ST. PAUL, Minn. — Capturing the Western Collegiate Hockey Association postseason tournament wasn’t the goal, only part of the plan.
The idea was to enter the NCAA Tournament playing their best hockey of the season, and the Denver Pioneers are undoubtedly doing that.
DU on Saturday night had No. 1-ranked North Dakota on its heels for large stretches of a five-period game before losing to the league’s regular-season champion 3-2 on Matt Frattin’s NCAA-leading 35th goal at 5:11 of the second overtime.
Denver (24-11-5), which had its four-game winning streak snapped, outshot UND 30-21 going into OT and 42-32 going into the fifth period of the WCHA Final Five championship game. The Sioux (30-8-3) extended their winning streak to nine games after Frattin’s rebound goal from the left circle.
“We’re playing well right now,” DU coach George Gwozdecky said. “There is no shame in losing a game like this.”
As the Pioneers prepare for the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 regional seed, the word “carom” will be as unpopular as discussing the program’s three consecutive first-round losses.
Puck luck, or lack thereof, was the difference at the Xcel Energy Center, as DU played an exceptional “road” game in front of a partisan North Dakota crowd. It was the first meeting between the teams since Pioneers senior Jesse Martin broke his neck Oct. 30 in Grand Forks, N.D.
DU forced OT with an Anthony Maiani tap-in goal with 2:13 left in regulation. The senior wing set up in front of the right post and received a diagonal pass from freshman Beau Bennett from the opposite corner.
“You want to be in these types of games heading into the (NCAA) Tournament,” DU captain Kyle Ostrow said. “Close games, and our team has been playing very well. It’s what we want and hopefully we can continue that.”
The top-seeded Sioux trailed 1-0 after the first period but had pucks carom into the opposing net off the skates of DU center Nick Shore and goalie Sam Brittain early in the second. Shore inadvertently kicked a puck past Brittain at 2:32, and the Sioux’s Brent Davidson made it 2-1 by throwing the puck at Brittain’s skates from behind the net at 8:18.
“You got to give credit to them,” a gracious Brittain said of the Sioux, who were missing standout forward Jason Gregoire (24 goals) for an undisclosed reason. “They worked hard; they got the greasy goals.”
DU will find out its NCAA Tournament schedule today when the 16-team field is announced at 9:30 a.m. MDT (ESPN2). Since the Pioneers will fly wherever they go, they could go to any of the four regionals: West (St. Louis), Midwest (Green Bay), East (Bridgeport, Conn), and Northeast (Manchester, N.H.).
Colorado College (at-large) and Air Force (Atlantic Hockey Association automatic bid) also made the tournament, but as No. 4 seeds. Air Force will most likely be assigned the Yale-hosted Bridgeport regional and open against the Bulldogs, who will get the No. 1 overall seed.
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
DU Recap
The Post’s three stars
1. Matt Frattin.
Likely winner of the Hobey Baker Award on April 8 scored game-winner.
2. Anthony Maiani.
DU senior had two points, including game-tying goal.
3. Aaron Dell.
UND sophomore goalie had 40 saves.
What you might have missed
Sioux senior and Avalanche draftee Brad Malone committed the first penalty, a dangerous boarding minor on Luke Salazar. Malone’s charging major in the teams’ previous meeting Oct. 30 seriously injured DU senior center Jesse Martin.
Up next
NCAA Tournament, opponent TBD, beginning Friday or Saturday.
