A sigh of relief was met with renewed enthusiasm Saturday night at Magness Arena, where the University of Denver hockey team emerged from a dark cloud in impressive fashion.
Throw away those heart-rate monitors, but hang tight to the Frozen Four tickets.
The Pioneers, who entered the weekend having lost four of their previous five games and who were without the services of two of their top scorers, produced arguably their most complete game of the season in a 4-1 triumph over the stingy but offensively challenged Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Minus leading scorer Brock Trotter, who on Thursday signed with the Montreal Canadiens, and No. 3 scorer Tyler Ruegsegger (abdominal injury), DU overwhelmed the gritty Gophers — who had not allowed more than two goals in six of their past seven games.
“I am extremely proud of our team, this group of young men that have paddled through three-plus weeks of distractions, starting with the Brock Trotter issue, and then with Tyler Ruegsegger going out of the lineup,” DU coach George Gwozdecky said. “I’m just very proud of their effort, and how our captains kept the group together.”
Gwozdecky could sense that his squad’s slump was ending Friday, when the Pioneers played to a 1-1 overtime tie in the opener of the two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series. After Saturday, he’s convinced that it’s over and the off-ice adversity has made them stronger. And he’s not alone.
“Injuries and losing players for whatever reason happens,” DU senior goalie Peter Mannino said. “That’s hockey. To overcome adversity shows a lot of character. That’s what we have. I think we’re back on track.”
Denver (19-8-1, 12-6-1 WCHA) now heads to North Dakota to play the Fighting Sioux on Friday and Saturday. The Pioneers, in third place in the WCHA, trail the Sioux by two points, but have two games in hand.
The heroes Saturday were Mannino (30 saves), freshman center Tyler Bozak (goal, assist) and sophomore wing Rhett Rakhshani (goal, assist), but everyone played well — particularly Matt Glasser (goal, four shots), Dustin Jackson (four shots), Tom May (plus-2) and Chris Butler (plus-2).
Glasser’s goal with 18 seconds left in the first period gave DU the momentum, and Bozak and Rakhshani struck within 2:08 of the second period to make it 3-0.
Mannino, tied with Gerry Powers with a program-most 13 career shutouts, came 3:56 shy of No. 14. Brian Gifford added an empty-net goal with 1:36 to play.
“We have a small margin for error,” Gophers coach Don Lucia said. “We played well, we played hard, but we just couldn’t get over the hump. Denver was the better team tonight.”
DU Recap
Three stars
1. Tyler Bozak.
Freshman center notched his team-leading 14th goal and added an assist.
2. Peter Mannino.
Senior goalie came 3:56 short of his 14th career shutout.
3. Matt Glasser.
Sophomore wing had the best series of his career.
What you might have missed
DU made one lineup change, replacing senior defenseman Zach Blom of Englewood with freshman Chris Nutini of Centennial.
Up next
Friday, at North Dakota
Minnesota 0 0 1 — 1
Denver 1 2 1 — 4
First period — 1, Denver, Glasser 2 (Jackson), 19:42. Penalties — Pohl, UM (hooking), 3:15; Testwuide, DU (holding), 9:49; Brookwell, DU (slashing), 13:07; Gifford, DU (holding), 16:03.
Second period — 2, Denver, Bozak 14 (Rakhshani, May), 10:26. 3, Denver, Rakhshani 10 (Butler, Bozak), 12:34 (pp). Penalties — Wehrs, UM (roughing), 10:48; Carman, UM (roughing), 10:48; Carman, UM (contact to the goalie), 10:48; Maiani, DU (roughing), 10:48; Mullen, DU (roughing), 10:48; Kaufmann, UM (roughing), 13:08; Ostrow, DU (tripping), 15:27.
Third period — 4, Minnesota, Fischer 2 (Kaufmann, Carman), 16:04. 5, Denver, Gifford 1 (unassisted), 18:24 (en). Penalty — Vossberg, DU (interference), 5:15.
Shots — UM 11-7-13—31. DU 13-11-4—28. Power plays — UM 0 of 5. DU 1 of 3. Goalies — UM, Kangas (5-6-7) 27 shots-24 saves. CC, Mannino (18-8-1) 31-30. A — 6,097.
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
