Saturday, March 25, 1995 at The Centrum, Worcester, MA
NCAA EAST REGIONAL - NCAA QUARTERFINAL
6E Denver Pioneers (25-15-2, 25-15-2 NCAA DivI) 0 1 1 - 2
2E Maine Black Bears (31-5-6, 30-5-6 NCAA DivI) 3 1 0 - 4
FIRST PERIOD UM-DU
UM, Reg Cardinal (tripping), 0:50. (DU 0-1)
1. UM1, Jamie Thompson 11 (Tim Lovell, Tony Frenette), 8:54. 1-0
DU, Chris Kenady (interference), 2:14. (UM 0-1)
2. UM2, Lovell 22 (Thompson, Frenette), 11:48. 2-0
UM, Jeff Tory (hooking), 14:18. (DU 0-2)
DU, John McLean (interference), 17:42. (UM 1-2)
3. UM3, Tory 12 (Jacque Rodrigue, Brad Purdie), 18:12. PPG GWG 3-0
DU, Craig McMillan (slashing), 18:58. (UM 1-3)
SECOND PERIOD
4. DU1, Antti Laaksonen 17 (Mike Dairon), 3:24. 3-1
DU, McLean (hooking), 9:38. (UM 1-4)
5. UM4, Cardinal 7 (Wayne Conlan, Dan Shermerhorn), 14:44. 4-1
DU, Paul Koch (tripping), 16:06. (UM 1-5)
UM, Shermerhorn (cross-checking), 17:48. (DU 0-3)
THIRD PERIOD
UM, Frenette (holding the stick), 5:02.
DU, McLean (roughing), 5:02.
DU, Koch (roughing), 7:41.
UM, Frenette (hitting after whistle), 7:41.
UM, Trevor Roenick (holding), 11:19. (DU 0-4)
6. DU2, Petri Gunther 8 (unassisted), 17:36. 4-2
DU timeout, 17:36.
SHOTS ON GOAL: Denver 12-10-11 = 33 ATTEMPTED: 14-11-17 = 42
Maine 15-10--4 = 29 19-19--8 = 46
SAVES: DU, Sinuhe Wallinheimo (L, 58:06, 29 sh-25 sv).
UM, Blair Allison (W, 60:00, 33 sh-31 sv).
POWER PLAYS: DU 0 for 4. UM 1 for 5.
PENALTIES: DU 7/14. UM 6/12.
REFEREES: Bob Hearn, Mike Noeth. LINESMAN: Joel Dupree. CONF: ECAC.
ATTENDANCE: see BU-LSSU game.
LINEUP: Denver
LW Jason Elders C Angelo Ricci RW Sean Ortiz
LW Antti Laaksonen C Erik Andersson RW Mike Dairon
LW Dave Klasnick C Anders Bjork RW Charlie Host
LW Mike Naylor C Warren Smith RW Chris Kenady
LD Paul Koch RD John McLean
LD Travis Smith RD Kelly Hollingshead
LD Petri Gunther RD Craig McMillan
G Sinuhe Wallinheimo
G Jim Mullin
LINEUP: Maine
LW Scott Parmentier C Brad Purdie RW Shawn Wansborough
LW Reg Cardinal C Dan Shermerhorn RW Wayne Conlan
LW Jamie Thompson C Tim Lovell RW Tony Frenette
LW Jacque Rodrigue C Trevor Roenick RW Brad Mahoney
LD Jeff Libby RD Chris Imes
LD Dave MacIsaac RD Brian White
LD Jason Mansoff RD Jeff Tory
G Blair Allison
G Blair Marsh
G Greg Hirsch
Maine scored three times in the first period enroute to a 4-2 win over
Denver in an NCAA Quarterfinal Game played Saturday night at Worcester,
MA. The Black Bears advance to the semifinals against Michigan on
Thursday at Providence, RI.
This will be Maine's first Final Four appearance since 1993, when they
won the NCAA Championship. It will be the fourth Final Four appearance
in Maine history.
Maine was outshot for the game 33-29, but they held a 15-12 advantage
after a first period in which they controlled the tempo and the territorial
play very well. After that, the Maine defense, led by goaltender Blair
Allison, took over and stopped a Denver attack that grew stronger as
the game went along.
The third line of Thompson-Lovell-Frenette led the way for Maine in
the first, forechecking very effectively and producing both of the
first two Maine goals. Combined with a power play blast by Jeff Tory,
the 3-0 lead after one proved to be too much for Denver to overcome.
Blair Allison, who holds every decision for Maine this season (31-5-6),
had a superb performance, especially in the third period when Denver
outshot Maine 11-4 and threatened to come back. DU's Sinuhe Wallinheimo
gave up three in the first but also played well the rest of the way,
several times making big saves to keep his team within striking
distance. The first two goals he allowed came on defensive lapses
with Black Bears uncontained in front, and the third seemed to be a
screen shot from the point.
Maine led 4-1 into the third, until Petri Gunther's breakaway goal
with 2:24 left gave DU hope. The Pioneers called timeout and went
most of the rest of the way with Wallinheimo on the bench for a
sixth attacker, but they were unable to get any closer.
Even in defeat, I was quite impressed with Denver's play and the
class they showed. As the final buzzer sounded on a tough loss, DU
senior Jason Elders tapped a few celebrating Maine players on the leg
with his stick and received some appreciatory taps in return. The
game was well-played by both teams, and it was too bad only one of
the teams could go on to Providence.
Regardless of what happens in Providence, Maine coach Shawn Walsh has
already taken this team much farther than many people anticipated before
the season, and he had them well-prepared for this game tonight. There
have been better Maine teams in the past who did not get this far.
At the same time, first-year Denver coach George Gwozdecky deserves
accolades for what he has done this season. Not only did DU exceed
all expectations and make it back to the NCAA tourney for the first time
since 1986, but they impressed me each of the three times I saw them
this season with their high-caliber and classy play. Denver will
graduate eight players from the lineup that played this evening, but
there is a solid core returning and they have a very bright future.
Gwozdecky also deserves to be considered among the rising young coaches
in the game, as his effort this year was preceded by a remarkable
turnaround of the Miami program. He should receive serious consideration
for the Spencer Penrose Memorial Trophy as National Coach of the Year,
an honor he also received in 1992-93 while at Miami.
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Mike Machnik [log in to unmask]
Cabletron Systems, Inc. *HMM* 11/13/93
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