The basics

Score: Denver 3, Omaha 4

Location: Denver

Records: Denver (8–3–1), Omaha (6–3–1)

How it happened

— There was no scoring by either team after a rough-and-tumble first period. Denver led Omaha in shots on goal 9–6. However, when the players came out after the first intermission, the ice behind Pioneer net was in horrible condition. After a lengthy delay, it was determined that the ice was unsafe for the players and officials and the game was suspended to Sunday with an undetermined time. 

— Just over a minute into the restart, Denver attempted to clear the puck out of the zone unsuccessfully. Omaha pushed it down to the corner, where Jimmy Glynn carried the puck out and sent it to the front of the crease for Matt Miller to finish the job for a 1–0 Omaha lead. 

— Roughly three minutes later, Cale Ashcroft gathered the puck for Denver to start a breakout behind their own net. Omaha’s forecheck was relentless at this point, and Brock Bremer stole the puck from Ashcroft. Bremer tossed it to Jesse Lansdell, who dribbled it in front of the net, teasing Freddie Halyk. Lansdell passed it between the lags to Ty Mueller and he finished the job to make it 2–0.

— Just over halfway through the second period, a face-off forced the puck down into the Denver zone. Carter Kink led the breakout and gave a leading pass up to Jared Wright in the middle of the ice. Wright whipped a beautiful backhand shot of the goalie to get the Pioneers on the board at 2–1.

— Five minutes later, Denver was killing off a penalty. Omaha tried to enter the Denver zone but miffed on the pass. Rieger Lorenz took off down the ice to find the back of the net for his first career shorthanded goal, knotting the score at 2–2. 

— With just two minutes left in the second, Omaha won a face-off in the Denver zone. Tanner Ludtke gathered the puck at the top of the slot and threw a snap shot on net past Halyk to restore Omaha’s lead at 3–2. 

— The final nail in the coffin came with only five seconds left in the second period. Omaha dumped the puck in to chase it down and collect it behind the Pioneers’ net. It was thrown out to Lansdell for the wrister, but stopped in front. As the puck lay in the crease, Joaquim Lemay drove the net and slapped it in to make it 4–2.

— The last goal of the day came early in the third from the Pioneers. Miko Mitkka drove down the far side and toward the net to force it past the goalie for the final of 4–3. 

DU leaders

Goals: Wright (1), Lorenz (1), Matikka (1)

Assists: King (1), Z. Buium (1), Broz (1), S. Buium (1)

Points: Wright (1), Lorenz (1), Matikka (1),  King (1), Z. Buium (1), Broz (1), S. Buium (1)

Up next

The Denver Pioneers will continue their homestand over the Thanksgiving holiday with a two-game set against Ivy League Yale University. The Bulldogs will come into Magness Arena with a challenge ahead of them as their record is 1–4.

Highlights

Due to ice conditions, tonight’s game is suspended. The game will resume tomorrow at a time to be announced.

Tickets from tonight will be valid for tomorrow’s game or can be exchanged to a future game.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) November 19, 2023

Jared Wright takes the breakout pass from Carter King and shoots it high glove to make it 2-1 Omaha #GoPios @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/RC7NEEUiMs

— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) November 19, 2023

Rieger Lorenz steals the puck in his own zone and takes off for the shorty! Tied at 2! #GoPios @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/xZNPHHhaC5

— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) November 19, 2023

Miko Matikka just tucks it past the goalie's pads to make it a 4-3 game.

He extends his goal streak to five games–tied for the longest of the season by a Pioneer. pic.twitter.com/xElEfLxYbd

— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) November 19, 2023

The post Denver falls 4–3 after 16-hour delay appeared first on The Rink.

“It’s a great thing for our fans that we get to play them four times every year,” coach David Carle said. “Their program is on the rise, they’ve done an excellent job with their new staff and recruiting and are becoming more competitive and play more of a 200-foot game, making life harder on us. So we expect a really good battle this weekend.”

In the NCHC playoffs, Colorado College secured a close victory against their opponent. But every game last season was a “tightly contested game,” as Carle put it.

The Pioneers played a split series last weekend against a fierce Augustana University and another against in-state rival, Air Force. While Denver got ahead in the game against the Vikings, Augustana fought hard to earn a tie. Air Force, on the on the other hand, saw all of the corrections from the night before and freshman goaltender Freddie Halyk. The Pioneers came out in the end with a shutout 4–0.

“It certainly feels like they are closing the gap within the rivalry and we expect nothing different this year,” Carle told the media on Wednesday.

Freshman Boston Buckberger, who was just named conference rookie of the month, hopes a victory is in play for this weekend.

Buckberger has nothing but steller since coming to Denver. He has racked up seven points in only six games with the Pioneers, claiming all the credit goes to his teammates.

“Just to hold it up, hopefully,” Buckberger said with a smile. “I actually don’t even know exactly what it looks like. But hopefully I get that in our possession pretty quick here.”

Senior McKade Webster has a lot of experience with the series himself.

“It’s a big deal,” Webster said. “Especially for our young guys that have never participated in this event and won a Gold Pan before. So for them just understanding what it means for our program going forward, it’s a big deal. It is the first trophy that we can win this weekend if we get a sweep, so that’s what we are looking to do.”

The hallways were filled with excitement from the players and staff. Not a nervous energy, but a confident energy. The Pioneers, with a 4–1–1 record, are ranked No. 2 in the nation, so they have reason to be confident. Colorado College may be a little more of a challenge than previous opponents, as they boast a 5–1–0 record, losing only to Augustana. Expect a fierce battle with the state’s top team prevailing.

Puck drop on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m. MDT, with Saturday’s tilt scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT.

The post The Gold Pan rivalry lives on this weekend appeared first on The Rink.

First period

The Pioneers scored two quick goals in under five minutes to start the period. The first from Boston Buckberger and the second from Rieger Lorenz. Five minutes later, Jack Devine nailed his sixth goal of the year right off of the face-off. An aggressive offense for Denver led to some quick chances but also led to defensive breakdowns on the other end in front of Matt Davis. The Augustana Vikings would rush the zone and score a bloop goal that went through Davis. In the waning moments of the period, Hunter Bischoff‘s shot found the back of the net, making it 3–2.

Second period

Both the Vikings and the Pioneers would tighten up their defense in the period. This hindered both sides from advancing into each other’s zone and creating more opportunities. The period was an unresolved battle, except for the goalies.

Third period and overtime

Denver extended its lead to 4–2 with a goal from Kieran Cebrian, assisted by Devine. However, the Vikings showed resilience and scored two goals in 20 seconds, bringing the game to a tie at 4–4. Massimo Rizzo scored from the slot to regain the lead 5–4. Then with 28.8 seconds left and on the power play with their goalie pulled, Chase Brand scored for the Vikings to tie it back up at 5–5 and send the game to extra time. The Pioneers could not capitalize on their promising overtime performance, and the game ended in a 5–5 tie.

Analysis

Friday night’s tie showed some gaps in the defensive game for the Pioneers and their young defensive core.

“Closing plays quicker, getting out of our zone cleaner,” coach David Carle said of the 5-on-5 game. “Managing pucks comes with that. A lot of their transition offense came from us turning pucks over. You have to give them credit. They were coming into our building trying to have their marquee moment, and they did. That’s embarrassing for us in that we allowed that to happen, but we also give credit to our opponent, who was very well prepared and did an excellent job and earned everything tonight as well. We were not ready to the play to the level we needed to for a full 60 minutes. After we went up (2–0), I think we thought it was going to be easy, and give them credit, they didn’t go away. They continued to come and were able to execute and take advantage of our looseness with our puck management and with our rush D and our D-zone coverage.”

If Denver can play a better defensive game, Davis will not have to work as hard to protect the lead for them. The offense is there for sure, now they need to fix the back end.

The post Pioneers tie in home opener appeared first on The Rink.

The North Dakota Fighting Hawks came back from a 0-3 deficit and defeated the University of Denver Pioneers 5-4 Friday night

DENVER, CO– On Friday night at Magness Arena in Denver, it was hard to tell who was the home team because both Denver and North Dakota’s fans were so loud.  Such is life when the No. 3 college hockey team takes on the No. 1.  Much like Denver’s battle with St. Cloud State last weekend, the start to this series lived up to the hype.

Denver jumped ahead 2-0 after the first period with goals from Jake Durflinger and Jarid Lukosevicius, then they scored a short handed goal by Logan O’Connor to make it 3-0 in the second period.  The Pioneers were playing well defensively against a pesky North Dakota forward group.  But before the end of the second, Tanner Jalliet let in a couple of goals to Zach Yon and Joel Janatuinen and suddenly North Dakota was back in it.

? Bullseye!

Colton Poolman goes bardown to tie the game and complete a 3-goal comeback for @UNDmhockey at @DU_Hockey. #NCHCHockey pic.twitter.com/BH9hp18XGv

— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) November 18, 2017

A few minutes into the third period, the Pioneers got caught in a bad change and defenseman Colton Poolman made them pay with a great wrist shot past Tanner Jalliet.  Christian Wolanin scored shortly after giving the Hawks the lead.  Troy Terry tied the game up for the Pioneers halfway through the third, but Johnny Simonson scored the go-ahead goal for North Dakota in the final minutes of the game to knock off the No. 1 ranked Denver Pioneers.

The-Rink caught up with North Dakota netminder and Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Peter Thome after the game.

Interview with the University of North Dakota’s Peter Thome

It sure felt like No. 3 vs No. 1 out there, didn’t it?

Yeah, you could just tell it was a heavyweight bout.  They came out swinging.  I thought we did a pretty good job of weathering the storm with just two goals after they came out with 21 shots in the first period.  Even in the second when they went up 3-0 I think there was no panic from us.  The boys really rallied and we just fought.  It was an ugly road-win against the best team in the nation, but we’ll take it.

What did your team tell you after being down 2-0 in the first period?

We were obviously not happy in the locker room, but we don’t panic.  We’ve been a group that teams can’t seem to put down all year.  Even when we’re behind we’re level-headed and just playing our game.  Eventually bounces come and we get back in the game.  So there’s really no panic in our locker room, even when we’re down two or three goals like tonight.

What’s made you so successful playing in Cam Johnson‘s absence, and what have you learned from him?

First things first, the team has been great in front of me.  They’ve done a really good job of limiting grade-A chances in front and clearing rebounds.  And Cam’s been great.  I texted him yesterday because I thought the lighting (at Magness Arena) was a little weird.  I asked him if he ever had any trouble with it.  He texted me back saying, “yeah it is a little weird, but you won’t notice it during the game.”  That’s just one example of stuff he’s been doing for me.  He’s been great even in practice.  If I get beat on a play, he would come over and tell me things he notices.  Obviously he’s a guy that when he speaks, you listen because he’s such a great goalie.

Any reason why North Dakota is a slow-starting team?

I don’t know if I have an answer for you.  Obviously we’re playing urgent hockey in the third, but like I said before it’s urgent but we’re not panicking.  We’re not gripping the stick too hard or thinking we have to score.  We trust our abilities because we’ve got a team that’s got some unbelievable players.  No matter what the score is, we will find a way to come back.

What’s the game plan for tomorrow?

Come out strong.  Hopefully this time we can try to get a lead and go from there.

The post North Dakota Netminder Peter Thome Will Take An ‘Ugly Road Win’ vs No. 1 Denver appeared first on The Rink.

DENVER, CO– 56 penalty minutes is a statistic that is a pretty clear indicator as to what kind of game the No. 3 Denver Pioneers and No. 1 St. Cloud State Huskies had Saturday night.  After a very close game Friday won by Denver 4-2, Saturday night’s game quickly got out of hand.  The Pioneers scored three goals in the 2nd period and two more in the 3rd to knock off the top-ranked Huskies.

The game included several hard hits, major penalties, and a heated skirmish at the end of the game when emotions boiled over for the Huskies.  After going 7-0-0 to start the season, the Huskies weren’t ready to hand the top ranking back to Denver after just one week.  Messages were sent and there is clearly some unfinished business between the two division rivals.  The next time St. Cloud and Denver meet is in St. Cloud February 23rd and 24th.

Before the season started, Denver was picked by most to be a heavy favorite to repeat as National Champions.  However, last weekend the Pioneers were swept by the Western Michigan Broncos in an unexpected series loss.  Denver quickly got back on track with these wins against St. Cloud, but they aren’t in the clear just yet.  Next weekend, the Pioneers host the University of North Dakota who was ranked No. 2 overall in last weeks USCHO poll.

? Redirection ?

Dylan Gambrell makes it 4-1 @DU_Hockey on the power play. #NCHCHockey pic.twitter.com/HMzT3ILW3S

— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) November 12, 2017

After the game Saturday night, The-Rink caught up with Denver’s Dylan Gambrell, a San Jose Sharks prospect, who tallied a goal and an assist Saturday night.

Photo courtesy of NHL.com

Interview with Dylan Gambrell from the University of Denver

Talk about tonight’s win and what it means to beat top-ranked St. Cloud State a couple nights in a row.

Honestly it’s exciting when you have a chance to take on the #1 in your own building. I think we brought it yesterday and we improved tonight.  You can see that in the results.

Head coach Jim Montgomery talked on Friday about the Pioneer forwards needing to be more physical on the forecheck with St. Cloud.  How much did that contribute to tonight’s game plan?

I think it was huge.  When you take the body on Friday, it definitely takes a toll coming into Saturday.  We came out early and we we’re definitely more physical which led to our success this weekend.

We saw you use the spin-o-rama move on your breakaway.  When’s the last time you used that in a game?

(laughs) Uh… a long time.  I was trying to do something just to get to the net, but it almost worked out.

Adam Plant played a really strong game tonight.  Talk about his leadership role on the team, especially with captain Tariq Hammond out of the lineup. 

Adam’s great on the power-play, he’s really good at shooting through traffic, and is really good at finding the net.  Putting pucks on net clean is always useful for our team.

It got pretty heated at the end of the game.  What do you expect from St. Cloud State the next time Denver plays them?

They’re going to be ready, and we’re going to be ready for them.  They’re going to want to come back and get some redemption.  We have to be at our best because we know they’re going to bring theirs.  

What have you been working on this season as far as development that you and the Sharks talked about over the summer?

We talk a little bit, but development wise I’m just trying to do all the little things right.  Sharpen up my play in the offensive zone and neutral zone.  I want to do the little things right and just play hard.

NEXT:  ARE THE BLACKHAWKS THIS BAD?

The post NCAA: Dylan Gambrell Knows St. Cloud State Will Be Back For More After Sweep appeared first on The Rink.