(above) Rhett Rakhshani is tripped as he scores a sensational shorthanded goalIn the 1st period University of Denver defenseman Patrick Wiercioch was injured on a low hit with Stephen Schultz. Radio announcers said it was "knee-on-knee" or a low hit. Whether it was or wasn't, no call was made. Wiercioch was down on the ice and had to be helped to the locker room.
Kyle Ostrow scored the Pioneers first goal early in the period and Colorado College answered right back on a DU giveaway to make it 1-1. MacMillan scored the Tigers 1st goal. CC took the lead on the play in which Wiercioch was injured as he was down on the ice, CC had a 2 on 1 and Testwuide scored their 2nd goal. Jesse Martin then tied it up at 2 on a beautiful feed from Maiani.
Marc Cheverie turned aside every CC chance in the period including a point blank shot from about 7 feet away. The Rhett Rakhshani show then started with Rock getting a PP goal followed by a shorthanded goal to give DU a 4-2 lead.
Wiercioch Update: Preliminary indication is that it is an aggravation of a previous injury and he won't be back tonight but may return next weekend. The previous injury wasn't identified but Patrick has been coming back from an MCL strain to his knee.
CC made a comeback to tie the game with 2 goals by Mike Testwuide in the 3rd period. His first was a shorthanded breakaway. His second goal was on a penalty shot with 40 seconds left in regulation.
Neither team could score in the OT despite DU having a full 2 minute Power Play.
Kyle Ostrow scored the Pioneers first goal early in the period and Colorado College answered right back on a DU giveaway to make it 1-1. MacMillan scored the Tigers 1st goal. CC took the lead on the play in which Wiercioch was injured as he was down on the ice, CC had a 2 on 1 and Testwuide scored their 2nd goal. Jesse Martin then tied it up at 2 on a beautiful feed from Maiani.
Marc Cheverie turned aside every CC chance in the period including a point blank shot from about 7 feet away. The Rhett Rakhshani show then started with Rock getting a PP goal followed by a shorthanded goal to give DU a 4-2 lead.
Wiercioch Update: Preliminary indication is that it is an aggravation of a previous injury and he won't be back tonight but may return next weekend. The previous injury wasn't identified but Patrick has been coming back from an MCL strain to his knee.
CC made a comeback to tie the game with 2 goals by Mike Testwuide in the 3rd period. His first was a shorthanded breakaway. His second goal was on a penalty shot with 40 seconds left in regulation.
Neither team could score in the OT despite DU having a full 2 minute Power Play.
First Star: Mike Testwuide (Colorado College)
Second Star: Rhett Rakhshani (Denver)
Third Star: Jesse Martin (Denver)
Box Score
Denver Post Game Recap
Colorado Springs Gazette Game Recap
USCHO.com Game Recap
WCHA Standings
44 comments:
It wasn't Mike Testwuide that hit him, it was Stephen Schultz. And it wasn't knee to knee. Schultz got low and hit him with his hip.
Thanks, the radio announcers indicated after the period that it wasn't Testwuide but Schultz. Didn't see the hit so I don't know if it was knee on knee or a low hit but the end result was Weircioch was hurt. Preliminary indication is that it is an aggravation of a previosu injury and he won't be back tonight but may return next weekend.
Frustrating game! Glad we didn't lose but we should have pulled this one off.
Great weekend of hockey. Not too thrilled with the Weircioch injury no-stop call after watching the replay, but the initial check was clean. DU played well enough to at least take 3 of 4 points.If CC loses the Gold Pan, what will they have left but a couple dusty championships?
Wow! Totally nutty game tonight! So much different then Friday's game.
2 shorties, 2 long 5-3 with no goals and so terrible work by the stripes. Pettigro and Swaider were just awful. Anderson was totally unprofessional with Steve Miller--lost his cool. If Anderson can get a reffing job in the WCHA so can any homeless guy working the corner of Colfax for loose change. They completely blew it when Patrick was down--we had possession the play should of been stopped before the goal.
I too am cool with 3 of 4 just a tough end with the PS.
I give CC credit for battling back.
Glad to hear Patrick will be back soon--I was worried it was a season ender.
I sit on the end where the Wiercioch hit took place and it wasn't a knee on knee. It was a borderline low hip check.
Tonight featured 2 talented hockey teams who were forced to share the ice with an embarrassing display of referring. Regardless of what team you were supporting the referees completely ruined the game. There was no flow to the game because those two morons kept interrupting the game with their inept calls.
By now I should be use to the horrible referring by Anderson (aka Fire Marshall Bill), but I think he took it to another level tonight. I honestly think he tried to call every penalty in the book. He refuses to call potentially dangerous hits from behind (on both teams) but he can't get his arm up quick enough when someone stumbles or there is any physical play. Right before he called the penalty shot (has anyone heard what was the reasoning for the call? Was it for the net movement?) We were joking that it must be killing him to not have called a something for 4 whole minutes. But he came on strong with the PS and the goalie interference calls. Just an embarrassment. Someone needs to remind him that we aren't paying to see him.
If you could get past the refs ruining the game, there were two great teams out there. I give CC a ton of credit for not giving up. (I also have give CC credit for those great looking uniforms. A big improvement of their terrible German Olympic team jerseys.) Testwuide was a load tonight. I thought Ryder played a great game and was a physical force out there. It is a shame that DU started so poorly with those two terrible giveaways.
the penalty shot was a legitimate call, donovan pushed the net off the bearings when he saw that cc was gonna score.
actually a really smart play by donovan it at least gave chevy the chance to make a save on the penalty shot
Terrible Officiating tonight! REALLY terrible! I was talking to some guy while buying my 3rd 16oz Molson in section 18 about the difference between the Dakota rivalry and this one. With the Flighting Sue, it "we hate them; they hate us". (by the way nodak, how's that working out for you?)
But with the Tigers, it should be more like, "we want to beat them; they want to beat us". There's a level of "respect" between these 2 teams now... which is kind of refreshing. It's damn good hockey. Just be glad you don't live in Idaho or some shit like that.....
Donovan shoved the net over when it looked like CC was about to score. Never seen that called a P-shot. I thought it would've been delay of game but the ref most have discretion to add the pshot.
How about Rhett's two goals tonight? Especially the PP. That was SICK!
Legal or not, that was a chickenshit hit on Wiercioch.
Forget about CC sucks... how about the Magness and WCHA scheduling people suck? This series should not have been scheduled over the Christmas break.... and tonight's game should not have been scheduled the day after a flippin' MMA Cage fight event. As heard on the post-game and as seen in-game... the ice sucked
great goals by rhett
in terms of the penalty shot, pushing the net off because the other team is going to score is considered the equivalent of a non-goalie covering the puck in his own crease, which means penalty shot.
In some high school leagues they would even award an automatic goal to the tigers, just how it is
Refereeing is often poor in this league, but good teams overcome it. DU outplayed CC for much of the game, but turnovers and some poor breakaway goaltending by Chevy allowed CC to gain a tie. That's hockey. If Chevy makes either save on Testuide, DU gets a sweep. But give CC some credit for taking advantage of the turnovers DU gave them.
Blame DU for the scheduling. They can make more money scheduling these games over break when they can charge full price to fill empty seats. I think Gwoz also likes home games over break because his players are not distracted with school. Extra money and less team distractions outweigh home ice advantage in DU's mind.
As for MMA, DU needs to make money from events like MMA, and.both teams play on the bad ice, which is common in multi=purpose buildings.
If Patrick Wiercioch doesn't get to participate in the Team Canada tryouts... that's just tragic. And dare I say - If he doesn't go, it could have a substantial impact on whether he will wear a DU jersey next October or not. This is it for Patty.... remember this day; this time of uncertainty.... Ottowa Sens will leave him here another year if he doesn't make this tryout....
If I could have sat with 3 people to watch this game tonight, and buy each of them a cold beer... it would be Greg Shephard (Supervisor of WCHA Officials). Richard Bachman and J.P. Testwuide.
I thought about JP a lot this weekend. It felt funny to have a CC/DU weekend without him. Mike played two really gutsy hockey games. Even though he got the two goals tonight and was the first star I was more impressed with his work ethic last night. He was the hardest working Tiger out there.
I think CC should give a round of applause to Dan Anderson for once again screwing the Pios again. He better of had a damn good reason for a penalty shot but the 2nd goal... though may not of been a knee to knee was a interference penalty.
Still Pios with 3 points and ya even though the game here in Denver may have been neutralized, we still went into CC and took over their building. Now we wait till March to finish this series off.
What I'm really concerned about though is Weircioch. Hopefully the injury isn't serious and if needed will be back by the Denver Cup.
The comparison between this series and the one with the UNDies was interesting. It was just good clean hockey this weekend. The fans in both venues were respectful of one another. What the #%$6 was the WCHA thinking sending Anderson to work the series? That guy should just be put on a permanent shuttle between Houghton and Anchorage.
Give him some KY and let him share a room with the other Shepard. Is it Derek?
Disappointing way to end the series. Up by 2 goals going into the 3rd, on home ice--DU has to find a way to put the nail in the coffin. Give CC credit for capitalizing on their opportunities, but the Pios really should have taken this one. Nevertheless, can't really complain about the 3 points.
A couple other observations: Chevy came back to earth tonight. He certainly wasn't as sharp as I've seen him. He was beaten cleanly on several goals. I thought for sure he'd stop one of those chances by Testwuide. And speaking of Mike Testwuide??? Where did he come from?? He looked like Marion Lemieux tonight. His shorty and the penalty shot were wicked good.
CC is a good team. They look like a team that perhaps lacks the big name superstar, but they are solid all around. They are very quick.
Good to see Brookwell back. And once again, I really like what Ryder brings to the table. A nasty streak, big hits, and attitude.
Rhett was oustanding tonight.
Testuide had a hat trick tonight, not two goals. He always plays well against DU.
Chevy needed to stop one of those two breakaways. Usually, a good goalie saves about 75% of breakaways, and tonight, Chevy wasn't close on either one. Poor performance when his team needed him to step up.
For DU, this tie feels like a loss. I will take three points anytime, but this one feels more like a split.
And while Anderson is not a great ref, you can't blame the refs for this result. DU had loads of chances to blow open the game, but didn't get it done. They let CC back in by gagging up a shorty with a bad misplay by Ruegsegger, and were not able to convert anything in the third period. As for the penalty shot, it was the right call. Donovan had little choice, as CC would've scored had he not knocked the net off. Bottom line is that DU handed CC two chances to get the tie, and Testuide converted both of them.
All in all, 3 points is a good result for DU against CC. The Tigers deserved better on Friday, and DU deserved better on Saturday,
I'm not blaming the refs. Gwoz said in the DU media post game that the rule is anytime the net is dislodged in the last minute of the game it's an automatic PS. Otherwise it's a two minute minor. He also said he expects PW to be ready to go in Duluth but not sure he'll get the green light from the Docs.
Don't be handing me that "a good team will overcome the officiating" bullshit. In 20+ years of watching hockey I've NEVER seen them not blow the whistle when a guy was down like that tonight.
I'm going to bet that McLeod will offer his usual crap appology come Monday morning, as that is his answer to every bad officiating call that is made year in and year out in this league.
CC played great, DU played better, and it was nice to have the fans into the game for a change. Also glad to see the rivalry is still there!
"Gwoz said in the DU media post game that the rule is anytime the net is dislodged in the last minute of the game it's an automatic PS."
I'll be watching out for that then. If we are attacking in the zone with the net dislodged we'll see if we get the penalty shot.
Seriously though... not just against CC or UND... pretty much against anyone Anderson has to be banned from DU hockey.
Of course the refs should've blown the whistle when Weircioch was down and DU had the puck in the CC zone. It was a bad call, no argument there. But bad calls are part of college hockey. Every team gets bad calls against them from time to time, and every team will benefit from bad calls, too. But you can't let the bad calls stand in your way - good teams must overcome them and score enough goals so that bad calls don't end up killing them.
The Wiercioch bad call was still early in the game, and DU still built a 4-2 third period lead anyway-and that should have been enough to win. But Chevy simply could not stop Testuide on either the shorty or the penalty shot in the third period, and DU got a tie instead of a win. If Chevy had stepped up and makes either one of those saves, DU sweeps, and no one is talking about the bad call.
Whine whine, bitch bitch. Same old crap from you people. Must be nice at the private schools feeling entitled to everything you want. Don't even start complaining about that penalty shot call. You're about to get scored on so just lift the net? Christ. I'd be compaining about my own player. How about getting your hands off the cage and playing some damn defense! Is that what an overpriced education teaches you people? If you're about to get beat, just cheat? DU deserves exactly what they got on that play.
In 15+ years as a Saturday season ticket holder, I have seen 2-penalty shots, both this year? Have the rules changed? I seldom leave a DU game as frustrated as I did tonight, between the injury goal and the penalty shot, I left very pissed off after this game. As is always the case when
Anderson refs, it became a game about the officials instead of about hockey. What a shame!
Michael
If you don't follow the driving rules, they take you license away. That analogy should be used with Anderson. If you can't referee the game properly, you need to be taken off the ice!
Anyone know Shepherd's email address?
Todd Anderson is an embarrassment as an official and a human being. The guy has a long history of being a lousy official, but even worse, his arrogant,short fused behavior, including baiting coaches and players is absolutely unacceptable at any level. It is such a shame that the best league in college hockey continues to allow an idiot like this on the ice with apparently no accountability. If a player or coach behaved like Anderson, they would be suspended. Anderson must go.
Well, even at this level, a goal can still be awarded when you purposefully push the net off and a goal would have been scored. That being said, calling a penalty shot on a lifted goal is somewhat unusual but not Anderson's worst moment.
Last I was aware Big Shepherd's email was g.shepherd@mailstation.net . Be aware that his grammar is terrible and his logic shaky, much like his go-to guys Anderson and D. Shepherd. It's not as if anything is going to change just cause fans are unhappy. It's an old boy's club and they take care of their own.
http://letsgodu.blogspot.com/2007/07/wcha-director-of-officials-disrupts.html
Where was Tini last night? Is he OK?
piss and moan, piss and moan. Any chance you got beat fair and square.............pudknockers.
I don't remember DU losing this weekend... In fact the only win recorded was at the World Arena. ;)
Anyways I was talking with a friend of mine and he told me that a DU player purposely lifted the net and it was a good call. He was also saying that player should be benched by Groz for a such a stupid act.
Though Anderson still made a ton of stupid calls mainly trying to make up for what he missed screwing it up for both sides. All this from my insider.
TV guys said it was actually probably a smart play considering the puck was going in anyway and it at least gave Cheverie the chance to make the save rather than just give up a goal...
Donovan's play was in the best interests of his team in terms of the game result. Much better to lift the net and have Chevy try and stop the penalty shot vs. letting a certain goal go in on the original CC shot.
That said, there is a certain unsportmanlike part of Donovan's move that I am not wild about. Generally, defenseman shouldn't be out there to lift goal nets during play - they should be out there blocking the shot or taking out the shooter.
Referees need to be consistent.Anderson meets that requirement,he consistently sucks and has no business being on the ice!
I have to agree with the unsportsmanlike way that play went down. It upset me to think that a player would resort to such tactics to prevent a goal. If everybody starts making plays like this hockey is really going suck. To me it looked like laziness more than anything; he had enough time to push the net while he was standing there watching the play, that was enough time for him to skate around the net and at least try to make a play on the puck. Having said that, it should have been a goal and it was a goal, now it's behind us.
"bad calls are part of college hockey."
What about six bad calls in a row?
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...................yawn
"What about six bad calls in a row?"
Only 3 or 4 of those were bad, the last few were stupid.
Glad to see a least one DU fan thinks the Sioux got robbed in Denver. Thanks Jordan!
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