University of Denver
Alaska Anchorage
No Gwozdecky, No Problem
1/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
DENVER The Denver Pioneers (16-7-3, 12-5-2 WCHA) didn’t have the guidance of head coach George Gwozdecky Friday night when they hosted the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (8-11-4, 5-10-4 WCHA), but it hardly seemed to matter. The Pioneers scored the game’s first four goals en route to a 6-2 win over the Seawolves tonight in front of 5,018 fans at Magness Arena.
Assistant coach Steve Miller served as acting head coach in the absence of Gwozdecky, who was serving a one-game suspension for violating an NCAA rule that does not allow an ejected coach to communicate with or contact team personnel until a game is completed.
“I thought we had great energy from the start of the game and Marc Cheverie played great in goal,” Miller said. “We had a great week of practice and that’s where it started.”
Kyle Ostrow (
Luke Salazar (
Maiani expanded the lead to two goals 1:19 into the second when he put a forehand attempt top shelf while Alaska Anchorage goaltender Jon Olthuis (36 saves) was sprawled on the ice. Ostrow then made it a 3-0 game at 5:19 on a high shot that was not initially ruled a goal, but was credited to the Pioneers following a review.
The Seawolves had a golden opportunity when Craig Parkinson sprung loose for a breakaway 8:30 into the middle frame, but Cheverie was able to make the stop and Wiercioch cleared away the rebound.
Wiercioch added a power-play goal at 14:59 on a point shot, but the Seawolves answered back with a power-play marker from Trevor Hunt at 17:40 to make it a 4-1 contest heading into the third period.
Brandon Vossberg (
The teams will finish up their weekend series tomorrow night at Magness Arena, with puck drop slated for 7:07 p.m.
Notes: Tonight marked DU’s ninth straight win over UAA...Denver outshot Alaska Anchorage by a 42-26 margin...DU finished 2-of-10 on the power play, while UAA went 1-of-6...The Pioneers are leading the WCHA with 26 points, two points ahead of second-place Wisconsin...With the victory, the Pioneers moved into a tie with Northeastern University for seventh place in the latest PairWise Rankings...Rhett Rakhshani (Huntington Beach, Calif.) extended his point streak to eight games (4-5--9) with an assist tonight...Wiercioch is riding a five-game point streak (2-5--7)...Jackson’s three assists set a career-high, while his three points matched his career-best.
