DaytonDailyNews.com

MINNEAPOLIS — Denver coach George Gwozdecky and Miami coach Enrico Blasi both choked up Friday when asked about their relationship colliding at the NCAA West Region semifinals.

It was a bittersweet reunion for both men as Blasi's fourth-seeded Miami RedHawks thoroughly outplayed No. 1 Denver to secure a 4-2 victory over his coaching mentor at Mariucci Arena.

Gwozdecky coached Blasi at Miami from 1989-94 before hiring him as an assistant for four years at Denver. He became emotional talking about his former player and colleague behind the bench.

"I hate losing to a family member," Gwozdecky said. "But if we're going to lose it hurts less because we're losing to a classy program, classy coaching staff and a class young guy like Enrico Blasi."

Gwozdecky recalled Blasi being under recruited because of his small stature before settling on Miami.

He called Blasi one of the "granite building blocks" that laid the foundation for the program's growth, including being a member of the 1992-93 CCHA championship team that qualified for its initial NCAA Tournament.

"He's been like a second father," Blasi said of Gwozdecky. "(Thursday) night we spent some time together. At the end of the night, we both said somebody is going to be disappointed tomorrow night. If you're going to be disappointed, it might as well be with someone you love."

Miami improved to 3-4 in NCAA Tournament play under Blasi, avenging a 3-2 postseason defeat to Denver in 2004.

"I know a lot of people questioned hiring as young a coach as he was," Gwozdecky said of the 36-year-old Blasi.

"How do question the success they've had? How do you question them coming into a WCHA building and beating us, beating a No. 1 seed, and really doing it very methodically?"

Where's the puck?

The RedHawks caught a break after Denver scored a power-play goal to trim their lead to 3-1 with 2:31 remaining in the second period.

Andy Miele led an odd-man rush into the Pioneers zone and fired a shot just over the crossbar. The puck ricocheted off a metal stanchion behind the net and popped out front of the net as players on both teams peeled off the play.

Miele, however, pounced on the loose puck and slapped it into the net before goaltender Marc Cheverie could recover to regain Miami's three-goal lead with 32.7 seconds left.

"Everyone on the bench was screaming their heads off, 'Miele!'" said RedHawks forward Justin Mercier. "The puck was just sitting there. There was nothing we could do from the bench. We were just hoping one of our guys found it before they did."

The goal demoralized the Pioneers, who spent the rest of the game chasing the puck.

"They got a good bounce," lamented Gwozdecky. "They got a good break. That certainly put them back into a dominant role in the game."