Looking for ways to pull out of a two-game slide, the University of Denver hockey team went with a Chevy.
Freshman goalie Marc Cheverie — a.k.a. Chevy — helped dig the No. 4-ranked Pioneers out from an uncomfortable hole Saturday night in his first career start.
Outscored 12-4 in its two previous games, DU triumphed 4-2 over Bemidji State at Magness Arena to finish 1-1 on the nonconference weekend. Cheverie made 26 saves, regrouping after giving up the first goal of the game on a breakaway.
Make no mistake, senior goalie Peter Mannino wasn’t benched. His teammates were simply denied the opportunity to play in front of the All-American candidate.
“Peter’s our guy, and if we had been playing well in front of Peter, Peter would have gotten the start,” said DU coach George Gwozdecky, whose team improved to 18-6. “But the way we’ve been playing the last two games, there were times we became lackadaisical. We were reckless, and not paying attention to detail because we’ve got Mannino in goal. . . . We needed to snap our guys out of that train of thought.”
It worked. DU’s defenders kept the puck wide and cleared rebounds that got through to Cheverie. At the other end, sophomore forwards Brock Trotter and Rhett Rakhshani spearheaded a 32-shot attack with a goal and two points each.
Freshman Tyler Bozak and sophomore Matt Glasser also scored for DU.
Glasser’s goal, off a no-look backhand pass from Brandon Vossberg, was the first of his career.
Cheverie said he learned Friday that he would get his first start, after the team returned from Air Force. Gwozdecky said Mannino was angry about the decision, but ultimately understood that it only intended to shake up his teammates who have taken his services for granted.
“Patience is the biggest thing for me,” Cheverie said. “Peter has played unbelievable this season. I’m just biding my time, picking up as many pointers as I can from him.”
Trotter’s unassisted shorthanded breakaway goal came after he blocked a dump-in at the DU blue line and raced in for his team-leading 13th goal.
“I think all the guys played really well tonight, especially Chevy,” Trotter said.
THREE STARS
1. Brock Trotter.
DU sophomore had two points, including an unassisted short-handed goal that made it 4-2.
2. Marc Cheverie.
Made 26 saves to win his first career start.
3. Tyler Scofield.
Beavers junior had a nice breakaway goal to open the scoring.
What you might have missed
DU freshman defenseman John Ryder will miss the rest of the season with a broken hand. Ryder, who has played in nine games, tried to resume playing with a cast, but the injury has worsened.
Up next
Feb. 1, at Minnesota State
Bemidji State 1 1 0 — 2
Denver 2 1 1 — 4
First period — 1, Bemidji State, Scofield 9 (Winter, Weselowski), 6:19. 2, Denver, Bozak 11 (Rakhshani, Trotter), 9:32. 3, Denver, Glasser 1 (Vossberg), 14:00. Penalties — Rakhshani, DU (tripping), 7:11; Pope, BSU (hooking), 11:26; Pope, BSU (holding), 16:39; Bostock, BSU (cross checking), 18:17.
Second period — 4, Denver, Rakhshani 8 (May), 3:57 (pp). 5, Bemidji State, Jarvis 9 (Pope), 11:22 (pp). Penalties — Francis, BSU (high sticking), 2:08; Hardwick, BSU (hooking), 6:03; Peluso, BSU (tripping), 7:51; Thomas, DU (hooking), 10:00; Deterding, BSU (tripping), 12:35; Nutini, DU (5-major, checking from behind, game misconduct), 15:40; Peluso, BSU (holding), 19:00; Thomas, DU (roughing), 20:00; Pope, BSU (roughing), 20:00.
Third period — 6, Denver, Trotter 13 (unassisted), 7:38 (sh). Penalties — Brookwell, DU (interference), 6:50; DU bench (too many men), 8:37; Thomas, DU (hooking), 14:42.
Power plays — BSU 1 of 6. DU 1 of 8. Goalies — BSU, Alamano (1-4) 32 shots-28 saves. DU, Cheverie (1-0) 28-26. A — 6,035.
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357, mchambers@denverpost.com
