What an incredible game it was. The final tally was 4-1, but the game was so much more than 5 goals. It was an extremely well played game by both sides, the larger, brutish North Dakota Fighting Sioux, and the smaller, quicker, defensive-minded Pioneers.
Once again, the power play was crucial in the win for Denver, which is completely amazing, since their power play was their one weak point most of the year.
Denver's Freshman goaltender, Peter Mannino, was absolutely brilliant between the pipes, stopping 44 of 46 shots, many of which were great scoring chances for the Sioux.
Another Freshman contributed greatly in the game, as well as the series. Paul Stastny, the son of NHL Hall of Famer Peter Stastny, scored two goals and had an assist on the empty netter that took Denver to 4 goals.
All in all it was a great game, and as a good friend of mine, Todd Kidder, said, "most of the third period was a clinic put on by Denver." And I would have to agree. They looked like a well-oiled machine that wasn't going to accept anything but another National Championship.
Well done, DU! Thanks for bringing the state of Colorado some great hockey during this extended off-season for the NHL. Thanks for being consistently great and making us proud to be Denverites.
Hope all you out there in cyberspace had a chance to watch it, especially if you are a hockey fan.
Oh, I also wanted to say, "Congrats!" to Colorado College's Marty Sertich who won the Hobey Baker award on Friday night. He has played in EVERY game for the past three years (124 games straight), and had an amazing year for CC this year. Thanks to Colorado College for also having a consistently competitive team. You guys have NOTHING to be ashamed of this year. You were great, too!
Cheers!
-Myles-