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Home | Sports | Gophers

Gophers can't solve hot goalie

Bruce Bisping, Star Tribune

The Gophers' David Fischer was checked by Denver's Rhett Rakhshani in the first period.

Denver's Marc Cheverie made 30 saves for his second shutout in a row and spoiled the U's home opener.

By ROMAN AUGUSTOVIZ, Star Tribune

Last update: October 24, 2009 - 6:54 AM

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DENVER 3, GOPHERS 0

Up next: 7 p.m. today vs. Denver • Mariucci Arena • TV: FSN tape delay, 3 p.m. Sunday • Radio: 1570-AM tape delay, 9 tonight

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Marc Cheverie is in an enviable zone. Every shot on the Denver goalie is finding his stick, pads, chest, one even got lodged in his helmet.

Cheverie stopped 30 shots as the Pioneers spoiled the Gophers' home opener on Friday, beating Minnesota 3-0 at Mariucci Arena in front of an announced crowd of 9,786.

The shutout was Cheverie's second in a row. He made 36 saves in a 2-0 victory at Ohio State on Friday of last week and has not given up a goal in his last seven periods.

"I hate losing to some teams and [Minnesota] is one of them," said Cheverie, a junior from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. "The first team that really lit me up bad was them."

That was Nov. 21 of last year. The visiting Gophers beat Denver and Cheverie 5-2. "I was embarrassed and I really took it personally," he said. The next night the Pioneers and Cheverie won 4-0, ending the Gophers' 11-game unbeaten streak.

This season, the No. 11 Gophers (0-2-1 overall and in the WCHA) have another kind of streak going. They remain winless.

"We had our chances tonight," Gophers coach Don Lucia said. "We had some guys, who we wanted to have the puck, and they misfired a few times and far too often we missed the net.

"And when you miss the net, you don't give yourself an opportunity to create rebounds. You don't give yourself the opportunity to sustain pressure. As a group of forwards, we have to be better."

Denver (3-2, 1-0) was the preseason WCHA favorite and is No. 4 or 5 in the two main national polls. The Pioneers scored twice in the second period, and that's all the support Cheverie needed to improve his record to 3-0 and lower his goals-against average to 1.66. Denver captain Rhett Rakhshani had one of those two goals and added an empty-netter with two seconds left.

Gophers goalie Alex Kangas stopped 31 shots, but his teammates have not scored a goal in the two games he has played.

After being outshot 14-11 in the first period, Denver looked much sharper in the second. Senior center Tyler Ruegsegger scored at 3:36 when Matt Donovan's shot from the right point deflected off Ruegsegger's posterior past Kangas.

Linemate Rakhshani scored at 11:19 on a shot from the top of the left circle that sneaked through Kangas' legs.

In between those two goals, Rakhshani almost had a shorthanded marker on an odd-man rush. Kangas stopped him from a few feet out, but the play ended with the puck and Kangas in the net. The officials, after reviewing the play, disallowed the goal because of goalie interference.

Jordan Schroeder almost ended Cheverie's bid in the last 10 seconds. But with Cheverie out of position -- rare this night -- defenseman Patrick Wiercioch blocked Schroeder's close-range shot from the left side.

Despite his excellent play, Cheverie said he expects freshman Adam Murray to start tonight in goal for the Pioneers. The two have been rotating.

Denver coach George Gwozdecky, one victory shy of 500 for his career, was noncommittal on his goalie choice. "Our plans continue to be the potential of platooning," he said, before adding that those plans could change at any time.

See more photos from the game at startribune.com/galleries.

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