Lately the first and second periods have not mattered much for the DU hockey team as it is the third period when they come to play, and it showed in a win and tie over the weekend with rival Colorado College.
The Pioneers have outscored their opponents 9-2 in the third period of their last three games, when they trailed by scores of 2-0, 4-3 and 3-2 entering the final stanza.
“Coach was explaining, I think, we are a better team as we move on. I think we just keep chipping away and we will get the bounces eventually,” said sophomore Paul Stastny.
Denver opened the weekend a little early, when the team traveled to Colorado Springs to face rival Colorado College at World Arena on Thursday evening.
The game was one of the more exciting ones of the season for DU as the team came from behind for a 5-4 overtime victory.
Stastny got things started for DU with an early first-period goal, but that was followed by two Tiger goals followed by sophomore Ryan Dingle’s team leading 24th goal of the season to tie the game 2-2 after one period.
The second period was more of the same as junior Adrian Veideman scored on the power play to give Denver a 3-2 lead, but that was followed by two CC goals to close out the second period.
Veideman hit the net again midway through the third period to tie the game and eventually send it to overtime.
“We got in trouble early with penalties, we got the big bounce on Veideman’s goal, and just getting two wins at CC really helps out,” said Stastny.
In overtime, Stastny put in one of his biggest goals of his career to win the game and clinch at least a third-place finish in the WCHA.
“It’s awesome, I don’t think I have ever had an overtime winner, just an incredible feeling the whole bench coming at you, especially in CC,” said the St. Louis native when asked about the game winner.
The come-from-behind victory shocked a full house of Tiger fans and made for a loud and exciting Denver locker room.
“It’s just good to see our team finally playing the way we can, and playing within our system and doing things right, and when we do that it’s a pretty good team,” said junior J.D. Corbin.
There was not an empty seat in the house on Friday night at Magness Arena for the final regular season game against CC.
The Tigers got a goal in the first and second period to take a 2-0 lead over the Pioneers after two periods.
DU used the crowd’s excitement to help rally their third straight comeback, as Corbin got things going with a goal just 30 seconds into the final period.
Stastny followed five minutes later to tie the game and then Dingle put in what was thought to be the game winner with just less than two minutes remaining.
The Tigers pulled their goalie and it paid off as they scored with 47 seconds left to tie the game and send it to overtime. Neither team scored in overtime and the game ended 3-3.
“I told the guys that I am really proud of them, and you look at the game and would have like to have won it, as far as the game is concerned I think it is fitting that both teams wind up in a tie, it was that kind of a game, at times both teams thought they had it won,” said Head Coach George Gwozdecky.
“It clinches second place, so we are happy about that, its tough to not get the victory. We are proud of our team right now and proud of where we are standing. Hopefully, we will go into the first round of the playoffs with some confidence,” said Dingle.
Denver finished the season in second place in the WCHA behind champion Minnesota and will play Minnesota-Duluth in the first round of the WCHA playoffs this weekend at Magness Arena.
“When you look back and see how far we’ve come from where we were in early January, from the point where we put ourselves in the position for a post-season run, you have to be proud of our team and how hard they have worked,” said Gwozdecky.
Denver finished the season with an overall record of 20-13-3 and 17-8-3 in the WCHA.
The Pioneers also went 9-3-1 in their final 13 games to rise not only in the WCHA standings, but also the Pairwise rankings which help pick the 10 at-large teams that are selected for the NCAA tourney.
“For our team this year any extra edge we can get is going to be such a bigger advantage for us. Last year I don’t think it mattered, because of how deep we were. This year we are not as deep,” said Gwozdecky.
DU will start the best of three playoff series on Friday with a 7:37 p.m. match up against the Bulldogs followed by a 7:07 p.m. game on Saturday and if necessary a 7:07 p.m. game on Sunday.
“It’s a great rivalry. They are fun to play against. It’s fun to play in their building, and it’s fun to go into our building with our fans, and it is what hockey is all about, this rivalry,” said Dingle.
This weekend showed that the Pioneers may be called the comeback kids, but also that DU is ready for a strong post-season run for a possible three-peat.
