DU blows lead, falls to RPI RPI 2, DENVER 1
By Mike Chambers
Denver Post
The protégé beat the mentor.
This wasn't as bad as last season's losses at home to Princeton or Ferris State, but the University of Denver's 2-1 loss to visiting RPI in the Pioneers' home opener Friday night hurt in a different way.
Engineers coach Seth Appert, a former assistant for DU until accepting the top job at RPI in April, registered his first career victory against his mentor, George Gwozdecky, before a sellout homecoming crowd of 6,112 at Magness Arena.
The Pioneers (2-3) outshot RPI 39-24 but blew a 1-0 lead and failed to convert on two 5-on-3 power plays, finishing 1-of-9 with the man advantage and falling to 5-of-40 for the season. RPI (1-0-1) got a 5-on-3 power-play goal from captain Kirk MacDonald to tie it at 1-1 midway through the second period, and Seth Klerer scored the winner 5:10 into the third period on a nifty wrist shot from the left circle.
Goalie Peter Mannino (0-2, 22 saves) took the loss for DU, which is 1-2 in nonconference play after splitting a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series last weekend at St. Cloud State. RPI, which tied Boston University last week, is certainly headed in the right direction with Appert at the helm.
"We knew that RPI coming in was a very competitive team, playing with a lot of enthusiasm," Gwozdecky said. "Seth has done a wonderful job, and we're proud of him. However, any loss is a difficult loss to accept. It's homecoming, and we want to do well in front of our fans and hockey alumni, and to not to perform better and execute better is disappointing."
DU's offense is focused on its young forwards: freshmen Tyler Ruegsegger, Brock Trotter and Rhett Rakhshani, and sophomore Patrick Mullen. Trotter scored DU's goal and, along with the other youngsters, looked to have the potential for a productive career.
The Pioneers are getting little help from upperclassmen forwards - junior Geoff Paukovich and seniors Ryan Helgason, Mike Handza and Steven Cook remain pointless.
"There's no question, it's a concern," Gwozdecky said of the foursome's offensive struggles. "We need to be able to rely on more than just one line to create offense. We had some really terrific opportunities, but we have certain guys that are squeezing the stick hard, certain guys that aren't competing well in an offensive manner."
Sophomore defenseman T.J. Fast served a one-game suspension for academic reasons, and sophomore defenseman Chris Butler will be out of the lineup in Saturday's two-game series finale for the same infractions.
This wasn't as bad as last season's losses at home to Princeton or Ferris State, but the University of Denver's 2-1 loss to visiting RPI in the Pioneers' home opener Friday night hurt in a different way.
Engineers coach Seth Appert, a former assistant for DU until accepting the top job at RPI in April, registered his first career victory against his mentor, George Gwozdecky, before a sellout homecoming crowd of 6,112 at Magness Arena.
The Pioneers (2-3) outshot RPI 39-24 but blew a 1-0 lead and failed to convert on two 5-on-3 power plays, finishing 1-of-9 with the man advantage and falling to 5-of-40 for the season. RPI (1-0-1) got a 5-on-3 power-play goal from captain Kirk MacDonald to tie it at 1-1 midway through the second period, and Seth Klerer scored the winner 5:10 into the third period on a nifty wrist shot from the left circle.
Goalie Peter Mannino (0-2, 22 saves) took the loss for DU, which is 1-2 in nonconference play after splitting a two-game Western Collegiate Hockey Association series last weekend at St. Cloud State. RPI, which tied Boston University last week, is certainly headed in the right direction with Appert at the helm.
"We knew that RPI coming in was a very competitive team, playing with a lot of enthusiasm," Gwozdecky said. "Seth has done a wonderful job, and we're proud of him. However, any loss is a difficult loss to accept. It's homecoming, and we want to do well in front of our fans and hockey alumni, and to not to perform better and execute better is disappointing."
DU's offense is focused on its young forwards: freshmen Tyler Ruegsegger, Brock Trotter and Rhett Rakhshani, and sophomore Patrick Mullen. Trotter scored DU's goal and, along with the other youngsters, looked to have the potential for a productive career.
The Pioneers are getting little help from upperclassmen forwards - junior Geoff Paukovich and seniors Ryan Helgason, Mike Handza and Steven Cook remain pointless.
"There's no question, it's a concern," Gwozdecky said of the foursome's offensive struggles. "We need to be able to rely on more than just one line to create offense. We had some really terrific opportunities, but we have certain guys that are squeezing the stick hard, certain guys that aren't competing well in an offensive manner."
Sophomore defenseman T.J. Fast served a one-game suspension for academic reasons, and sophomore defenseman Chris Butler will be out of the lineup in Saturday's two-game series finale for the same infractions.
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