Photo by: Michael Furman
The Pioneers avoided a tally in the loss column after they narrowly escaped their season-opening series against Vermont with a come from behind victory and an overtime tie.
This week, No. 6/8 Denver (1-0-1) will need to show an equal amount of resilience, as they will take on the defending NCAA champions, the Boston College Eagles.
Heading into the series without a loss, the Pioneers can build more momentum by playing the defending champs close and exiting the series with a “0” still intact in the loss column.
“We have a bunch of top teams, and it is key to get off to a good start,” said senior forward Anthony Maiani. “If we win early, it should carry over and help us get some good momentum going.”
However, preparing for the defending champs and the No. 1 in the nation is no easy task.
“We haven’t seen any film on them yet,” said head coach George Gwozdecky on Monday. “But knowing what they have coming back, they will be lightning fast in the transition game and their forwards can generate offense very quickly.”
The task at hand for the Denver defense is to contain a lethal Boston College (1-0-0) attack spearheaded by senior captain Joe Whitney and junior Cam Atkinson.
Also playing forward for the Eagles is Whitney’s younger brother, Steven, who finished with 28 points in his freshman campaign and recorded the team’s first goal of the season last week in a 2-0 win over Northeastern.
As for who will start on the defensive end when the puck drops Friday night, Gwozdecky said the decision has yet to be made.
“We don’t know right now how close we are to defining our top line combinations and our defensive pairings,” said Gwozdecky. “So right now we are juggling our lineup out of necessity.”
The Pioneers struggled against the Catamounts on Friday night, working to erase a two-goal deficit and rallying to claim a 5-3 victory.
The team did not benefit from losing senior captain Kyle Ostrow or freshman Nick Shore to minor injuries during the series.
“We got dinged up pretty good against one of, if not, the biggest and most physical team we are going to play all season,” said Gwozdecky.
The team will play with a full roster this weekend, besides red-shirt junior Dustin Jackson and sophomore William Wrenn, both of whom are still on the disabled list.
While the coaching staff evaluates what lines are the best ones for the benefit of the team, the decision about who will start at goalie is clearer now than it was after the Pioneers’ two preseason scrimmages.
Sophomore Adam Murray turned in an impressive performance against the U-18 team two weeks ago and added to that by making pivotal stops in Friday’s win over Vermont.
“Adam continued to give a strong effort,” said Gwozdecky. “He made an incredible glove save late in the game and then had a game-saving save with a few seconds left to play.”
However, Murray will only start one game this weekend, most likely Friday’s home opener, as Gwozdecky plans to rotate him with freshman Sam Brittain.
In his collegiate debut, Brittain rebounded from a porous preseason performance against the University of Lethbridge and recorded 28 saves to help the Pioneers hold onto a 1-1 OT tie.
“Sam came back after a disappointing first start,” Gwozdecky said. “He made key saves on two-on-one’s as well as a few breakaways, most importantly he remained confident.”
Gwozdecky said the rotation isn’t set in stone but is workable going into the home opener versus the No. 1 in the nation.
Despite losing four of their top five scorers from last season, Denver came out relatively strong offensively in their first two games, notching six goals against a physical Vermont defense.
Early offensive success hasn’t necessarily built confidence, but the team is ready to put the past behind them and focus on the now.
“They [Boston College] are the defending national champions but it is a new year now,” said Ostrow. “It will be a good series in front of the home crowd that’s for sure.”
Following the Boston College series, the Pioneers remain at home where they will take on conference rival No. 15 Wisconsin.
“With good competition you learn a lot about yourself,” said Gwozdecky. “That is how we improve over the course of a year.”
Last season, the Pioneers defeated the Eagles 4-3 in a dramatic comeback as the team claimed the Wells Fargo Denver Cup in front of a home crowd at Magness Arena.
The team will have the home field advantage once again this Friday when the puck drops at 7:37 p.m.
Game two of the series will be played Saturday at 7:07 p.m.
