The University of Denver hockey team needs two points this weekend against visiting North Dakota to clinch home ice for the first round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.
Four points, which would equate to a two-game series sweep over the young and talented Fighting Sioux, would guarantee the Pioneers a top-three finish in the 10-team WCHA. Winning at home, however, hasn’t been easy in the WCHA this season. Through 122 league games, home teams are just 55-55-12.
“The only way I can explain it is … this league is so competitive, the home-ice advantage isn’t as apparent as much as it would be in a league that has a lot of disparity,” DU coach George Gwozdecky said.
Denver is 7-3-1 at Magness Arena in league games, 8-5-1 overall, and would welcome the opportunity to host a best-of-three series.
“No question, if we had a choice, we’d rather play at home,” Gwozdecky said of the March 10-12 playoff series. “Obviously, there’s a lot on the line Friday night.”
Mending bodies
After this weekend, the Pioneers conclude the regular season with a home-and-home series against Colorado College, beginning with a rare Thursday night game March 2 in Colorado Springs. Gwozdecky already has his team in playoff mode.
“This is the time of year where we really reduce our practice times and allow our players to rest, especially from a mental standpoint,” he said.
Sterling again
Brett Sterling’s third hat trick of the season Friday gave the Colorado College senior 102 career goals, third-most in school history. His first goal against visiting Alaska-Anchorage broke a seven-game drought without a goal, a career high.
“That first one made everything easier, and it happened to be the 100th and break that (barrier) that everybody had been talking about,” Sterling said Tuesday.
Sterling, the WCHA offensive player of the week, regained the national lead in goal scoring with 25.
Slattengren playing pro
Former CC forward Aaron Slattengren, who was expelled from school last week for an undisclosed violation, is playing with the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League. Slattengren had 10 goals for CC.
“It was definitely a tough situation, losing a guy, a senior, who we’ve been with for four years,” Sterling said. “But we can’t dwell on that. He’s off playing in Portland, but he’ll be with us (emotionally) the rest of the season.”
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-820-5453 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
