(above) The Rock capped off a remarkable comeback tonightBoxscore
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Rhett Rakhshani (Huntington Beach, Calif.) scored three consecutive goals in the last five minutes and 49 seconds of the game to lead the Denver Pioneers to dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 win over St. Cloud State tonight in WCHA action before 6,014 shellshocked fans at National Hockey Center.
Peter Mannino was stellar in net for the Pioneers with 20 saves, including two key stops on a late St. Cloud State power play, as DU earns the series sweep and improves to 12-4 overall and 9-3 in the WCHA. St. Cloud State loses its fifth consecutive game and falls to 7-7-2, 3-6-1.
“What a tremendous character win for our team tonight,” DU head coach George Gwozdecky said. “Rhett had a terrific third period and Peter turned in another great game. I am really proud of our guys and the way they never quit.”
Rakhshani’s late-game heroics began with a shorthanded goal at 14:11 of the final stanza. He tied the score at 2-2 when he banked a puck off of goaltender Jase Weslosky (39 saves) from behind the net at 17:35. Rakhshani completed the natural hat trick with the game-winning goal at 19:32 with a blast from the low slot. The hat trick was the first of Rakhshani’s two-year DU career.
“I don’t know what just happened,” Rakhshani said of his magical third period. “Our entire team made contributions late in the game and we’re really happy to get the win tonight.”
St. Cloud State’s Andreas Nodl staked the home team to a 2-0 lead with goals at 6:51 of the second period and 6:30 of the third period. SCSU was in command for most of the game and went on the power play at 14:00 of the final period after a slashing penalty on DU’s Tyler Ruegsegger. However, the momentum changed when DU’s Jesse Martin won the faceoff and pushed the puck to J.P. Testwuide, who found a streaking Rakhshani for the DU’s first goal of the game.
Martin added two assists for DU, which recorded its second road sweep of the season and first over St. Cloud State since Jan. 21-22, 2005. DU outshot the Huskies, 42-22, and went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. DU was 0-for-1 on the power play for the second consecutive night.
The Pioneers return to WCHA action at Alaska Anchorage on Dec. 14-15.
6 comments:
Great win! A great weekend for the Pios.....
Yep! Very important sweep! Miami Ohio lost to 2-9 Alaska Fairbanks. So the "F"ing Tigers will be #1. I hope St. Cloud is ticked off and rips the tigers apart next weekend!
Looks like The Rock is warming up in time for the World Junior tourney.
That may be the best third period comeback by DU since the 5-5 "tie" last March in Colorado Springs.
This is sweeter that that tie.
This game shifts the season into overdrive, captures the fans imagination and gives Rakhshani All-American publicity.
Just an unbelieveable finish. Wow!
Post a Comment