MINNEAPOLIS — What happened Friday was not acceptable, Denver Pioneers coach Jim Montgomery said. Lethargy, subjecting their goalie to one odd-man rush after another, not winning one-on-one battles?
No, no and no.
“The coaching staff might have let (the players) know that several times,” Montgomery said. And then he smiled.
New day, new team. The disappointment of Friday’s National Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament semifinal loss still fresh, the Pioneers regrouped and beat North Dakota 5-1 in the third-place game Saturday. Denver (23-13-2) came out with energy, was precise in execution, opportunistic on offense. Which is why, after five different players scored, Montgomery was able to smile a little.
“I think we have a resilient team,” he said. “A team that wasn’t happy with our effort (Friday) night. Human nature is funny. You come back harder after a setback. We played good hockey, moved the puck well. When we have five guys working on the ice together, usually good things happen.”
The only hiccup in Saturday’s game came in the first period, when North Dakota (27-9-2) scored after Brendan O’Donnell sent a backhand pass from behind the Denver net to Connor Gaarder, who tallied from inside the left circle 14:34 in.
After that? All Denver.
Thirty-three seconds later, Josiah Didley corralled a loose puck in the slot and scored to tie the game. Less than three minutes after that, the Pioneers went ahead for good on their prettiest goal of the weekend. Ty Loney led a 3-on-2 break, crossed the blue line and dropped the puck to Nolan Zajac, who sent it across the ice to Quentin Shore. Shore’s shot from the top of the left circle gave the Pioneers a 2-1 lead with 2:10 left in the period.
“I made a little eye contact with (Zajac), and he was able to get a nice saucer pass to me. I was lucky enough to get it through.”
It might not have been luck. After surrendering at least six odd-man rushes in the first 30 minutes of Friday’s loss to Miami (Ohio), North Dakota was held in check. The Pioneers outshot North Dakota 35-26, killing all three North Dakota power plays. And when a shot did get through, Tanner Jaillet (25 saves) did the job. Matt Tabrum had a goal and an assist, and Zajac had two assists. Denver added Tabrum’s goal in the second period. Nick Neville and Emil Romig scored in the third.
With an eye toward next week’s NCAA regionals, Montgomery decided to rest key players Daniel Doremus, Joey LaLeggia and Larkin Jacobson. That prompted some changes in the lineup, with Danton Heinen moving to wing on the top line with Romig at right wing. Matt Marcinew was inserted into the lineup, and Matt VanVoorhis moved from defense to left win on the fourth line. On defense, Tariq Hammond and Nick Neville formed the third pairing.
