Oxford, Ohio – During the second intermission on Friday at Miami of Ohio’s new Cady Arena, Denver coach George Gwozdecky produced a smile that was obligatory for the occasion, but clearly not under the circumstances he wanted.
Gwozdecky, who coached Miami to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1993, helped christen the $34.8 million arena by becoming the first hockey member of Miami’s Cradle of Coaches Association. At the time of his enshrinement, his young team was trailing by four goals, in the season opener for both teams.
The No. 9-ranked Pioneers went on to lose the Ice Breaker Invitational semifinal to the No. 8 RedHawks 5-2, but Gwozdecky left the building feeling better about his team than he did after two periods.
DU dominated the third, producing the period’s only goal and showing flashes of greatness to support Gwozdecky’s claim that this team has a bright future and requires more than seven days of practice to prove it.
“We played better. We were a little more aggressive and picked up some loose pucks to create odd-man rushes the other way,” said Gwozdecky, whose team produced 14 of its 30 shots in the third. “Our transition game was much, much better. But we got ourselves in a pretty good hole. When I analyze our game, what really stands out was our lack of continuity and ineffectiveness on the power play.”
DU trailed 3-0 by the 4:11 mark of the second period and finished 1-of-15 on the power play, failing to capitalize on two Miami delay-of-game penalties for students throwing objects on the ice after RedHawks goals.
A power-play goal from DU sophomore Patrick Mullen made it 3-1 at 10:06 of the second period but the RedHawks’ Ryan Jones beat goalie Peter Mannino at 13:59 and 14:48 (power play) to send the crowd into a frenzy.
DU sophomore defenseman Chris Butler, on an assist from freshman forward Tyler Ruegsegger of Lakewood, made it 5-2 early in the third. Ruegsegger and Rhett Rakhshani, Keith Seabrook, Matt Glasser and Brian Gifford played well in their college debuts.
Pioneers captain Adrian Veideman said he hopes the team carries the success of that 30 minutes into today’s tournament consolation game against No. 14 Colgate, a 6-0 loser to Vermont in the first semifinal.
“It was us realizing that we have a lot more talent and a lot more drive,” Veideman said. “The first two periods told the story, but us coming out the third period like we did was a small step in correcting things.”
Mannino gave up five goals on 31 shots. Three goals came on rebounds in front of the crease, with very little defensive support in front of the junior. Gwozdecky said he was pleased with Mannino’s performance but will start senior Glenn Fisher today.
It was a bittersweet night for Gwozdecky, who is beginning his 13th year at DU. Miami coach Rico Blasi was a two-year captain for Gwozdecky at Miami, and Blasi was an assistant coach at DU under Gwozdecky from 1995-99.
“Great night for Miami hockey,” said Gwozdecky, who led the Miami program from 1989-94. “I was very impressed with their team and how hard they played. Great energy from their crowd and student section. They played really, really well. I was extremely impressed.”
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
Miami 2 3 0 – 5
Denver 0 1 1 – 2
First period – 1, Miami, Findorff 1 (Kaufman), 7:33. 2, Miami, Cooper 1 (Martinez, Hetland), 17:11. Penalties – Thomas, DU (high sticking), 1:39; Cooper, MU (boarding), 4:43; Nelson, MU (cross checking), 10:42; Robbins, MU (cross checking), 4:43; Paukovich, DU (roughing), 13:44; Thomas, DU (high sticking), 15:07; MU bench (delay of game), 17:11; Roeder, MU (roughing), 19:33.
Second period – 3, Miami, Mercier 1 (Eichenia, Smith), 4:11 (pp). 4, Denver, Mullen 1 (Corbin, Ruegsegger), 10:06 (pp). 5, Miami, Jones 1 (Davis), 13:59 (pp). 6, Miami, Jones 2 (Davis, Christie), 14:48. Penalties – Cook, DU (interference), 2:52; Roeder, MU (elbowing), 4:40; Fast, DU (holding), 6:35; Robbins, MU (checking from behind), 9:50; Thomas, DU (roughing), 10:31; Jones, MU (slashing), 10:36; Kaufman, MU (interference), 12:05; Dingle, DU (diving), 13:56; MU bench (delay of game), 14:48; Findorff, MU (cross checking), 17:42.
Third period – 7, Denver, Butler 1 (Ruegsegger), 4:29. Penalties – Veideman, DU (boarding), :19; Eichenlaub, MU (hooking), 8:17; Ruegsegger, DU (high sticking), 8:33; Martinez, MU (slashing), 9:11; Findorff, MU (holding), 16:18; Paukovich, DU (slashing), 16:33; Palmer, MU (holding), 16:45.
Shots – DU 9-7-14 – 30. MU 11-11-10 – 31. Power plays – DU 1 of 15. MU 2 of 8. Goalies – DU, Mannino (0-1) 31 shots-26 saves. MU, Effinger (1-0) 30-28. A – 3,642.
