This season, Northeastern coach Greg Cronin has been faced with the same quandary. The Huskies thought their defense would be solid with returnees Drew Muench and J.P. Maley in the mix, but neither is available because of injuries, so Cronin converted senior forward Randy Guzior to defense last weekend for games against New Hampshire and UMass-Lowell.

Guzior, known for the majority of his college career as a smashmouth force up front, has channeled his aggression to his own zone. His five-minute major and game misconduct for hitting from behind against the River Hawks notwithstanding, his move to the new position has been effective.

“I thought he played a hell of a game,’’ said Cronin, referring to last Saturday’s 3-1 loss in Lowell. “It was his second game playing defense [against] one of the better teams in the country. He’s just a force back there, he gives us a physical presence. He’s a physical monster back there and he puts the fear of God in people.’’

It’s not as if the team is swimming in extra forwards. The Huskies are without Steve Quailer (knee) indefinitely and that has hurt their production.

“I hate to say it, it sounds like I’m whining, but we have some pretty good players who aren’t in the lineup and people in roles maybe they shouldn’t be [in],’’ said Cronin after the UMass-Lowell game. “Guzior is playing D. He’s a smashmouth forward. Quailer is a big body and he’s not here. When you go into the season, you have a plan, and then you start losing players and the plan changes and then you have to be a little bit more patient and let the parts come together.

“The good news is, I think our goaltending situation [with freshman starter Chris Rawlings] is solid. Obviously, you can’t win games giving up penalty-killing goals every game either, so our special teams have got to tighten up. If we get the personnel in the right positions, I think we’ll be fine.’’

The Huskies (2-3, 0-2 Hockey East) do not play again until Nov. 6, when they host Boston University. Yesterday, Cronin said the absence of some key players will provide opportunities for others.

“It’s good timing that we have the break because we can kind of reassess what we have,’’ he said. “Now we’ve got to do our job, putting guys into roles that they are comfortable playing in. We’re just trying to work our way through it. Maybe somebody steps up who we didn’t expect to step up. We’ll figure it out.’’

“That’s his role,’’ said coach Blaise MacDonald, whose team is 3-1, 1-0 in Hockey East. “Everyone’s got different roles and he’s a guy who can score goals. He scored 18 goals for us as a sophomore and 14 last year. You’ve got a dimension and you’ve got to amplify that dimension. If he continues to get those chances, I know he’ll score.’’

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at marrapese@globe.com.