Fish To Start In Goal Tonight
From: Rocky Mountain Newsby Pat Rooney
(left) Minnesota Play-By-Play hack Doug Woog predicts a Gopher sweep this weekend
The University of Denver hockey team has successfully positioned itself for a run at the Western Collegiate Hockey Association title and a berth in the NCAA tournament, which would mean a chance to compete in the West Regional at the Pepsi Center.
With 12 games remaining in the regular season, the Pioneers are preparing to battle head-to-head against the teams that likely will create yet another thrilling conclusion to the always demanding WCHA race.
Of DU's six remaining league series, four will be against the other top five teams in the league. The rugged stretch run begins tonight with perhaps the toughest challenge of all, the beginning of a two-game series against top-ranked Minnesota.
"It's always fun and exciting to play against a team like Minnesota," DU coach George Gwozdecky said. "Obviously they have been very, very impressive over the course of the season so far. We're looking forward to it. I think we're playing better right now. In any series in this league, it always boils down to your goaltending and special teams, especially in the second half of the season."
Indeed, the series will feature perhaps the top two goaltending tandems in the nation, although DU's combination of senior Glenn Fisher and junior Peter Mannino might still be spinning on one wheel.
Mannino missed last week's series against Niagara because of a strained groin and likely will not play tonight, but he could be ready for Saturday's finale. Fisher has allowed two or fewer goals in 11 of 16 starts and ranks seventh in the nation with a .931 saves percentage.
Minnesota's tandem of Colorado Springs native Kellen Briggs and sophomore Jeff Frazee have posted the top two goals-against averages during WCHA games.
Mannino took shots before practice this week but did not participate in the full workout. He is expected to be in uniform for both games.
"It's a day-by-day thing," Mannino said. "I'm feeling a lot better than I did last weekend. It's getting better every day."
While a split still would make it difficult for the Pioneers to catch Minnesota in the WCHA - the Golden Gophers lead DU, Colorado College and St. Cloud State by seven points - such a result would bolster DU's postseason credentials.
In the initial PairWise poll, the computer system that accurately predicts the field for the NCAA tournament, that was released this week, Minnesota is ranked second and the Pioneers fifth. That does not include bonus points added for quality road wins, which DU is seeking this weekend.
"Every weekend is going to be a challenge, so we definitely got to bring our best game and keep rolling so when we do come into tournament time we're on our top game," said DU senior Ryan Helgason, a native of Woodbury, Minn., who attended many Golden Gophers games as a child. "We want to keep that frame of mind going into this weekend."
2 comments:
Be careful who you call a "hack". You have called coaches "legendary" on your pages for less...
As a player, Woog was a three time all-state selection at South St. Paul.
All-American at Minnesota under John Mariucci. He also played for the U.S. National team.
In his 14-year coaching career, Woog led the Golden Gophers to an NCAA-record 12 consecutive tournament appearances, including six trips to the NCAA Final Four. He amassed a staggering 389 wins during his tenure, more than any other head coach in the history of the Minnesota hockey program.
4 WCHA Titles, 3 WCHA Final 5 Titles
He was an assistant coach on the '84 Olympic team.
Be that as it may, Woog only hit 50% of his predictions for the DU-Minnesota series this weekend.
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