April 9, 2005

COLUMBUS, OHIO --- Denver's rejuvenated power play and clutch performances by freshmen at both ends of the Schottenstein Center rink suppressed North Dakota 4-1 Saturday night to give the Pioneers their second straight NCAA hockey tournament championship.

"There are different emotions this year, because of the expectations we had from last year," said Denver coach George Gwozdecky. "When we won the WCHA Final Five, in the midst of the celebration, Matt Laatsch, our captain, congratulated me on my 400th win. I told him, and the whole team, that I appreciated it, but it sure would be sweeter to celebrate No. 405."

Stastny scores a goal.

Doing that meant going all the way to the victory the Pioneers achieved Saturday night, and they achieved it with a hard-core crop of seniors, but also a couple of amazingly skilled freshmen in goaltender Peter Mannino and second-line center Paul Stastny.

Mannino, who had never faced more than the 43 shots Colorado College hurled at him in Thursday's semifinals, faced 45 shots from the Fighting Sioux, many of them point-blank tries, but he stopped 44 of them, including all 23 in the third period, and earned tournament most valuable player honors.

At the other end of the Value City Arena ice surface, another freshman, center Paul Stastny, the son of former NHL star Peter Stastny, scored two power-play goals for Denver. He beat Zach Parise at 10:08 of the second period for what was to become the game-winning goal, and one which won't make his personal highlight video, and he scored again at 8:19 of the third with a deadly shot off a great feed from Matt Carle for a 3-1 cushion.

That set the stage for another example of Denver's team structure, because Stastny bypassed the chance for a hat trick to feed Gabe Gauthier, who scored the final goal into an empty net with 37 seconds to go.

The victory gives Denver a closing nine-game winning streak and a final 32-9-2 record, while North Dakota finished 25-15-5 while suffering only its second loss in its final 12 games.

Mannino stops Genoway.

"Congratulations to the University of Denver and coach Gwozdecky," said North Dakota's first-year head coach Dave Hakstol. "We did everything we wanted to do. We set the tone early with some good physical play, and making some real good plays. We probably played well enough to win, but it wasn't our night.

"I couldn't be prouder of our performance, but Mannino made an awful lot of good saves. He played extremely well, and that's a factor you can't control."

North Dakota established its physical plan on the game's first shift, when Chris Porter rocked the boards with a bodycheck on Denver defenseman Brett Skinner. Gwozdecky said Skinner suffered a separated shoulder on the play, but after doctors examined him, he insisted on coming back to play. The 1-1 first period ended when Skinner absorbed another huge hit, this time by Erik Fabian, with the blow breaking a corner plexiglass pane and causing the last six seconds to be tacked onto the start of the second period.

It was that sort of game - the Fighting Sioux delivering hard and high-velocity bodychecks all over the rink, which led to a 45-23 edge in shots, and the Pioneers weathering the blows, and battling back to capitalize on their opportunities while Mannino simply stifled constant close-in North Dakota chances.

The Pioneers struck for the first goal, at 6:15 of the first period, and it was a strange one. On a broken rush, Denver's Gabe Gauthier knocked the puck ahead to retain possession and wound up wide of the goal on the left and too deep to shoot. He jammed a hard pass toward the crease, and got it to squeeze through Parise, but it hit the skate of Sioux defenseman Matt Smaby and the ricochet stopped in the crease, where Jeff Drummond had a 2-foot gimme.

The Fighting Sioux killed a penalty, and got the 1-1 equalizer on a power play of their own at 9:52, when Nick Fuher moved from the left point toward center and fired a shot that Travis Zajac deflected past Mannino.

The goalies both got revenge before the first period ended, however. Kevin Ulanski got the puck and broke free behind the defense on the right side and rushed the net, with winger Jeff Drummond making it a 2-on-0. Ulanski carried right to the crease and fired, but Parise robbed him.

North Dakota, which outshot the Pioneers 10-7 in the opening period, had two good chances in close order. Mannino went down for a big save, but the rebound went to the right of the net, where sophomore Erik Fabian - who had scored the first two goals in the 4-2 semifinal victory over Minnesota - snapped it high for the short side, but Mannino's glove snaked up and got it. Moments later, Rory McMahon passed toward the net, and Ulanski took down Colby Genoway, who was breaking to the net for a deflection try, and the two slid past the goal as Mannino went down and blocked the puck. "Colby deflected it on net," said McMahon. "And the goalie made a big save on him."

Denver killed off two penalties to open the second period, then the Pioneers gained a 2-1 edge on their first power play midway through the second period when Ulanski's screened shot from inside the right point was deflected past Parise by Stastny.

"I went to the net, and a one-timer by Ulie went off me and in," said Stastny. "Where did it hit me? In the...ah...butt."

The 2-1 lead held until Stastny had a goal that SHOULD make it into his personal highlight film, as well as into the rapidly expanding file by sophomore defenseman Matt Carle, who rushed into the North Dakota zone, stickhandling around and through much of the Sioux defense on the left side, before delivering an amazing pass across the slot. Stastny drilled a quick shot into the short side.

"Mattie danced three guys, and threw it right on the tape to me," said Stastny. It was such a great rush and pass that the Pioneers immediately went to Carle to celebrate, Stastny included.

Mannino was asked about any problem with nerves, as a freshman facing such a big challenge as the national championship game. "It's not nerves, it's excitement," said Mannino. "You dream about this your whole lilfe."

North Dakota defenseman Matt Greene said: "From the bench a couple of times he'd go down and we thought the puck was in. Then he'd get up, and the puck would be underneath him. Then they shoot a puck and it hits a knee, then the crossbar, and goes in."

Mannino had so many close encounters in the game it was difficult to pick the best, but the most pivotal might have been the shot by Fabian from just to the right of the crease, because it was still a 1-1 game in the first period. Mannino, down, snatched it with his glove, but the catching motion caused at least part of his glove to cross the goal line, and the officials reviewed the play with video monitors in the press box.

"I just made a quick reaction," said Mannino. "I went up and grabbed it. I didn't think it was in, but I thought it should have been reviewed."

The ruling was no goal. And the Fighting Sioux shouldn't have been surprised, because nothing else the rest of the night, got past Mannino either.

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