DENVER The No. 5 Denver Pioneers (21-10-5) rallied back from a two-goal deficit to earn a 3-2 comeback victory over the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (14-16-5) in the opening game of their first-round WCHA playoff series tonight at Magness Arena. Tyler Ruegsegger (Lakewood, Colo.) scored a pair of goals in the second period and Jesse Martin (Edmonton, Alberta) notched the game-winner with 6:57 remaining off a Brian Gifford (Moorhead, Minn.) feed.
The defending WCHA playoff champions received a 19-save effort from netminder Marc Cheverie (Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia) and three assists from Rhett Rakhshani (Huntington Beach, Calif.).
“Early on Anchorage was doing a really good job in their coverages. They weren’t over-committing in our zone. We lost a lot of battles and just weren’t able to generate a whole lot early,” Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said. “Tyler Ruegsegger’s first goal gave us some life and energy and Jesse Martin’s goal was obviously huge. It was a great play by Gifford to put Martin all alone in front.”
After a scoreless first period, each team notched a pair of goals during a frantic middle frame.
The Seawolves jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Luka Vidmar and Kevin Clark. Vidmar took advantage of a DU turnover and beat Cheverie at 3:52, while Clark corralled a faceoff win by Paul Crowder and promptly deposited a high shot at 5:45.
Ruegsegger took over the game late in the second period by notching a pair of tallies. Joe Colborne (Calgary, Alberta) set up the first marker with a nice pass from behind the net to Ruegsegger, who snuck into the slot and beat Seawolves netminder Jon Olthuis (28 saves) at 15:35 with the Pioneers on a power play. The junior forward added his second goal of the period 1:58 later, barreling past UAA defenseman Kane Lafranchise and finding the back of the net to even the game heading into the third.
Cheverie kept the game tied with a big save on a Nick Haddad breakaway attempt four minutes into the third period, setting the stage for Martin’s game-winner.
DU outshot UAA by a 31-21 margin in tonight’s contest. The Pioneers went 1-for-6 on the power play and held the Seawolves scoreless on two chances.
The teams will resume the best two-out-of-three series tomorrow night with puck drop scheduled for 7:07 p.m. at Magness Arena.
Notes: DU sits third in the latest PairWise Rankings...The Pioneers are hosting a first round WCHA Playoff series for the sixth consecutive season...DU has posted a 67-53-6 all-time record in the WCHA Playoffs, which includes a league-leading 15 playoff titles...Tonight marked Ruegsegger’s third multi-goal effort of the season and the sixth of his career...Ruegsegger also took over the team lead with 15 goals...With his three helpers tonight, Rakhshani is now one point shy of becoming the 90th member of the Pioneer Century Club for 100-point scorers...The junior forward has totaled 38 goals and 61 assists in 111 career games.
