If hard-hitting defenseman John Ryder wasn’t already one of the most respected members of the University of Denver hockey team, he earned those stripes early in last Saturday’s league championship game in St. Paul, Minn.
Just after North Dakota’s Brad Malone made a blindside, pitchfork-type check at the whistle on Luke Salazar, nearly flipping the 155-pound forward on his head, Ryder came to the rescue. He physically confronted Malone, who on Oct. 30 delivered the penalized hit that severely injured DU senior Jesse Martin.
Malone’s boarding minor was the game’s first penalty, and Ryder and star Sioux forward Matt Frattin were sent off for roughing. DU went on the power play and nearly scored to go ahead 2-0 in a game it lost 3-2 in double overtime.
“He didn’t do anything stupid, but he let Malone know that he’s not going to get away with that kind of stuff,” DU captain Kyle Ostrow said. “It’s good to have Ryder around.”
Ryder, a fourth-year junior from Colorado Springs, has become one of DU’s most important players. He’s unquestionably the team’s toughest, and certainly a fan favorite because of his fierce and frequent open-ice hits.
“He’s by far the most physical player on the team, and he’s so good at timing his hits,” Ostrow said. “It’s good to have that kind of guy, an intimidator, so the other team is always looking over their shoulder.”
Ryder enters Saturday’s NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional opener against Western Michigan (3 p.m., ALT2) with only eight points (zero goals). But the stay-at-home defenseman’s plus-11 rating is tied for fourth highest on the team.
“As a sophomore, if there was a 3-on-2 coming at him, he would launch himself at the puck carrier, and although he might make a big hit, the 3-on-2 is now a 2-on-1,” DU coach George Gwozdecky said.
“Over time, he has evolved into more of a complete player. He reads the ice better now than he ever has, and he can move the puck and outlet the puck better than he ever has. As a result, we need him on the ice in every situation.”
Off the ice, Ryder, 22, is shy and reserved.
“There’s a lot of things that are unimportant in life, and I don’t stress over them. When I get on the ice, that’s when I get real serious,” Ryder said. “Hockey is one of the things I care most about. I know the role I have to play, and it comes natural for me.
“My dad says I was always physical. I remember lighting people up in bantams (ages 13-14) and wondering if I could make it to the next level by continuing to do that. I guess I’ve answered that.”
Said Ostrow: “He doesn’t speak up too much. On the ice he’s just a different person. He fires us up with his hits and he doesn’t take anything on the ice. . . . He’s great guy off the ice, but on the ice, even in practice, we’re a little scared of him.”
