're on the ice, even off ice," said Lunden. "(Clark's) first couple of goals, he gave me the puck, I knew he was going to drive hard so I just threw it there and it was right on his stick and he banged home two goals that way."
As the young Seawolves continue to feel their way through the early season, mixing and matching personnel, Shyiak hopes to find similar collaborations.
"For any team to have any success, you have to have chemistry and cohesion," he said. "Those guys (Clark and Lunden) played a lot of hard minutes for us last year, got one year underneath their belts and are a little more confident and comfortable in their game and know the systems."
Lunden worked with a pair of personal trainers during the offseason to increase his strength and quickness. That along with lots of practice time on the ice have helped the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder round out his game.
"He's become more of a complete player," Shyiak said. "He's always been a real good offensive player, and this year we're putting him in situations where he's penalty killing, and we're putting him in situations when we're protecting a lead and when we need a goal.
"He's a big strong guy, and he's a goal scorer. He's got a real good nose around the net, loves to shoot the puck, and he's made that transition to this level (from juniors)."
Lunden's been playing hockey since he was 5. And unlike a lot of Canadian kids who sometimes end up playing thousands of miles from home, Lunden played his entire juniors career no more than 90 minutes away from his Coquitlam, British Columbia, home.
"(That) was nice," he said. "I could still go home and see my family. They were able to make it to most of my games. The conference I played in was pretty tight, the longest road trip we had was an hour and a half."
Lunden first started skating when he was 2, more as pacification than anything else.
"My parents took my older sister, who was 5 at the time, for skating lessons," Lunden said. "I was sitting in the stands crying, so they put a pair of skates on me that didn't fit. I went out there and stopped crying."
Josh's dad, Mark, got his son involved in hockey -- as well as soccer and lacrosse -- at an early age.
"I don't know if my grandpa didn't want him to get started because of the price or what, but he was a big lacrosse guy as well as soccer," Josh said of his dad. "(He) coached me all the way from when I was 5 until about 12 in hockey as well as soccer and lacrosse."
Eventually hockey became the obvious meal ticket to a college education, and Lunden started evaluating his options.
He checked out UAA thoroughly, he said, and felt comfortable here because the city landscape bears some similarities to Vancouver.
Now a business management major, Lunden wants to pursue a pro career when his Seawolf days are over. When he finally hangs up the skates for good, he wants to become a firefighter like his dad.
"He's been a fireman for 27 years and I've always wanted to follow in his footsteps and be a fireman since I was 12, 13," Lunden said. "That's what I could see myself doing if pros don't work out -- or after that."
For now his focus remains on helping the Seawolves maintain their hot start, one that has them ranked No. 20 in the country as one of only three undefeated Division I teams.
He and his teammates know that with the start of conference play just hours away, their jobs are going to get tougher.
"We've got to work extra hard, because once you get into these conference games the level of play is going to pick up," he said. "We have to work day in and day out to make sure we have our game legs underneath us."
Find Andrew Hinkelman online at adn.com/contact/ahinkelman or call 257-4335.
