Climbing Their Own Mountains

Former Gwozdecky assistants match wits as head coaches of top teams

Dec. 13, 2007

By Elliot Olshansky

CSTV.com


	ELLIOT OLSHANSKY Elliot is CSTV.com's hockey editor and runs his Rink Rat hockey blog on CSTV.com. E-mail here!

Does what happens in Denver stay in Denver?

Ask Pioneers head coach George Gwozdecky, Miami head coach Enrico Blasi, or Rensselaer head coach Seth Appert for a story from the two seasons that Blasi and Appert spent living together as assistant's on Gwozdecky's staff, and it sure seems that way.

"None that I can tell you," Blasi said when asked if there were any good stories. "The ones I'd want to tell you, we can't print."

"None that we can print," Gwozdecky echoed. "I'm very serious about that. There's some great stories that I can always tease both of those guys about."

"We all had fun together as a staff," Appert said, "including Steve Miller, who is a longtime assistant both at Miami and Denver. I feel fortunate to have worked with those guys and have shared so many great times, not only on the ice, but off the ice as good friends as well."

One thing is for sure, though: it was a special time for all three coaches, and the friendships have lasted and grown. Blasi and Appert were at one another's weddings, and Jeff Blashill, who played with Appert at Ferris State and was part of Appert's wedding party, is in his fifth season as an assistant under Blasi.

"Rico and I have been through a lot together," Appert said. "We've lived together, we've worked together. Our wives are friends. We're more than just casual colleagues that worked together a little bit."

So, naturally, when Appert took over at RPI before the 2006-07 season, Blasi's RedHawks became the first addition to the Engineers' schedule.

"We were searching for a couple of games for this season and next season," Blasi said, "and it just worked out on the schedule for both of us."

"I called Rico," Appert said, "and Rico had also reached out to me. He wanted to know if we wanted to form some kind of scheduling alliance for the future, and we were fortunate to find dates both this season and next season that fit into both schedules."

Now, as the first games in the series approach - the RedHawks visit RPI at Houston Field House on Saturday and Sunday - the matchup has grown in stature beyond what might have been initially expected. The RedHawks are No. 2 in the latest USCHO.com/CSTV Division I Men's Rankings, with only a 3-0 loss to Alaska on Saturday ending Miami's six-week reign at No. 1. Meanwhile, the Engineers, originally picked to finish 10th in ECAC Hockey by the conference's head coaches and ninth by the media in the preseason polls, are No. 16 in the nation heading into the series against Miami.

While Miami's strength doesn't come as much of a surprise - "To get a team of Miami's stature into Houston Field House is just outstanding," Appert said, "and I'm really appreciative of Rico for that" - the Engineers to be ahead of schedule in their improvement under Appert's guidance.

Not that that comes as much of a surprise to the coaches who know him best.

"It doesn't surprise me," Blasi said. "Seth knows what's going on. He's got a good staff. It's a matter of them having some success to build on, and they've done that."

"You could tell right away that he was going to be a good coach, His work ethic and the way he viewed things, and his opinion and the way he presented himself were impressive right away."

"There's no question that Rico's built up a powerhouse at Miami," Gwozdecky said, "and Seth is in the process of doing that at RPI. I'm very proud of both of those guys. They're very talented coaches, and there's no question that I've learned as much from them as they've, perhaps, gained from us. We've been able to share a lot of coaching philosophies and philosophies on life, and there's no question that I'm a better coach for having had both of those guys as part of our coaching family here at Denver and at Miami as well."

Like many families, there is a measure of playful banter and competition among the coaches.

"I was kidding with George the other day," Blasi said. "He said, `What are you guys doing?' I said, `We're working on shooting the puck into the home bench, see if we can't rattle Seth up a little bit.'"

In more serious moments, though, Blasi is sure to stress that this series is about the players on the ice, and not the men behind the benches. The Engineers will need to be more concerned with the likes of Miami's Nathan Davis, Brian Kaugman, Justin Mercier and Carter Camper, among others, just as the RedHawks will be looking to stop a balanced RPI offense that has included contributions from veterans like Andrei Uryadov, Jonathan Ornelas and Jake Morrisette as well as freshmen Tyler Helfrich and Chase Polacek. Both teams also have two talented netminders apiece, with Miami's Jeff Zatkoff and RPI's Mathias Lange drawing more attention of late, but Charlie Effinger and Jordan Alford also playing well when given the opportunities.

"This is not about Seth and I," Blasi said. "This is about our teams. It's a non-conference series, very important to both teams. We know they're going to be ready, and I think they know that we're going to be ready. This is going to be a game, and at the end of the game, our relationship is not going to change. We're going to go forward from there. Seth and I are good friends, and our staffs are good friends."

Not all friendships lend themselves well to a high-stakes series like this, and not all coaches who are friends enjoy facing each other. Appert, though, finds that the friendship he shares with his former Denver colleague is well suited to the competitive games that their teams will play this season and next.

"I think you have to be very close to not let any of the frustration or jealousy or whatever would come out of this series [affect the friendship]," Appert said. "For Rico and I, it'll be fun to match wits."

Gwozdecky agrees, and his experience coaching Blasi as a player - including games against Appert's Ferris State's teams - and having both men on his staff, has given him his own insight into what makes Appert and Blasi such good friends.

"They're very positive guys," Gwozdecky said, "great relationship-builders with terrific work ethic and tremendous passion for the game. Both of them were good college players, but not great college players. They had to work extremely hard in their role, and in many ways, they were probably looked upon as supplemental players, even though they were great leaders on their teams. It's a great compliment to them, because there is no doubt that being a supplemental player is so much more challenging if you're also required to be a leader. I think both Rico and Seth ooze with character and personality, and all that's good with college hockey."

What happens between the teams on the ice at Houston Field House this weekend remains to be seen, but based on the people involved, both behind the bench and on the ice, it's sure to be special.