DENVER Freshman defenseman Patrick Wiercioch (Maple Ridge, British Columbia) scored two goals including the game-winner and added an assist to lead the No. 4 Denver Pioneers to a 6-5 victory over the No. 20 Wisconsin Badgers tonight in front of 6,036 fans at Magness Arena.
DU, which rallied back from a three-goal deficit to earn the win, also received goals from Tyler Bozak (Regina, Saskatchewan), Dustin Jackson (Omaha, Neb.), Anthony Maiani (Shelby Township, Mich.) and Tyler Ruegsegger (Lakewood, Colo.).
“We started off well and then let up a little bit in the second period. But we got back to playing with more effort and intensity and capitalized on a big goal heading into the intermission,” Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said. “I think our team showed some guts tonight, but we also learned that at this level you can’t take a night off and expect to be successful.”
Each team scored once during a first period that saw DU out-shoot UW by a 24-5 margin.
Wisconsin’s Michael Davies put the Badgers on the scoreboard at 7:04 when he tipped home a Jake Gardiner shot on the power play.
The Pioneers evened the game heading into the intermission on a 5-on-3 power-play goal from Bozak. The sophomore began a give-and-go with Rhett Rakhshani (Huntington Beach, Calif.) near the left faceoff circle before cutting into the low slot and beating Wisconsin netminder Shane Connelly (46 saves) at 19:24.
Wisconsin scored three unanswered goals within a span of 1:21 during the second period to take a 4-1 lead. Jamie McBain beat Marc Cheverie (Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia) with a wrister on a power play at 12:34, followed by tallies from John Mitchell and Ryan McDonagh at 13:34 and 13:55, respectively.
Jackson rounded out the second period scoring when he took a long pass from Ruegsegger and put a shot over Connelly’s left shoulder at 15:19.
DU rallied back to tie the game in the third period on goals from Wiercioch and Maiani. Wiercioch knocked home a loose puck from just outside the crease at 6:00, while Maiani added a power-play marker from the point at 10:48.
The Badgers again took the lead at the 11:58 mark on a Jordy Murray goal, but Ruegsegger made it a 5-5 contest on the power play at 14:18.
That set the stage for Wiercioch’s game-winning power-play tally with 3:45 remaining. The defenseman attempted a centering feed that went off the skate of Wisconsin defender Cody Goloubef and into the net to give DU the win.
“I thought we came out really strong. Most of the guys realized how big a game it was right from the get-go,” said Wiercioch. “We kind of let up and let them come right back into the game and take control in the second. It was definitely exciting to come back and win it like that.”
The Pioneers and Badgers will finish up their weekend set Saturday night at Magness Arena, with puck drop scheduled for 7:07 p.m.
Notes: The Pioneers out-shot the Badgers by a 52-31 margin in the contest... Cheverie made 26 saves to earn the victory in goal for DU ...The Pioneers scored three power-play goals on 11 opportunities, while the Badgers capitalized on two of their eight chances...The Pioneers began their 57th year of participation in the WCHA this weekend against the Badgers...DU leads all WCHA member schools with 15 league playoff titles.
