Playing at The Ralph is never an easy prospect for a visiting team. The Denver Pioneers knew it would be a challenge and the club was hit with a tough blow prior to the start of the series. Head coach Jim Montgomery missed the series due to the passing of his father.
Filling in for Montgomery was former DU recruit and current assistant coach David Carle. Carle, the younger brother of former Pioneer, and current Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Matt Carle, was forced to stop playing hockey prior to the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. It was discovered that Carle had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
The Denver Pioneers honored the defenseman's scholarship and he joined the coaching staff of the team under George Gwozdecky. Now with a college degree under his belt, Carle is hoping to establish himself as an assistant coach on the NCAA level. Though not ideal circumstances, Carle got the opportunity to show his coaching chops in front of a sea of North Dakota fans.
After a scoreless opening period on Friday, the Pioneers struck first when Joey LaLeggia beat Zane McIntyre for his 10th goal of the season. Thanks to Drake Caggiula (12), the teams entered the final period tied at one. Momentum would continue for UND as Michael Parks (10) put his club up by one.
Quentin Shore (9) found the back of the net for the Pioneers to even the game at two. Yet, an unassisted marker by Nick Schmaltz (4) turned the game in North Dakota's favor and the Pioneers were unable to respond. Parks (11) notched his second of the game in an empty Denver net to give UND a 4-2 win on Friday. Will Butcher finished with one shot in the game. Tanner Jaillet had 32 saves for the Pioneers.
On Saturday, still without coach Montgomery, the Pioneers found themselves in an 0-2 hole after the first period. Trevor Moore, whose costly major penalty led to the two UND goals, gave Denver some life, scoring his 14th of the season early in the second frame. UND regained their two goal lead on the strength of Drake Caggiula's 13th goal of the season.
The Pioneers rallied with two third period goals by Tariq Hammond (1) and Trevor Moore (15). Neither team scored in the five-minute overtime session. Denver did earn the extra conference point with a 1-0 shoot-out win. Evan Cowley stopped 35 shots for the Pioneers. Will Butcher fired two shots on net.
The Pioneers remain ranked ninth in the USHCO.com Division I Men's poll and ninth in the PairWise. This weekend, the Pioneers will look to reclaim the Gold Pan when they play a home-and-home against in-state rival Colorado College.
St. Cloud State visited sixth ranked Minnesota Duluth over the weekend earning a split. On Friday, the Bulldogs doubled up the Huskies 4-2. Four different skaters scored for UMD. Saturday, the SCSU offense got the better of Minnesota Duluth with a 4-1 win. David Morley scored twice for the Huskies. Ben Storm was shifted to left-wing from defense for the series. He produced four shots in the two games.
After four games on the road, St. Cloud State returns home this weekend to host Nebraska-Omaha.
Other Colorado Division I Men's Hockey Results:
Colorado College dropped a pair of games at home to Miami over the weekend. The RedHawks earned 3-1 and 2-1 victories on Friday and Saturday respectively. The Tigers have lost eight straight games. Up Next: Denver (home-and-home)
After losing four games in a row, the Air Force Falcons found their stride against an American International squad that has won only three games. On Friday, the Falcons offense exploded to earn a 9-3 win. Max Hartner had a hat trick. Saturday, Air Force earned a 3-1 win to improve their record to 13-17-3. Up Next: @ Niagara (2)
Avs CHL Prospects Stats
(for games played through February 16, 2015)
Player | Team | League | Position | GP | G | A | TP | P/M | PIM |
Chris Bigras | Owen Sound | OHL | D | 50 | 17 | 40 | 57 | 4 | 44 |
Conner Bleackley | Red Deer | WHL | C/RW | 50 | 27 | 22 | 49 | 13 | 47 |
Mason Geertsen | Vancouver | WHL | D | 55 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 9 | 92 |
Nick Magyar | Kitchener | OHL | RW | 50 | 15 | 12 | 27 | 4 | 16 |
Julien Nantel | Rouyn-Noranda | QMJHL | C | 51 | 21 | 27 | 48 | 4 | 30 |
Alexis Pepin | Val-d'Or | QMJHL | LW | 35 | 14 | 6 | 20 | -10 | 38 |
Kyle Wood | North Bay | OHL | D | 53 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 8 | 16 |
GP | GA | GAA | SV% | W | L | ||||
Spencer Martin* | Mississauga | OHL | G | 31 | 85 | 2.98 | 0.921 | 15 | 13 |
OTL | SOL | SO | |||||||
1 | 0 | 1 |
*Out for the season
Conner Bleackley has yet to return to the Red Deer lineup after suffering an undisclosed injury on February 6th.
Alexis Pepin has also been missing in action, but for different reasons. Pepin was suspended for four games for an incident in February 7th's game against Rouyn-Noranda. The incident can be best described as physical abuse of officials at the end of the third period. Pepin was given a game misconduct at the time for his actions. He is eligible to return to the Val'd-Or Foreurs lineup on February 22nd.