PROVIDENCE, R.I. — In Denver on Monday, coach Jim Montgomery was hurting more than he was in the hours after his University of Denver hockey team was upset by Providence in the NCAA Tournament East Region championship Sunday.
“The loss stings more today that it did yesterday because we left an unbelievable opportunity to chance,” Montgomery said by phone. “But our staff will grow, I’ll grow, and the guys coming back will be better off for it in the long run.”
The second-seeded Pioneers gave the No. 4 Friars confidence and hope by taking only a 1-0 lead into the third period, because “we didn’t play with enough urgency in the second,” Montgomery said. “We should have been up 3-1 going into the third. Instead, it was anyone’s game.”
The Friars broke a 1-1 tie with their second power-play goal with 5:01 remaining and added two empty-net goals in a 4-1 victory that denied Denver a trip to the Frozen Four at Boston’s TD Garden.
But Montgomery is excited about next season, about the players he returns and coaching a different style. He has identified the Pioneers’ 2015-16 identity will switch from a physical, puck-possession-based team to being more creative and explosive off the rush.
“We’ll be a lot more dangerous going the other way with our speed,” said Montgomery, who is recruiting the country’s No. 1 freshman prospect in Auston Matthews of Scottsdale, Ariz. “We probably have the best top-two (returning) scoring punch in the country.”
Expected back are DU’s top two scorers in freshman Danton Heinen (29 assists, 45 points) and sophomore Trevor Moore (22 goals, 44 points), plus it’s fifth and sixth top scorers in juniors Quentin Shore (10 goals) and Nolan Zajac (21 points).
Matthews, who is expected to be selected No. 1 in the 2016 NHL draft, will center Heinen and Moore if he chooses DU over Michigan, among others, and the major-junior route.
Heinen will not sign with the Boston Bruins, Montgomery said, and Moore will take his coach’s advice and return for his junior year after being selected in June’s NHL draft.
“One-hundred percent,” Montgomery said of Heinen and Moore’s return.
Denver loses seven seniors, including All-American defenseman Joey LaLeggia and shutdown defenseman Josiah Didier. Top center Daniel Doremus (team-best plus-24 rating) also graduates along with fellow forwards Zac Larraza (12 goals), Ty Loney (10), Larkin Jacobson (five) and Matt Tabrum (three).
“I’m never going to forget about this senior class, because when we win a national championship here in a couple years, these guys will be proud of the culture we’ve built behind them,” Montgomery said.
Captain Grant Arnold, a junior, will again lead the Pioneers next season, and in addition to a strong returning group of forwards that includes junior Gabe Levin and sophomores Matt Marcinew, Emil Romig and Evan Janssen, Denver will continue to have excellent puck-moving defensemen in Zajac, a junior, sophomore Will Butcher and freshman Adam Plant.
The continued development of sophomore defensemen Matt VanVoorhis and Nick Neville and freshman Tariq Hammond (shutdown potential) will be key.
“Our D-corps is in good shape,” Montgomery said. “It all depends on the evolution of those other guys.”
Freshman Tanner Jaillet finished as the clear-cut No. 1 goalie, but 6-foot-4 sophomore Evan Cowley will again challenge.
The incoming freshman class — Montgomery’s second at DU — will be rated No. 1 nationally if Matthews chooses to play one year of college in Denver.
Mike Chambers: mchambers@denverpost.com or
American Superstar in Denver?
The University of Denver Pioneers are in the running to land center Auston Matthews, who will miss the 2015 NHL draft by two birth days and likely will be selected No. 1 in 2016:
Age: 17 — he’s a high-school junior in academic acceleration and preparing for NCAA eligibility
Hometown: Scottsdale, Ariz.
Residence: Ann Arbor, Mich., where he leads the U.S. 18-under team with 43 goals and 93 points in 50 games.
Top college choices: DU and Michigan.
Major-junior rights: Everett Silvertips, Western Hockey League.
DU Draw: centering top line with elite wingers Danton Heinen and Trevor Moore; good friends with DU senior Zac Larraza of Scottsdale.
