David
Carle’s businesslike approach is such that he resists savoring the anecdotal
garnish he and his team helped to create so far in 2015-16.
The
third-year Denver Pioneers assistant coach is bound for his first Frozen Four
at Tampa’s Amalie Arena. That means his first involvement in a game at the home
of his brother, minute-munching NHL rearguard Matt Carle’s, longtime employer.
Not to mention, the home of the team that made him an honorary pick after a
heart condition abruptly cut off his playing endeavors prior to the 2008 NHL
Draft.
As
long as there is another game to prepare for, those tidbits take the trunk in
his vehicle.
“It
could be in Seattle, for all I care,” Carle said in a phone interview with
Along the Boards.
“If
it was played in Philadelphia or Chicago, it would be just as special,” he added
matter-of-factly. “The venue and the connection, it just happened to be a
coincidence.”
But
he had enough charity to humor the human-interest hankerings of his inquisitor
by allowing, “Does it make for a better storyline? Yes.”
Carle
simply wants to do his part to pen the tale that the Denver faithful has
yearned for over the past decade. When the Pioneers meet North Dakota next
Thursday evening, it will be their first Frozen Four faceoff since the elder
Carle was a collegian 11 years ago.
“We
both pride ourselves on trying to get to Frozen Fours and put banners up in our
buildings,” said the younger Carle of the participating programs. “When we play
each other, it’s never going to be a meaningless game, and this is going to be
another great chapter.”
One
that will not avoid evoking a previous chapter, even if the bulk of the
acknowledgment is left to the audience and detached narrators.
Surname symmetry
Facing
none other than North Dakota, the 2004-05 Pioneers defended their national
title with a 4-1 victory in that year’s championship bout. In doing that, they
matched UND’s second-best all-time count of seven national titles. Only
Michigan boasts more banners, with nine to its credit.
But
neither program has been back to the title game since. North Dakota has
ventured to six more semifinals, including three with the help of brothers Travis
and Darcy Zajac. But the artist formerly known as the Fighting Sioux last
played on an April Saturday when Denver repressed Travis Zajac and company.
The
youngest of the four Zajac brothers, Nolan, seeks to prolong that futility for
the newly christened Fighting Hawks. The senior blueliner was 12 years old when
his oldest sibling supplied UND’s only goal in its 2005 shortcoming.
He
is now nearly twice that age as he pilots the Denver defense back to the
national semifinals. For him, this comes after three previous NCAA regionals
yielded a 1-3 record and no Promised Land passports.
“It
just shows how hard it is to get to the Frozen Four,” he told ATB.
A
reality that one might not think would strike the mind of a Zajac so easily.
The aforementioned Travis brought UND back to college hockey’s closing weekend as
a sophomore in 2005-06, leading the team with 29 assists on the year.
The
first-line center tallied a goal and two assists in the eventual 6-5 semifinal
loss to Boston College. He would subsequently forego the second half of his NCAA
eligibility, signing with the New Jersey Devils that offseason.
The
BC Eagles would likewise terminate Darcy’s freshman and sophomore campaigns in
a 2007 and 2008 NCAA semifinal rematch. UND did not return to that platform
until year after Darcy graduated.
In
2012, Kelly Zajac partook in a landmark phase of the Union Dutchmen’s rise to
prominence. The starting center led his team with 34 assists in his senior
campaign, which culminated in Union’s first Frozen Four experience. His college
career would end with a 3-1 semifinal loss to Ferris State.
The
youngest Zajac was apt to note that Union on that foundation en route to the
2014 championship, albeit two years too late for his brother.
“All
of my brothers have made it to the Frozen Four,” Nolan said. “Hopefully, I’ll
be the one to bring it all the way home. They could never finish it off. I kind
of want to learn from those a little bit.”
Of
his Denver team, particularly himself and his fellow seniors, he added, “We’re
hoping that we don’t need to take that step where we have to lose to know how
to win.”
Papa Pioneer
The
Zajacs’ father, Tom, had a delectable Denver career in his own right. Per the Internet Hockey Database, he turned in back-to-back 33-point campaigns as a
junior and senior.
But
in terms of group glory, the future patriarch of the Zajac hockey factory ran
into a bout of ill fortune. When he enrolled in 1973, the Pioneers were coming
off a loss to Wisconsin in the preceding NCAA championship. They had just been
to three consecutive national semifinals and five in the previous six years.
However,
they would not reach that stage again until 1986, then went another 18 years
before finally winning the title in 2004. That undoubtedly emboldens Nolan’s
energy when he speaks of the team’s collective desire to achieve fulfillment
for the university’s alumni.
“He’s
pretty pumped right now to watch these games,” he said of his father, who will
be in attendance next week. “I know my brothers are happy for me, too. I’m not
sure who exactly they’re going to be rooting for, but I think they’re just
looking forward to some good games.”
Unfinished
business
As
a specialist in defensive tutelage, Carle has worked closely with Zajac since
returning to his alma mater at midseason in 2013-14. It is therefore easy to
believe the former when he insists that the latter set family pride aside in
this past weekend’s West Regional.
“Our
players don’t think about stuff like that,” Carle said. “We were focused on our
process because our whole team has the same desire.
“Ultimately,
we wanted to get back to the Frozen Four.”
Carle
also maintained that the two have not reminisced on the last time their
bloodlines were simultaneously represented at that stage. Although, in terms of
opposing North Dakota yet again, he offered, “I guess when you look at it, it’s
fairly fitting.”
But
even while taking a mental breather to delve into his dense family history when
pressed, the youngest Zajac kept his head on a swivel, tilting toward the
present and immediate future. He reaffirmed his status as a determined Denver
senior at the climax of his career.
“It’s
awesome to get there,” he said. “But we still have a long way to go.”
This article originally appeared on Along the Boards
