It was supposed to be the celebrated debuts for senior J.P. Testwuide, the first Colorado-born captain in University of Denver hockey history, new No. 1 goalie Marc Cheverie, and NHL first-round draft pick Joe Colborne, a coveted freshman forward from Canada.
Instead, a player that wasn’t expected to make the Pioneers’ opening night roster before training camp began stole the spotlight Saturday night at Magness Arena.
Freshman wing Luke Salazar, a little-known, 150-pound non-scholarship freshman from Thornton and Legacy High School in Broomfield, had two goals to spearhead DU’s 5-2 victory over Notre Dame in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game before a sellout crowd of 6,066.
“Definitely, a dream come true for me,” said Salazar, who also had an assist against the highly touted Irish. “It was a huge game and puts us off to a great start.”
Tied 1-1 early in the third period, Salazar scored consecutive goals to kick-start DU’s 4-0 stretch that gave the Pioneers a commanding 5-1 lead against the No. 4-ranked Fighting Irish, the defending NCAA runners-up.
He buried a give-and-go with defenseman Patrick Mullen to make it 2-1, and then hammered home a power-play rebound less than three minutes later to make it 3-1 with 12:45 to play.
“Everyone is so happy for him. It’s awesome,” Cheverie said of Salazar. “I hate to say it, but I can’t say I expected it.”
Freshman defenseman Patrick Wiercioch and sophomore wing Anthony Maiani added DU goals before the Irish (0-1) scored in the final minute.
Salazar, who turns 20 this month, made the opening-night roster ahead of junior Brandon Vossberg and sophomore Stephen Cunningham, and he played on one of DU’s top lines, with Tyler Bozak and Maiani.
Salazar (four shots, plus-2 rating) also played on the No. 2 power-play unit.
DU coach George Gwozdecky said he doesn’t want the term “walk-on” attached to Salazar’s name.
“He’s a non-scholarship recruit,” Gwozdecky said. “We knew what we had coming in. He’s not on scholarship but we recruited him hard.”
Cheverie was solid in his second career start, and first as the No. 1 goalie. He withstood a second-period barrage that kept it tied 1-1 heading into the final frame.
“He was efficient, he was composed, he was poised,” Gwozdecky said of Cheverie. “He made the saves he had to make and then he made some spectacular saves. In my mind he was a star.”
Footnotes.
The 6-foot-5 Colborne had just one shot. . . . Hall of Fame inductees Cammi Granato, Brian Leetch and Mike Richter were honored during the second intermission. Fellow inductee Brett Hull was not present.
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
DU recap
Three stars
1. Luke Salazar.
The little freshman from Thornton had two goals and an assist.
2. Marc Cheverie.
DU sophomore goalie was sensational when it was tied 1-1.
3. Patrick Mullen.
Had two assists for the Pioneers.
What you might have missed
Irish freshman defenseman Sean Lorenz is a product of the Littleton Hockey Association and Colorado Thunderbirds, and teammate Christian Hanson is the son of Dave Hanson, who played one of the Hanson brothers in the movie “Slap Shot.”
Up next
Wisconsin, Friday and Saturday at Magness Arena
Mike Chambers
