Denver Post Looks At DU's NCAA Winning Streak

From: Denver Post
by Mike Chambers

Winning streaks never have been so patient.

After a two-year hiatus, the University of Denver is back in the NCAA Tournament and on the verge of breaking the record for consecutive victories in the national tournament.

The 2004 and 2005 NCAA champions, the Pioneers take a record-tying, eight-game NCAA Tournament winning streak into Saturday's Midwest Regional against Wisconsin.

DU coach George Gwozdecky never has paid much attention to streaks and statistics. But in this case, he knows how the program's eight wins will benefit his team this weekend.

Even though DU features 12 freshmen and just one upperclassman at forward, Gwozdecky, most of his staff and four seniors know how to get to the Frozen Four and win it.

"Successful experiences benefit everybody," Gwozdecky said. "It benefits the staff, and it carries over to the team. There are certain expectations that we have, that I have, that our assistant coaches have, and that carries over. Do we have great expectations for this weekend? Absolutely."

For now, forget the Frozen Four at the Pepsi Center. The Pioneers, who have won four consecutive games and appear to be playing as well as they have all season, don't want to come home until Monday — after winning Sunday's regional title game.

If that happens, the Pioneers will be two wins away from their eighth national title, one behind the record held by Michigan.

Since the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs began March 14, Gwozdecky has been leaning on his four seniors: goalie Peter Mannino, defensemen Andrew Thomas and Zach Blom, and forward Tom May. All own 2005 NCAA championship rings.

"It's all about how our older guys carry themselves," Gwozdecky said of playoff hockey. "When you get to the national stage like we're in now, there are an awful lot of distractions.

"For us, the WCHA Final Five was such a good preparatory tournament for the national tournament. I think our older guys — Peter and Andy, Zach and Tommy — having been through it will be very valuable from here on out."

The senior class could have been stronger. Avalanche star Paul Stastny would have been a senior if he hadn't signed an NHL deal two years ago. Stastny's freshman class also included Ryan Dingle and Geoff Paukovich, both of whom signed NHL deals after last year.

"We definitely would have been a very, very good team with those guys, but at the same time, changing personnel isn't a bad thing, either," May said. "The young guys have come in and have had great impact. We don't think of having 12 freshmen anymore. We think of having one big group of guys."

That group of guys has transformed itself from a run-and-gun team to a systems-oriented, defense-first squad. After losing leading scorer Brock Trotter in January, the Pioneers realized they needed to focus on protecting their net and avoid getting in shootouts.

"Our team defense, especially last weekend against North Dakota, was exceptional," Thomas said. "We were so aggressive in the neutral zone, from our forwards to our 'D.' We smothered them.

"We played like we did in the 2005 Frozen Four. We played great team defense, and that's what will get us back there."