It’s a new team, new school, and new coaching staff, but Grant, Minnesota native Chaz Lucius is still recording eye-popping goal totals.

The former Gentry Galaxy standout popped in five tallies on Sunday afternoon in the National Team Development Program’s Under-17 squad’s 17-5 win over Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine in Upper Midwest High School Elite League play at New Hope Ice Arena.  

“It was pretty awesome today,” Lucius said of his performance. “When I start the game, I just try to play my hardest, and I’m not really thinking about the goals.”

Lucius could have fooled anyone who’s looked at the NTDP U-17’s season stats, where the Minnesota verbal commit paces the group with 10 goals in six games. 

Lucius’ Gentry teammate Jacob Martin recorded his first goal as a member of the NTDP U-17 team on Saturday in a 5-2 win over Corner Home Medical, while Maple Grove High School product Justin Janicke scored a hat-trick and added three assists on Sunday. Janicke also scored once during Saturday’s victory. 

“Yesterday I scored my first goal, and it was a little it of a relief,” Janicke said with a grin after Sunday’s game. “(It was a) slow start for sure,” Janicke said, referring to the fact that he was held pointless through the team’s first four games. “It kind of got to me a little bit, but I overcame it.”

Overcoming is a common theme for players on the NTDP U-17 team, many of whom are away from home for the first time and are accustomed to being the best player on their given team and in their hometown. 

Martin said that the team is adjusting just fine to new roles and responsibilities. 

“It was a culture shock at first, but now we’re coming together as a team, which will be exciting to see in the next couple of months.”

Martin played a more-than-capable blue line game on Sunday and chipped in an assist during the win. 

Janicke’s older brother, Notre Dame freshman Trevor, played two seasons with the NTDP before moving on to the USHL’s Central Illinois Flying Aces and then to the Fighting Irish this year. Also an Anaheim Ducks draft pick, the elder Janicke had some sage advice for his little brother. 

“He told me it would be a grind and (that) there’s a lot of highs and a lot of lows,” Janicke said. “You’ve got to enjoy the highs. The lows will come and just have to get through them.”

NTDP U-17’s raced to a 6-0 lead after the first period before scoring six more times in the second and five times in the third. In addition to Janicke’s game-high six points and Lucius’s five, Dylan Duke scored a goal and handed out three assists. Jack Hughes, Sasha Pastujov, and Ty Gallagher totaled three points each. 

All five of MSP Magazine’s goals came in the second period, with five players notching single goals. Triston Tabucol, Mason Campbell, Cole Carpenter, and Charlie Strobel all finished with two total points. 

Almost as impressive in length as the scoring summary was the list of penalties accrued by both teams, with tempers and tension both running high. 

Janicke admitted that he might have exchanged a few words with his opponents, many of whom he skated against last year as a member of Maple Grove’s high school team. 

“I know a couple of them,” Janicke said, naming Noah Tussey and Jackson Bisson as two players with whom he was most familiar. “We were chirping each other a little bit,” Janicke added. 

The NTDP U-17 team is back in action with a two-game series against the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders on Oct. 4th and 5th. The Elite League rolls along with midweek games until the weekend of Oct. 11-13.