ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Quite often, you will hear a coach say that a goaltender is the reason for many victories.
While Denver’s goalie was fantastic in net, it was a rookie that made the difference Friday as the Pioneers are now on the verge of home-ice advantage for the NCHC playoffs.
Adam Plant scored his first career goal to break a late third-period tie and Tanner Jaillet made a career-high 40 saves as the No. 8 Pioneers held off St. Cloud State for a 3-2 victory Friday night at the National Hockey Center.
“Jaillet was awful good,” said St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko. “You’re gonna find that this time of year.”
When asked who the key to victory was, Denver coach Jim Montgomery simply replied, “Tanner Jaillet. I thought that St. Cloud was the better team tonight. They won more footraces and they played with more purpose and pace than we did.”
“I just tried to keep things simple,” added Jaillet modestly when asked about his performance. “Control the rebounds, not give them second opportunities. It worked out well.”
It was the first win for the Pioneers in St. Cloud since December 16, 2011, when they won 3-2 in overtime. They had been 0-4-1 at the National Hockey Center since.
[photoshelter-gallery g_id=”G00003m32TJS8HQw” g_name=”20150305-University-Denver-St-Cloud-State-University-Bradley-K-Olson” f_show_caption=”t” f_show_slidenum=”t” img_title=”casc” pho_credit=”iptc” f_link=”t” f_bbar=”t” fsvis=”f” width=”500″ height=”375″ bgcolor=”#AAAAAA” bgtrans=”t” btype=”old” bcolor=”#CCCCCC” crop=”f” trans=”xfade” tbs=”4000″ f_ap=”t” linkdest=”c” f_fullscreen=”f” f_constrain=”f” twoup=”f” f_topbar=”f” f_bbarbig=”” f_htmllinks=”f” f_enable_embed_btn=”f” f_show_watermark=”f” f_send_to_friend_btn=”f” f_smooth=”f” f_mtrx=”f” f_up=”f” target=”_self” wmds=”llQ6QNgpeC.p1Ucz7U.f22Kdu5yJrdM9FxXhKZ2H0IoJPS4QBM0oTerou8EbVIAMPEvyWg–” ]The Huskies, meanwhile, only managed power-play goals from Jimmy Murray and Kalle Kossila in losing their third straight game. They haven’t scored an even-strength goal in nine straight periods dating back to their series two weeks ago with Nebraska-Omaha.
“We gotta find a way to score five-on-five,” Murray said. “It’s kinda been tough for us and I think it cost us a little bit tonight.”
The game started rather slowly, with neither team getting a shot on goal until about three minutes in when Murray was stopped on a breakaway by Jaillet. He later paid Jaillet back with just under three minutes left in the first period on his fourth goal of the season. After DU defenseman Joey LaLeggia sat for tripping at 16:20, Murray scored into an open net 26 seconds later, making it 1-0 Huskies after one.
But Denver, who came into the final weekend of the regular season fighting for home ice in the rugged NCHC, wouldn’t go down that easily. Ty Loney tied the game about halfway through the second period when his high wrist shot beat SCSU goaltender Charlie Lindgren (21 saves) over his glove.
Gabe Levin then gave the Pioneers the lead at 16:15 on his third goal of the year, helping Denver take a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.
After LaLeggia was penalized for the second time in the game on a holding call at 1:07, St. Cloud tied it on Kossila’s low wrister from the slot 27 seconds later. Denver’s defense stepped up from there, however, and the Huskies couldn’t score again.
With just under six minutes remaining, Plant scored on a blast from the top of the left circle, and his first collegiate goal proved to be the game-winner.
“It’s nice to finally get the first one,” Plant said. “It’s a weight off the shoulders.”
“[Plant has] played really well for us,” added Montgomery. “It’s nice that his first one was the game-winner.”
Denver left the National Hockey Center Friday with a big three points and jumped into a second-place tie in the NCHC standings with Miami. The Redhawks lost 2-1 at home to North Dakota Friday night, giving the Penrose Cup and NCHC regular-season title to UND.
The Pioneers can wrap up home-ice for the first round of the conference playoffs by completing the season sweep of the Huskies Saturday night. They know playing at home in the first round of the NCHC, arguably one of the toughest conferences in college hockey, is huge.
“It would mean a lot,” said Montgomery. “We’re 9-3 in the conference [at home].”
“Playing at Magness is always big,” added Plant. “With our fan support, it’s always nice.”
The Huskies, meanwhile, are now locked into the sixth seed in the NCHC playoffs. They will face the third-seeded team next week on the road in first round action.
