From: Rocky Mountain News by Jess Myers
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Something clearly was missing from the University of Denver hockey team Friday. And from the looks of the Pioneers' 5-1 loss at Minnesota State, the missing link was more than just one person.
The Pioneers were playing without leading scorer Brock Trotter. But there were defensive lapses and a lack of urgency that cannot be explained by the absence of one player. Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky said the presence of two former Denver players currently playing in the NHL might not have been enough to get them a win Friday.
"If we would've had Paul Stastny and Matt Carle, I don't know if it would've made a big difference," he said. "I just thought that Mankato's frame of mind and their physical, fierce competitive nature was by far and away better than ours. I'm not quite sure why that is."
For whatever reason, the Pioneers (18-7, 12-5 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) fell behind early and failed to rally, losing for the third time in their past four games.
With the sudden vulnerability for a team that won seven in a row in December and January, the bigger concern might be bad memories of last season. A year ago, the Pioneers were 19-9-2 on Feb. 1 but went 2-6-2 in the season's remaining games and failed to get an NCAA tournament invitation.
"It's one of those things where we've really got to get back to the drawing board," Pioneers captain Andrew Thomas said. "It's not a question of talent. It's not a question of our abilities, it's just a question if we want it bad enough right now."
Skating on the power play, the Pioneers peppered the Mavericks net, forcing goaltender Mike Zacharias to make two saves before Rhett Rakhshani swatted in a loose puck with a backhand shot. It was the second goal in as many games for Rakhshani.
"When you tie it up and get a goal there, the momentum gets a little higher and the morale on the bench gets a little higher," Rakhshani said. "But they were persistent and kept on burying us throughout the game."
The Pioneers were playing without leading scorer Brock Trotter. But there were defensive lapses and a lack of urgency that cannot be explained by the absence of one player. Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky said the presence of two former Denver players currently playing in the NHL might not have been enough to get them a win Friday.
"If we would've had Paul Stastny and Matt Carle, I don't know if it would've made a big difference," he said. "I just thought that Mankato's frame of mind and their physical, fierce competitive nature was by far and away better than ours. I'm not quite sure why that is."
For whatever reason, the Pioneers (18-7, 12-5 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) fell behind early and failed to rally, losing for the third time in their past four games.
With the sudden vulnerability for a team that won seven in a row in December and January, the bigger concern might be bad memories of last season. A year ago, the Pioneers were 19-9-2 on Feb. 1 but went 2-6-2 in the season's remaining games and failed to get an NCAA tournament invitation.
"It's one of those things where we've really got to get back to the drawing board," Pioneers captain Andrew Thomas said. "It's not a question of talent. It's not a question of our abilities, it's just a question if we want it bad enough right now."
Skating on the power play, the Pioneers peppered the Mavericks net, forcing goaltender Mike Zacharias to make two saves before Rhett Rakhshani swatted in a loose puck with a backhand shot. It was the second goal in as many games for Rakhshani.
"When you tie it up and get a goal there, the momentum gets a little higher and the morale on the bench gets a little higher," Rakhshani said. "But they were persistent and kept on burying us throughout the game."
7 comments:
What's going on with these guys?? Was the preseason goal just to be a top 5 team in January? Seems like they are packing it in and are getting ready for spring break. Their minds sure don't seem to be on winning hockey games.
Anyone else think if the Pios stumble again this year it might be time for a change at the top? i'm not saying Gwoz is no longer a good coach, I just think it's possible his philosophy/approach might be getting stale. For whatever reason the players don't seem to be getting the message. I listen to all of his post game comments on the radio broadcasts for the away games and lately he sounds like a guy without answers.
Last night he mentioned how the MSU forwards pounded DU and how he wants DU to be more physical. But I don't think DU has that type of team. DU is a finesse team. They rarely establish a consistent forecheck and certainly don't pound the opposition. Trotter, Raks, Martin, Ostrow etc...these guys are physical. Ruegss will sometimes throw his body around, but DU has a very limited physical presence. I just don't think they have the personality for that type of style. Their skaters want space, they want the pretty passes and breakouts, not the down low, cycle the puck, physical play. I just don't see the majority of their forwards wanting to get down and dirty and play physical. If Gwoz wants this he needs to recuit those types of players. I don't think DU is a team that the opposition really fears playing becuase of their passive finesse style. Pauko was a guy other teams had to watch out for, but no one on the current has that presence. The think the Pios need to recruit more guys who want to hit and forecheck and make life miserable for the opponent, much like the opposition has done to DU lately.
The back to back titles in 04 and 05 were awesome, but those feel like ancient history now. I don't know, maybe I'm being too harsh, but I don't think I'm the only frustrated DU fan right now.
Meant to say Trotter, Raks, Martin, Ostrow, May, Gifford,
Maiani etc are not physical (in the earlier posting)....
I think this lapse has very little to do with coaching. There are several factors. One the lack of flow due to the strange schedule since Christmas. Two, inexperience/youth. Every single team they face is gunning for them. Third the lack of consistency in line pairings over the last several weeks. And lastly, the pitiful PP. This slump has come earlier then last years. Last from 2/3 on they only won one game. I hoping that the leaders on the team will make it clear to the youngsters that this is prime time/do or die.
I also think winning national titles is very tough. The level of play nationally is top-notch even in programs that don't make the tourney year and year out. Getting two back to back raises peoples expectation. Going in to this year nobody expected much out of this team. Now that they've stumbled and shown signs of being human people are groaning. If they do make it to the tourney, I don't expect they'll make it to the FF--not with a 15% PP. There are too many teams pushing 20% that will knock them out. The young ones will learn and grow and they'll try again next year. At any rate the coaching and recruiting is top-notch.
I expect they'll come out and play a better game tonight. Perhaps it's time to start the Chevy again--give the defense a little edge like last Saturday--Lords nows they need it!
Part of the problem is the recruiting process. Winning national championships gains you easier access to the "blue chip" players but those are not necessarily the type of players that will win championships. Look at the championship years. A dominant captian, blue collar players willing to pay the price and a take no prisioners attitude. I would completely agree that they lack much of a physical presence. They are going with a much smaller, speedier lineup. Look at when they had Caldwell who took the bull by the horns and willed that team to a championship, Gabe who was an immovable object with great hands, Ulanski who was the ultimate grinder, Corbin the speedster. These guys need to get meaner and they need to do it now or their season will come to a premature end. Gwoz is a great coach who is consistent. It i up to the players to produce. It they can't or don't want to there are plenty of other guys out there who would give anything to be in their spot.
Obviously another poor showing. The lack of effort is going to bite them in the ass night after night, regardless of the opponent. To me it seems like the Pios lost some confidence somewhere along the way and have yet to regain it. I think if they can piece together a couple of wins in a row, starting with tonight, they will get their form back. Bottom line....this is still a good hockey team with a lot to play for. They haven't won 18 games thus far just by being average.
Every team will face some adversity along the way, and it happens to be right now for DU. It's better to have a rough stretch now instead of in March. Andy Thomas is a good captain, and I think it's safe to say Gwoz is a great coach and knows what he's doing. I think with so many young kids he has to let them play through the adversity and figure it out on the ice. There's no magic formula for breaking out of the slump. A few breaks here and there along with better effort and the Pios should be back on track. Tonight's game is a big one.
The PP just needs to go back to basics, in my opinion. There's too much fancy passing and guys looking for the perfect play. They just need to shoot the puck and look to bang in rebounds. I'd like to see more traffic in front of the goalie. More often than not the opposing goalie has very little blocking his view and has easy saves.
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