On a night junior goalie Marc Cheverie struggled and his teammates in front of him were offering free giveaways, the University of Denver turned to its potent offense, the primary reason it is ranked No. 1 nationally.
Donning throwback jerseys commemorating their 60th anniversary celebration, the Pioneers on Friday scored in the third period like it was 1960, the year they tied the Russians and beat the eventual gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team.
DU tallied the game’s final three goals, the latter two by sophomore center and NHL first-round draft pick Joe Colborne, to defeat No. 14 Vermont 5-4 in the season opener for both teams at Magness Arena.
Trailing 4-2 entering the third period, sophomore defenseman Patrick Wiercioch struck 28 seconds into the period, and Colborne added goals at 8:22 and 17:59. Two of the three scores came on the power play, making DU 2-of-5 with an extra attacker.
The rally offset a turnover-plagued performance and an 18-save effort by Cheverie, who allowed three goals on the first 13 shots.
“Our whole team I think had opening night jitters,” DU coach George Gwozdecky said. “It really affected us, the anxiety of maybe the ranking, but more importantly opening up in front of your home crowd and especially this anniversary, with so many of our former great players in attendance.
“But our strength should be, and will be, when we have the puck on our stick.”
The Catamounts, who returned all six defensemen from their Frozen Four team, led 2-1 after the first period.
Cheverie lost a rebound that was stuffed in behind him for the game’s first goal, and he gave up two goals on long wrist shots through traffic.
Still, the Pioneers trailed only 3-2 before a turnover at the DU blue line gave Vermont its second two-goal lead of the game. Wahsontiio Stacey drove in on a 2-on-1 rush and beat Cheverie with a wrist shot from the right circle.
DU played five freshmen, including three defensemen, and communication between Cheverie and the newcomers in front of him could have played a factor.
“Didn’t go well,” Cheverie said of his performance. “They had some good chances and capitalized. I’d like to get those back. (The freshmen defensemen were) a factor, but I don’t want to use that as an excuse. I’ll take the responsibility.”
Junior wing Kyle Ostrow and freshman defenseman Matt Donovan also scored for DU.
“We definitely didn’t play to our abilities in the first two periods, but we got the win, and that’s all any of us care about,” Colborne said. “Coach George really laid the law down between the second and third (periods), and we came out and responded, and that’s the sign of a good team.”
Vermont 2 2 0 — 4
Denver 1 1 3 — 5
First period — 1, Vermont, Cullity 1 (Irwin, Stacey), 14:19. 2, Denver, Ostrow 1 (Ruegsegger, Glasser), 16:14. 3, Vermont, Downing 1 (Stalberg, Sebast), 17:54. Penalties — Cullity, UV (roughing), :43; Wiercioch, DU (elbowing), 7:30; Irwin, UV (cross checking), 12:10.
Second period — 4, Vermont, Burrows 1 (Irwin), 5:40. 5, Denver, Donovan 1 (unassisted), 12:55. 6, Vermont, Stacey 1 (unassisted), 16:41. Penalties — Martin, DU (interference), 9:47; Irwin, UV (5-major, checking from behind, game misconduct), 17:51.
Third period — 7, Denver, Wiercioch 1 (Donovan, Rakh-shani), :28 (pp). 8, Denver, Colborne 1 (Rakhshani, Wiercioch), 8:22 (pp). 9, Denver, Colborne 2 (Brookwell), 17:59. Penalty — Medvec, UV (holding), 7:45.
Shots on goal — UV 10-6-6—22. DU 14-17-12— 43. Power plays — UV 0 of 2. DU 2 of 5. Goalies — UV, Madore (0-1) 43 shots-38 saves. DU, Cheverie (1-0) 22-18.
A — 5,399.
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
The Post’s three stars
1. Joe Colborne.
“Big Joe” had the game-tying and winning goals.
2. Matt Donovan.
Freshman defenseman had two points, including a goal.
3. Wahsontiio Stacey.
Gave Vermont a 4-2 lead, finished with two points.
What you might have missed
DU played without junior wing Anthony Maiani, who led the team in scoring last season. Maiani will end a three-game suspension for violating team rules after tonight’s series finale.
Up next
Game 2, 7 p.m., today
Mike Chambers, The Denver Post
