(above) Denver's Cody Brookwell takes down North Dakota's Matt Watkins during the second period Saturday nightPhoto Credit: John Stennes, The Grand Forks Herald
From: Denver Post
by Virg Foss
Possum Hollow, N.D. — University of Denver hockey coach George Gwozdecky will be looking for answers after North Dakota put an exclamation point on the Pioneers' struggles of late.
The Fighting Sioux moved into a first-place tie with idle Colorado College in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association on Saturday night with a 4-1 win over DU.
It completed a weekend sweep for North Dakota (19-8-2, 16-7-1 WCHA) and ran its unbeaten streak to 11 games (10-0-1), the nation's longest.
Denver mustered just 17 shots on goal Saturday after managing only 18 on Friday, when the Pioneers blew a 4-1 lead in the second period and lost 5-4.
Sophomore center Brian Gifford scored Denver's only goal Saturday, at 13:14 of the second period, after the Sioux had built a 3-0 lead.
The Pioneers were held to nine shots on net in the first two periods.
"Our top two lines really struggled to generate chances," Gwozdecky said. "Part of it was that I thought North Dakota did a great job of forechecking us and really taking us out of a lot of transition. Our defensemen as a group really struggled against North Dakota's pressure."
It was the second time in three weeks the Pioneers have been swept on the road.
The Pioneers have been without Tyler Ruegsegger (abdominal injury) the past four games and lost leading scorer Brock Trotter (who signed with the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 7) for the season.
Between the two, they accounted for 23 of Denver's 80 goals (29 percent). Minus both players, the Pioneers have been held to 10 goals the past four games.
"Any time you take two of your top players out of your lineup, it's going to affect you," Gwoz-decky said. "If you take (Ryan) Duncan and (T.J.) Oshie out of their lineup, it's probably going to affect them. They were pretty good this weekend."
They are North Dakota's top two scorers.
Duncan had a goal and three assists in Friday's win for the Sioux, and Oshie had a goal.
The Pioneers remain sixth in the PairWise rankings, which mimic the process the NCAA uses to select its 16-team tournament field. North Dakota moved into a tie for second in those rankings with New Hampshire.
The Fighting Sioux moved into a first-place tie with idle Colorado College in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association on Saturday night with a 4-1 win over DU.
It completed a weekend sweep for North Dakota (19-8-2, 16-7-1 WCHA) and ran its unbeaten streak to 11 games (10-0-1), the nation's longest.
Denver mustered just 17 shots on goal Saturday after managing only 18 on Friday, when the Pioneers blew a 4-1 lead in the second period and lost 5-4.
Sophomore center Brian Gifford scored Denver's only goal Saturday, at 13:14 of the second period, after the Sioux had built a 3-0 lead.
The Pioneers were held to nine shots on net in the first two periods.
"Our top two lines really struggled to generate chances," Gwozdecky said. "Part of it was that I thought North Dakota did a great job of forechecking us and really taking us out of a lot of transition. Our defensemen as a group really struggled against North Dakota's pressure."
It was the second time in three weeks the Pioneers have been swept on the road.
The Pioneers have been without Tyler Ruegsegger (abdominal injury) the past four games and lost leading scorer Brock Trotter (who signed with the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 7) for the season.
Between the two, they accounted for 23 of Denver's 80 goals (29 percent). Minus both players, the Pioneers have been held to 10 goals the past four games.
"Any time you take two of your top players out of your lineup, it's going to affect you," Gwoz-decky said. "If you take (Ryan) Duncan and (T.J.) Oshie out of their lineup, it's probably going to affect them. They were pretty good this weekend."
They are North Dakota's top two scorers.
Duncan had a goal and three assists in Friday's win for the Sioux, and Oshie had a goal.
The Pioneers remain sixth in the PairWise rankings, which mimic the process the NCAA uses to select its 16-team tournament field. North Dakota moved into a tie for second in those rankings with New Hampshire.
