(above) Tyler Bozak had his 4th shorthanded goal of the season last night which was his third against the Gophers. From DU Website
DENVER – Freshman Tyler Bozak (Regina, Saskatchewan) scored his 13th goal of the season and senior netminder Peter Mannino (Farmington Hills, Mich.) stopped 34-of-35 shots as the No. 7 Denver Pioneers (18-8-1, 12-6-1 WCHA) skated to a 1-1 tie with No. 20 University of Minnesota (12-12-7, 6-10-5 WCHA) tonight in front of 6,076 fans at Magness Arena.
“I was really pleased by our effort tonight,” Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said. “We would have liked to have the extra point, but more importantly, I was looking for the kind of effort that helps us reestablish our identity. The effort, intensity and will to win puck battles were definitely there.”
Bozak opened the scoring at 11:04 of the second period after stealing a pass off the stick of Minnesota defenseman David Fischer near the DU blue line and skating in on a breakaway. The freshman faked to his backhand before depositing a forehand attempt between the legs of Gopher netminder Alex Kangas (25 saves).
R.J. Anderson evened the game at 8:59 of the third period when his shot from the right faceoff circle beat a screened Mannino to the far side, sending the game to overtime.
The Pioneers applied heavy pressure during the extra session – including a Chris Butler attempt from the left faceoff circle in the closing seconds - but weren’t able to solve Kangas.
Minnesota outshot DU by a 35-26 margin. Both teams were held scoreless on the power play, with the Pioneers going 0-for-5 and the Gophers finishing 0-for-4.
Notes: Minnesota (2002 and 2003) and Denver (2004 and 2005) are the last two teams to capture back-to-back NCAA National Championships...Bozak’s short-handed tally was his fourth of the season, tying him for 2nd in the nation in that category...The Pioneers are now 11-5-1 against ranked opponents this season.
10 comments:
Derek Shepherd is a disgrace to the WCHA. HIs interference call ON MANNINO was inexcusable, it happened right in front of me. We need a wholesale change of refs in this league. The quality of officiating is disgusting. I wrote a letter to the commish and director of officials (who just so HAPPENS to be Greg Shepherd'-director of officials for the league- son...) for the 2nd time this year. Everyone else help me out. These guys suck and the number of apologies is evidence.
"These guys suck and the number of apologies is evidence."
Exactly! I couldn't of said it better myself.
"Exactly! I couldn't of said it better myself."
Go to wcha.com, then "the wcha" and write a letter to any address you can find.
Mannino's mask was slashed by Gordonand somehow his stick was sent flying. That being said, the refs took their time in the replay booth and had two sets of eyes on th replay. At the end of the day DU & innesota deserved a tie and DU lives to fight another day.
dg
Sure Shepherd is a poor ref--he has been for as long as I can remember. He does a terrible job following the play and yes the non-call on the goal tender interference in the second was the worst non-call I've ever seen in many years of watching college hockey. That said the thing we should be focusing on is that the Pios played a fundamentally pretty sound hockey game last night. Clearly their best effort since Christmas! During some parts of the game the Gophers were winning the battles in the corners. The big issue going forward is line pairings and confidence and flow on offense. Lots of people are being put in roles they are not used to. I thought Bozak really stepped up into a leadership role last night also good efforts by Ostrow, Mullin, Jackson, Rhett, Martin and Tommy May. Maybe this whole Trotter thing will help to jell the team in the homestretch.
DP--Were talking about the non-call in the second at the other end that actually resulted in a DU penalty. The sweet thing was the shorty 10 seconds later. I see in the box score that Sheppard called obstruction interference on Mannino. Which means that the rules must say that Mannino can't go behind his goal to stop the puck! (Incredibly bad call!) We never heard the call because everybody was getting on the ref.
The officiating aside, that was a hard-fought game and a well-earned point for DU. A solid effort by everyone--very encouraging. The freshman, especially Bozak, Ostrow, and Martin played well, as did Raks, Mullen, Jackson, and May. May played as physical a game as I've seen him play in quite some time. Check out the photo in today's Rocky Mountain News. Matt Glasser continues to impress me--plays as hard as anyone. Defensive zone coverage, while not outstanding, was much better last night.
Hopefully 2 points tonight.
Shepherd did miss the DU player who checked a Gopher from behind. Where is the outrage?
444--no outrage because we love ground gopher! But you're right it was another one he missed
444- trust me, I'm with you, as are most. We're upset as fans of hockey, not as fans of DU.
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