Grand Forks, N.D. – Big wins have been plentiful the past two seasons for the University of Denver hockey team, the 2004 and 2005 national champion.
In regular-season play, however, perhaps none has felt as fine as Saturday night’s 7-2 triumph over North Dakota, last season’s NCAA runner-up, at Engelstad Arena.
The Pioneers entered the finale of the two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series 0-3 against ranked teams, outscored 12-4 in those games. And after Friday’s 3-1 defeat to the fired-up Fighting Sioux, DU learned it had lost freshman star Brock Trotter for the season and Steven Cook for the series. Patrick Mullen and Ted O’Leary couldn’t play either, leaving the Pioneers with just nine forwards.
Seven defensemen dressed in the patchwork lineup, but creating offense wasn’t a problem. DU went 3-of-6 on the power play and dominated for 55 minutes, leaving the crowd of 11,261 five minutes to find something to cheer about.
“I’m very proud of our team,” DU coach George Gwozdecky said. “We had a huge physical and mental challenge coming into tonight. As early in the season as this game was, I thought this could perhaps be a defining moment, to see what we could do under this kind of duress. It wasn’t about winning or losing much, but how we would handle it.”
The Pioneers (3-3, 1-1 WCHA) were stellar in the first period but were disappointed to take a scoreless tie into the second. Some puck luck developed quickly after the first intermission, when DU got power-play goals from Matt Carle and Ryan Dingle.
North Dakota (5-2-1, 1-1 WCHA) rallied to tie it with power-play goals from Chris Porter and Taylor Chorney at 8:17 and 12:10 of the second period. But DU co-captain Gabe Gauthier quieted the crowd at 14:54 by making it 3-2 with an off-balance wrist shot.
Carle scored his second power-play goal of the game 1:34 into the third, one-timing a Paul Stastny feed. And Ryan Helgason muscled up in front of the crease to slide the puck past goalie Philippe Lamoureux at 7:04 to make it 5-2.
Stastny’s empty-net goal and Tom May’s score led to a mass exit at college hockey’s nicest facility.
“There’s no sweeter sound in an opponent’s rink than no sound at all,” Gwozdecky said.
Denver Post’s three stars
1. Matt Carle. Co-captain and do-it-all defenseman had two goals.
2. Gabe Gauthier. Co-captain gave DU a momentum-turning 3-2 lead and added two assists.
3. Peter Mannino. Sophomore goalie was solid, but teammates in front of him didn’t allow much penetration.
What you might have missed
DU sophomore Geoff Paukovich of Englewood had two assists, no penalties and no injuries on the weekend. He was threatened by North Dakota fans before the series and by Sioux players before, during and after for his check that injured Grand Forks native Robbie Bina last March.
Next up
Michigan Tech, Friday at Magness Arena.
Denver 0 3 4 – 7
North Dakota 0 2 0 – 2
First period – None. Penalties – Porter, UND (high sticking), 1:26; Butler, DU (holding), 14:53; Testwuide, DU (roughing), 14:53; Foyt, UND (roughing), 14:53; Duncan, UND (holding), 18:58.
Second period – 1, Denver, Carle 2 (unassisted), 3:20 (pp). 2, Denver, Dingle 4 (Veideman, Gauthier), 5:09 (pp). 3, North Dakota, Porter 2 (Smaby), 8:17 (pp). 4, North Dakota, Chorney 1 (Lee, Stafford), 12:10 (pp). 5, Denver, Gauthier 2 (Dingle, Stastny), 14:54. Penalties – Lee, UND (hooking), 2:10; Kaip, UND (cross checking), 4:58; Thomas, DU (contact to head), 6:47; Carle, DU (hooking), 10:47; Butler, DU (interference), 11:54; Oshie, UND (high sticking), 15:54; Dingle, DU (tripping), 16:47.
Third period – 6, Denver, Carle 3 (Stastny, Veideman), 1:34 (pp). 7, Denver, Helgason 2 (May, Testwuide), 7:04. 8, Stastny 2 (Gauthier, Dingle), 16:43 (en). 9, Denver, May 1 (Paukovich, Helgason), 17:28. Penalties – Chorney, UND (holding), 1:04; Butler, DU (holding), 4:09; Thomas, DU (high sticking), 8:24; Prpich, UND (10:00 misconduct), 19:28; Kaip, UND (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:45; Helgason, DU (roughing), 19:49; Marvin, UND (instigating), 19:49.
Shots on goal – DU 8-12-5-25. UND 6-10-11-27. Power play opportunities – DU 3 of 6. UND 2 of 7. Goalies – DU, Mannino (2-1) 27 shots-25 saves. UND, Lamoureux (1-2) 24-18. A – 11,261.
