DU Defeats Badgers; Last Second Goal Disallowed

(above) The FCS Broadcast clearly showed the second shooter scored the goal from the Grassy Knoll

YouTube Video of controversial goal


From: Rocky Mountain News
by Pat Rooney


It could have, and really should have, been a rout.

Instead, the University of Denver hockey team found itself fighting for its life against Wisconsin after seemingly burying the Badgers by scoring three goals during the first half of the match.

Literally, DU's fate was not determined until a little after the final second.

The Pioneers held on for a 3-2 victory Friday at Magness Arena, but not before being forced to watch Wisconsin celebrate at center ice after an apparent tying goal slid past DU goaltender Peter Mannino at the buzzer.

While Wisconsin celebrated, referee Randy Schmidt took a look at the replay and determined the puck had not crossed the goal line when the clock expired, preserving the Pioneers' seventh consecutive victory.

DU also broke a three-game losing streak against the Badgers and exacted a small measure of revenge for the sweep Wisconsin recorded at Magness Arena last spring in the first round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.

"The one reason our coaches in this league, the administrations, and the referees especially pushed so hard for so long for a very expensive but effective tool like instant video replay, was to get the call right," DU coach George Gwozdecky said. "It's tough when it goes against you, no question about it. But as tough as it is, you can't argue against what you see on video."

In a hard-hitting, often chippy contest, the Pioneers pounced for two goals early in the first period and added another on a power-play opportunity early in the second, taking a three-goal advantage against a struggling Wisconsin team that entered the game with only one win in its previous six games.

But the Badgers rallied, getting a power-play goal from Aaron Bendickson late in the second and climbing to 3-2 on a goal by Sean Dolan early in the third.

DU (17-4-0, 12-3-0 WCHA) had several opportunities to clinch the win after Wisconsin pulled goalie Shane Connelly in the final minute but could not find the net. One such attempt ended in icing and a faceoff to Mannino's left with 3.7 seconds remaining. The Badgers' Matthew Ford ended up with the puck, and his shot sparked Wisconsin's brief celebration until instant replay intervened.

"Truthfully, I didn't see much," said Mannino, who notched his 55th win to tie 2004 Frozen Four hero Adam Berkhoel for seventh place on DU's all-time wins list. "I felt there was a couple seconds there where whoever got it took a shot and I really didn't see much. The ref went and checked it and said that time ran out. That's the way it goes."

DU struck quickly, netting a goal by senior Tom May early in the first and taking a 2-0 lead less than 3 minutes later on a goal by Anthony Maiani.

Lakewood native Tyler Ruegsegger extended the lead to 3-0 with his ninth goal this season during a power-play opportunity early in the second.

"They kept coming at us and coming at us," May said. "I feel we made some bad decisions with the puck and made some bad turnovers, but they really took the game over and got a few back on us."

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

it was a goal! :)

Anonymous said...

you can't tell from that angle--sticks going up doesn't mean the puck has crossed the line. The official obviously had the overhead view for the replay. I also wonder about the accuracy of the clock after the icing the clock said 2.7 seconds and the ref was at the scorers table for a long time discussing the clock setting I assume --it wasn't changed. The badgers played a tough third period--and I'm sure they were extremely bummed by the reversal. I'd like to see the view the ref had. It must of been decisive for the change to be made. Tonight should be another battle--go pios!

Anonymous said...

I'm not going to argue if it was a goal or not but what I will bring up is this.

1) We are not given an angle that clearly shows the puck crossing the line. If we are going to get anything like that we needed to look directly above and we didn't see it.

2) Just because FSN had .2 or something like that doesn't mean it's right. I have worked allot of Avalanche games this year and what I have noticed is the time the TV has isn't exactly the same as the official time.

That's just my two cents.

Anonymous said...

all you homers need to look at the red light going on clearly before the green light. And the officials are pointing before the time runs out.

Anonymous said...

The lights don't mean anything with the use of replay video. The days of the goal judge are numbered. The camera equipment they have around the WHCA makes it pretty straight forward. Like I said in the 2nd post the Badgers out played the pios in the third period they just needed another hair of a second. No doubt a tough way to fall.

Twister said...

It's disappointing that another DU victory is marred by controversy, after the game earlier this year vs St. Cloud. I think the only safe assumption to be made is the ref made the right call--that's what they are paid to do--make the right calls and uphold the integrity of the game. Unfortunately, given Schmidt's track record, his judgement doesn't seem to be widely endorsed.

If the WCHA spent all this money on the replay system then we have to assume it's working and helping the officials get the calls right. If not, every WCHA league administrator should be out of a job for compromising the integrity of the game. Regardless, I'd be a fairly pissed if I were a Badger fan, given the disconnect between the time clock at Magness, the FSN time, and what the ref saw on replay.

Twister said...

The other aspect to all of this is having to listen to those people who say "DU gets all the calls" and this all an attempt to help DU get to regionals in CO Springs and ultimately to Pepsi in April.

I enjoy reading these types of posts from these twirps who don't know their asses from a hole in the ground....very amusing.