University of Minnesota Athletics
Denver Goalie Stymies Gophers Again
2/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Minnesota put 45 shots on goal, but Denver goaltender Marc Cheverie had the Gophers' number again as the second-ranked Pioneers pulled out a 3-1 victory on Friday in Denver.
Cheverie, who had shutout the Gophers in the teams' last three meetings, surrendered a goal to Patrick White with 1:38 left in the game, snapping his shutout streak against Minnesota at 238 minutes, 22 seconds. Cheverie stopped 136 straight Minnesota shots before White's goal. He finished with 44 saves one game after making a career-high 45 stops in a 2-1 overtime win over Air Force last weekend.
Minnesota lost for the fourth time in the last five games and dropped to 13-14-2 overall and 8-11-2 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Denver remained one point behind St. Cloud State for the WCHA lead with a 19-6-4 overall record and 13-4-4 league mark.
Neither team scored in the first two periods, though the Gophers had the better of the chances and held a 26-16 advantage in shots at the second intermission. Twice in the second period, Minnesota had a player come out of the penalty box for a wide open breakaway just as a penalty expired. Ryan Flynn had the first chance and shot wide and, less than four minutes later, Cheverie made a save on Zach Budish.
Minnesota's penalty kill was one of its strong points for the game, holding Denver to just two shots and no goals in five power play chances. The Pioneers had four power plays in the second period and mounted virtually no scoring chances.
Denver finally broke the deadlock just 55 seconds into the second period when Tyler Ruegsegger took an outlet pass from John Lee and got behind the defense to score on a backhanded shot. Cheverie also picked up an assist on the play.
The Pioneers made it 2-0 at the 11:37 mark on a goal by Joe Colborne. Rhett Rakhshani had the puck behind the net and passed out front to Colborne, who one-timed a shot just inside the post and the right shoulder of Gophers' goaltender Alex Kangas. Ruegsegger also assisted the goal.
About two minutes later, Minnesota had a power play with 46 seconds of a four-on-three advantage. The Gophers put two shots on goal, but Cheverie stopped both. The Gophers were 0-for-4 on the power play for the game.
Minnesota pulled Kangas for an extra attacker with two minutes left and scored on White's goal just 22 seconds later. Cade Fairchild took an initial shot that was wide and Mike Carman fed the puck in front of the net where White finished the play.
Just 17 seconds later, Rakhshani took advantage of a Gophers' turnover and scored unassisted to make it 3-1. Minnesota was passing the puck from deep in the corner of its own zone and the pass went directly to Rakshani's stick.
Kangas made 28 saves for Minnesota, which held a 45-31 advantage in shots. The Gophers fell to 1-8-1 in the last 10 meetings with Denver and have lost four straight to the Pioneers. The teams meet again on Saturday at 8 p.m. (central time).
