DU 5 - Michigan Tech 3 FINAL

(above) Drew Shore's backhanded goal in the 1st Period

The University of Denver hockey team defeated Michigan Tech tonight 5-3 at Magness Arena. DU won its eighth straight game after jumping to a 4-1 1st Period lead. Patrick Wiercioch, Joe Colborne, Matt Donovan & Drew Shore scored in the First Period.

Kyle Ostrow added a goal in the Second Period.

Chris Nutini appeared to injure his right ankle late in the 2nd Period.

DU can clinch the WCHA Regular Season championship and the #1 seed in the WCHA playoffs with two wins in their last four games against Minnesota State or Colorado College.

Nebraska-Omaha's upset of Miami moved DU to the #1 spot in the Pairwise.
  • Minnesota 7 - Colorado College 4
  • Nebraska-Omaha 4 - Miami 2
  • Wisconsin 7 - St. Cloud 4
  • North Dakota 5 - Minnesota Duluth 1
Box Score

WCHA Standings

Pairwise Rankings

Denver Post Game Recap

USCHO.com
Game Recap

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

LetsGoDu just got a big shout out from the announcers on FSN saying they like the "From Boonetown to Motown" phrase that was coined here

dggoddard said...

That's just the kind of world class publicity we need to surpass ESPN.com. :-)

Anonymous said...

Yo, I heard the shoutout to letsgodu as well, that's awesome ... and for the critics, PW did pretty well!!

- chase

Anonymous said...

Boys took a play off at the end of the second, just goes to show how important every D-zone faceoff is. Big Joe didn't want it as bad as the other guy, plain and simple. Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite us.

On a better note, anybody else see the pinstripe suit Gwoz was rockin in the interview during the 2nd Intermission? The guy is pure class.

Aluuum said...

Miami lost

Frank said...

That was probably the most poorly officiated home cookin' game I've seen in awhile for the WCHA. Not sure if you saw it but the goaltending official turned the red light on before the MTU goaltender made the save on RR in the third period. And what about Olsen for MTU, to eject their best player on a legal hit and flop by Claborne.

A disappointed hockey fan.

du78 said...

Brookwell said in his interview between 2nd & 3rd that Nutini hurt his ankle.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's awesome that Miami finally lost! My biggest hope (and careful what you hope for) is Miami/Denver in the final at the Frozen Four .... we're two big dogs, let's see who's biggest.

- chase

Frank said...

I wouldn't expect DU to go too far in the Hockey playoffs the way they played against 4-20 MTU. It appears they were resting their best players or "their best players were resting".

dggoddard said...

Nutini is off to hospital for x-rays.

Ankle is way better than a possible knee injury, if x-rays are negative.

Lets hope for the best and get well soon Chris.

dggoddard said...

Frankie Baby,

Wiercioch was checked head first into the boards by Olsen. Looked pretty bad on TV.

The Tech disallowed goal was a blown call to be sure.

Wow a Red Light went off. Well lets just replay the game.

Frank said...

As the MTU goal was waived off in the third, it was clearly shown on the replay that the whistle or any motion to call the play dead was absent or after the goal. (a little more home cookin'). This apparently set up DU to be in front of St. Cloud in the standings. Is this the NBA?

Anonymous said...

Hit was a cheap shot to the head. They got that right. No home cookin--Shepard sucks all around.

Credit to MTU they played a tough 60 minutes of hockey and I'm sure they'll play us tough in three weeks.

Gwoz said x-rays were precautionary on Chris. Hope he's able to be back in three weeks--worst case scenario.
--MM

Frank said...

MM - You might be right on that hit as I replay the DVR. It was play of circumstances. MTU was trying to push the issue a little. As I look back on all the games I was a part of while at college, and all the records I set when I was there, it's painful to see a poorly officiated game just because MTU is 4-20. It's strange to watch your Alma Mater get the short end of the stick in your home town.

Anonymous said...

It was right in front of my seats. Olson should of gotten an additional minor for the stick charade on his exit. Shepard had his hands in his pants so he was way to busy to catch that one. I was also surprised they didn't call something on Vossberg as he was a little out of control in front of the Tech bench.

--MM

Anonymous said...

These guys will go at it again in three weeks. I'm sure Olson will have a red X on his backside in the first period.

Frank said...

You said it right MM; when I go to work each morning, like a referee, I must perform; if I have my hands in my pants all day, I will not do as good of job. Not really sure what the refs were thinking. I happened to notice the next time after the MTU goal was blown off, Tech stacked it up in front of Chevy, they let the play go for a few seconds before they called it dead. The refs must lose total sight of the puck before calling it dead.

Jordan said...

A rare miss by Dave the goal judge on the red light. Was nowhere close to being in.

Officiating was consistent with the Shepherd name.

PW played well- offensively if you notice. I never said he was a bad player, I just don't think he's a strong enough defenseman in the d-zone. Put him at center and let him play point on the PP- keep the good but put less pressure on his defensive shortcomings. Plenty of guys have switched between D and F in their DU careers.

Nutini's leg was in a VERY painful looking position when replayed in slow-mo on the DVR. Bad slip on the battered ice- legs aren't built to do what his did. Was replaying it for so long never realized MTU scored until a few minutes later.

Tech's goalies had some great saves but also had some great moments of brilliant inability to handle simple rebounds and shots.

Huskies are great at playing tough- too bad for them they don't get that credit in the win column. Good for DU to get 4 league points though.

Frank said...

Jordan, you are very astute in your analysis. Couldn't have said it better.

I just hope Nutini is ready for the playoffs, he will be a key piece of the puzzle to win in Detroit.

MagnessMan said...

Interesting that in Chamber's blog the three stars are completely different than what was announced at Magness. I like his much better.
Matt D 1
Colbourne 2
Shore 3

PW shouldn't have been selected for one good goal IMHO.

Dave was shaking his head for like a minute after he misfired on the light--obviously pissed at himself.

The one goal that trickled in through the first goalie's five hole was the worst attempt at an easy save I've seen all year. I thought the backup guy was way better than Genie Boy.

vizoroo said...

"LetsGoDu just got a big shout out from the announcers on FSN saying they like the "From Boonetown to Motown" phrase that was coined here"

dg, when can I expect the royalty checks? :-}

Anonymous said...

Frankie-

So what if a goal judge turns on the light by accident?

If you knew a thing about hockey, you would know that the goal judge doesn't make the official call anyhow. An on-ice ref is the only one who can actually make the decision if a goal is good or not. That's just basic hockey knowledge.

To imply that the goal judge (along with the refs) somehow conspired to keep the obviously uber-talented MTU Huskies from getting their victory is downright stupid. MTU should have helped their own cause by not giving up four 1st period goals.

Anonymous said...

Hey Frankie boy... you're right, the officials were paid off before the game. I slipped them each a 5 spot after the first period under the condition that they make up a call to throw out MTU's best player as soon as possible. Luckily, it didn't take long. The only problem with my plan was that then the goal judge thought he could get in on the action as well and tried to give DU a goal before it actually happened. I ended up giving him a couple of bucks after the game just for the effort. I figure their fine expertise in officiating shouldn't go unnoticed. I didn't think anyone would notice, but look at that, YOU DID!

Anonymous said...

Frank is Suze's alter ego.

Anonymous said...

Frank comes up with a scoop! News flash WCHA refs suck every weekend!

Anonymous said...

'Frank' must be inuit for 'Suze'.

Those chemicals are for your igloo toilet, not for sniffing...

Anonymous said...

10:54......that's hilarious. Great post!

piss off said...

All the records i set blah blah blah. what a fucking douche.

Anonymous said...

Did you hear the Mariucci Arena fans chanting to CC, "DU REJECTS"??? That was aweeeessoommme.

Frank said...

Apparently some people are more mature than others on this site. I would not necessarily use the "two words" the disgruntled fan used earlier in a sentence. He/she may want to take a rulebook to the next game.

Anonymous said...

Frank-o-rama,

What the heck are you talking about?

Anonymous said...

Is there absolutely any possible way that Dustin Jackson could or would play yet this year? What about practices - IF he was given the Dr. OK, could he atleast practice with the team?

Anonymous said...

Jackson isn't going to play this year. Why use up a year of eligibility for no more than 12 games? Jackson is a solid player, but not a game-changer. Bring him back next year, when he is all healed up and can completely fulfill his final 2 years of eligibility.

Twister said...

Solid weekend for DU. It wasn't perfect, but 2 wins and 2 steps closer to the MacNaughton. The Huskies proved to be a very scrappy team and they played hard the entire weekend. Gwoz's comments on their work ethic and spirit speak volumes.

With 16 league wins and 36 points DU has already equaled last year's regular season totals, and there are still 4 games to play. Keep it going boys!

Anonymous said...

Nate must of had an uncomfortable weekend. Got the nod; then on a couple of the shifts he did work, he wound up resting in the P-box. The admitedly selfish and inhumane side of me says, atleast it was 'Tini that got whacked; that's one area on the roster where we have so "room" right now. Need all hands on deck for the road trip to Mankato............

Anonymous said...

I've been to the Alltel center down in Mankato...the only thing distracting there is their cheerleaders...

Frank said...

Just wondering if they're broadcasting tonight's game from the top of Pike's Peak. Maybe they should get a camera crew near the ice or possibly use the zoom feature.