Pioneers latest No. 1 to escape upset bid
AMHERST, Mass. -- Whew.
That sound heard escaping from the Mullins Center on Saturday afternoon was a huge sigh of relief by the Denver Pioneers after their 4-3 overtime win against the Bemidji State Beavers in the NCAA Northeast Regional.
Granted, games between No. 1 seeds and No. 4 seeds in national tournaments are expected to be close (see also: Boston College 4, Mercyhurst 3), but all of them?
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The Beavers' task was particularly daunting. The Pioneers are the defending national champions, entered the tournament as the top-ranked team in both national polls and ranked third in the nation in offense with 4.00 goals per game. Meanwhile, the Beavers, winners of College Hockey America's regular-season and tournament crowns, were without their best player, Andrew Murray, who suffered a broken collarbone on March 5.
The Beavers' accomplishment seems even more impressive when considering the game winner — what Bemidji goalie Matt Climie called a "cheesy" goal. Denver's Gabe Gauthier won the faceoff in Bemidji's end and drew it back to defenseman Brett Skinner, who whipped a cross-ice pass at winger Kevin Ulanski, who was staring at an open net. The puck went off Ulanski's shinpad and into the net. "It just took me by surprise," Climie said. "I honestly didn't think they were going to score too."
But from the opening drop of the puck, it was the Beavers taking the Poineers by surprise, much like Mercyhurst did to Boston College in their East Regional opener on Friday night. Denver coach George Gwozdecky watched the game and took it as a keen reminder of what could happen.
"It's typical of first-round matchups," he said. "You see that in basketball too. It's one of the toughest games to get through because everyone is fighting for their lives. Sometimes you get a little reckless, you get a little careless and — boom — the puck is in the back of your net."
That's exactly where the puck was at 1:20 of the first period — in the back of Denver's net — courtesy of Shane Holman. The Pioneers' Andrew Thomas evened the score at 5:35, and the teams traded goals again as a "scrambly and scrappy" first period — as Gwozdecky called it — ended with the teams tied at two goals apiece, despite Denver's 18-6 shot advantage.
Momentum swung heavily in Denver's favor at 1:02 of the second period, when Ulanski gave the Pioneers a 3-2 lead. Even Bemidji coach Tom Serratore sensed it.
"To say I wasn't on the bench going, 'Oh, boy, here it comes,' I'd be lying to you," he said. "But conversely, I've played enough games and coached enough games to know the next five minutes were critical."
The Pioneers know it as well, and they tried to pry open the floodgates.
"We were trying to," Gwozdecky said, "believe me. We had a number of chances but just couldn't. In that second period, I thought we had — boy oh boy — seven or eight just golden opportunities and either we misfired or they made a great save or a great play."
Climie kept the Beavers close with several big saves, including one on J.D. Corbin, who circled the net untouched and rifled a shot to the high far corner that Climie snagged with his glove.
By the end of the second period, the Beavers had regained their footing and countered with momentum of their own in the third when senior Brendan Cook tied the game with his team leading 20th goal on the power play at 2:17.
"I thought we were going to win," Serratore said. "When it was 3-3 there's no question, I thought, you know what, this is it. We're going to win.
"I'm numb right now because I thought, I think everybody thought ... there are 4,500 people out there who thought we were going to win too," he said.
Even Denver players knew it was a possibility. Ulanski, a senior who had missed the previous four games with a knee injury, sat in the locker room before the overtime period pondering the situation.
"You kind of realize, sitting in the locker room, going into overtime, it could be a fluke goal — which our game-winner kind of was — and if it goes the other way, your career is over," he recalled thinking.
Instead, Ulanski prolonged his career with his second goal of the game.
"It's no question that [Denver has] a little more offense, a little more skill," Serratore said. "But in this sport, heart, character and grit can go a long way. With a goaltender and with heart and with people who can skate, you just don't know what's going to happen."
Sherry Skalko is the NHL editor for ESPN.com.
