On a night when the University of Denver found out its emotional leader Tyler Ruegsegger would be out for the rest of the season, they battled to a hard fought victory over UAA. Luke Salazar nailed the game winner with 47 seconds remaining in regulation to seal the victory.
Mike Chambers Blog has the details on Ruegsegger's knee injury.
DU advances to play Wisconsin in the Final 5, while Colorado College lost its series to Minnesota Duluth in another spectacular collapse.
11 comments:
FINAL FIVE BABY!!!!!!!!!!!
HERE WE GO!!!!!
BRING IT ON HOME!!!!
It wasn't easy, but the Pios found a way to get the job done this weekend and secure 2 hard fought victories. I don't think DU had its best weekend of hockey. I thought DU was a little flat at times and not always sharp. They seemed to really struggle at times getting into any type of offensive flow. That said, I give a hell of a lot of credit to UAA. They are a tough hard-nosed team that came to win, not just show up and play. They had an effective forecheck all weekend, played with a lot of spirit, and pushed DU to the limit.
Crushing news about Tyler R.
I still would like to see Matt Glasser get more ice time.
John Ryder has evolved into DU's hardest hitting and most physical player. He has really turned into a nice player.
2 Exciting Games!
2 Great Wins!
Congrats to Rakhshani--The Century Club as a junior--impressive.
Ruegsegger was stellar in Game 1!
Salazar the game/series winning goal!
Kudos to the whole team: They made us proud!
sorry to hear about tyler du fans. hate to see that happens. hope he recovers alright. tough loss for du. siouxfan11
I still can't believe how we won this series. UAA sure looked like they wanted this series more and they played their game. They put up a hell of a fight but in the end I think talent became the factor. Major reps for UAA for the fight they brought here.
I shocked, pissed, in denial right now in regards to Ruegsegger. I can't believe we just lost him for the NCAA Tournament. Major blow even when Bozak comes back Ruegsegger brings leadership and star power to the line up.
On to the Final 5. We put our unbeaten streak in the Excel Center on the line, with the WCHA Championship up for grabs. Final preparations for the NCAA Tournament begin now.
I'm dreading this Final Five.
I don't see Denver being able to do very much in in St. Paul without our top two centers - the best offensive players we have. Take any team's two best players out and they move from contending to longshot,
Losing Ruegsegger for the year is a huge, huge blow. He's a heart-and-soul player who is a leader on the team, and losing him is devastating for this team.
Glad that DU made it to the final five but it's a heart breaker getting the news about Ruegsegger. Hopefully the other players can still draw from his leadership. Get well soon and have a successful recovery Ruegsegger.
Wow a couple of hard fought wins. Nice job DU. However all is not well in DU land. The series for sure came with a price tag. Now tyler is out for the rest of the season. I think Wisconsin is seeing red and going to get some revenge. Good luck to DU cause they are going to need it.
I have my doubts that Bozak will be back for the NCAA tourney too.
It will certainly be tough going to nationals without your leaders.
The loss of Tyler R. is mind-numbing. Crushing news for him and the team. In times of adversity character is revealed--we'll see what the Pios are made of.
This is a very tough draw, playing Wisconsin. DU beat them all 4 times during the regular season, so there will be a revenge factor. Couple that with the fact that the Badgers are on the bubble and probably need to win the Final Five to get a spot in the NCAAs, and they will be a desperate team.
In order for DU to have success next weekend everyone has to play their ass off. No taking shifts off. A monumental effort will be required.
Never like to see a player go down. Holy Cow is DU curse with injuries this season. I think DU finds a way to win against the Badgers and who knows from there.
Great series this weekend. terrible news about Tyler, but we shouldn't feel that all is lost. I mean yes he was a great leader for the team, but you guys are talking like we don't have a chance. I mean come on. We've been playing without Bozak, arguably our x factor, for nearly the entire 2nd half and we've come this far. Many guys have stepped up, Maiani and Salazar come to mind, and we have a chance at a #1 seed in the national tournament. I think Bozak will be the extra push we will need to propel ourselves to the Frozen Four. I'm calling it right now.
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