Photo courtesy DU Athletics
For the second straight year, the top-ranked University of Denver Pioneers are going to the Frozen Four.
Troy Terry notched a hat trick, Jarid Lukosevicius tallied two more goals, and Tanner Jaillet stopped 24 shots against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Midwest Regional Final at the US Bank Center in Cincinnati to earn Denver a trip to Chicago in two weeks.
While Denver dominated most of the game against PSU, it wasn’t smooth sailing for all 60 minutes. The Pios opened up a 2-0 lead early in the first period, but by the 2:02 mark of the second period, the Nittany Lions had tied it up and DU’s path to Chicago was looking somewhat foggy.
Apparently, a tie game in the second period, the period Denver has owned all year, with a Big Ten team was what the Pioneers needed to wake up and play relentless hockey. DU scored three more goals in the second period, including Terry’s first two (both assisted by Henrik Borgström), to put the game out of reach.
Penn State added a goal just past the midway point of the third period, but Terry answered a few minutes later with an empty-net goal to complete the hat trick and seal Denver’s trip to Chicago and their second straight Frozen Four.
Thanks to an overtime upset of UMass-Lowell, the #4-seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Frozen Four’s hosts, will be Denver’s first opponent in Chicago. Minnesota Duluth and Harvard are the other two teams that complete the Frozen Four.
Denver and Notre Dame will play the late semifinal next Thursday night (7:30 PM MT) but stay tuned to LetsGoDU for all the Frozen Four coverage over the next two weeks.
This was an epic weekend for DU. Scoring 11 goals against NCAA tourney teams over two regional games shows that DU knows how to a blow open a tight game, and DU got the job done with focus and Style. They also faced a bit of adversity in both games, and used it to energize themselves. That five minute penalty kill against PSU was the best five minute kill you’ll ever see, against an explosive offense (#2 in the nation). DU needed its big guns to be big guns, and tonight, Terry was unstoppable in that second period and so was Borgstrom!
So now, DU faces Notre Dame first. That Chicago main event game will be an hour from Notre Dame’s campus, and I expect the United Center to be loud for ND, as the hometown team. Hopefully, DU has budgeted to bring the band this time, and I expect 500-1000 DU fans, due to the large DU alumni base in Chicago.
Then, if DU gets by the Irish, it will be UMD or Harvard. UMD is team we all know very well, and DU has proven it can beat the Bulldogs when they play well. And Harvard would be a very special opponent for DU. Why? The last time DU played Harvard was in the 1986 Frozen Four – 31 years ago(!), and Harvard beat the Pios 5-2 to end our season in the semi-finals, after DU went into Providence that year as the #1 team. Beating the Crimson would be sweet revenge for me, as I’ve waited a long time to get even. I know a lot of guys on that ’86 DU team would love to see that happen!
Go Pios!
2 down, 2 to go.
Terry was awesome today. He really carried the team, proving himself as a big-time player on the big stage. DU did a bit of everything today–effective zone pressure, pinpoint passing, a huge PK on the 5 minute major, and a decent forecheck. This team is something special.
I was a bit surprised the hit on Plant wasn’t called. The PSU player left his feet and sure seemed to make contact to the head. DU players took some big hits in both games this weekend but kept on trucking.
Credit PSU. For a program in its relative infancy, there is a good foundation there.
Ok, I’m an idiot, and I was miffed at Terry for not skating back hard enough to stop the short handed goal. (He almost looked hurt). But his effort the rest of the way was legendary. The guy is awesome. It’s too much fun to see Terry and Borgstrom heading down the ice on a two-on-one. Butcher will join Caldwell and Carle as recent DU d-men legends, if the Pioneers can keep this going.
On to Chicago! Thanks, Pios, for the upcoming mini vacation.
Yesterday Monty said that was Nik/Nicky/Borgstrom’s best playoff game. Today he stepped it up. I can hardly wait to see what he does in Chicago! And what a time for Troy Terry to get a hat trick. Per Mike Chambers, Luko-savages broke his scoring drought, Adam Plant really stepped up this weekend–today took that reviewed”legal” hit and came back to play.
It was a great weekend for DU hockey and there’s more to come,!
This was an epic weekend for DU. Scoring 11 goals against NCAA tourney teams over two regional games shows that DU knows how to a blow open a tight game, and DU got the job done with focus and Style. They also faced a bit of adversity in both games, and used it to energize themselves. That five minute penalty kill against PSU was the best five minute kill you’ll ever see, against an explosive offense (#2 in the nation). DU needed its big guns to be big guns, and tonight, Terry was unstoppable in that second period and so was Borgstrom!
So now, DU faces Notre Dame first. That Chicago main event game will be an hour from Notre Dame’s campus, and I expect the United Center to be loud for ND, as the hometown team. Hopefully, DU has budgeted to bring the band this time, and I expect 500-1000 DU fans, due to the large DU alumni base in Chicago.
Then, if DU gets by the Irish, it will be UMD or Harvard. UMD is team we all know very well, and DU has proven it can beat the Bulldogs when they play well. And Harvard would be a very special opponent for DU. Why? The last time DU played Harvard was in the 1986 Frozen Four – 31 years ago(!), and Harvard beat the Pios 5-2 to end our season in the semi-finals, after DU went into Providence that year as the #1 team. Beating the Crimson would be sweet revenge for me, as I’ve waited a long time to get even. I know a lot of guys on that ’86 DU team would love to see that happen!
Go Pios!
2 down, 2 to go.
Terry was awesome today. He really carried the team, proving himself as a big-time player on the big stage. DU did a bit of everything today–effective zone pressure, pinpoint passing, a huge PK on the 5 minute major, and a decent forecheck. This team is something special.
I was a bit surprised the hit on Plant wasn’t called. The PSU player left his feet and sure seemed to make contact to the head. DU players took some big hits in both games this weekend but kept on trucking.
Credit PSU. For a program in its relative infancy, there is a good foundation there.
Ok, I’m an idiot, and I was miffed at Terry for not skating back hard enough to stop the short handed goal. (He almost looked hurt). But his effort the rest of the way was legendary. The guy is awesome. It’s too much fun to see Terry and Borgstrom heading down the ice on a two-on-one. Butcher will join Caldwell and Carle as recent DU d-men legends, if the Pioneers can keep this going.
On to Chicago! Thanks, Pios, for the upcoming mini vacation.
DU just too much for Pederast State, but a it was a sound effort for a program in only its fifth year. Perhaps PSU’s early success will encourage other schools to start up Div I hockey (Northwestern? Marquette?).
Interest in the F4 here in Chicago spiked when Notre Dame made it in. The tournament host school, despite being in Indiana, is pretty much the hometown school (along with Wisconsin) for the Chicago area. The Irish will be out in force. DU needs to bring a large contingent to the F4, including the BAND!!!
Go Pios !!!
PS–word to the wise: the area around the F4 venue in CHI is not the greatest, especially after late night games. Better to do your victory celebrating back downtown…
Yesterday Monty said that was Nik/Nicky/Borgstrom’s best playoff game. Today he stepped it up. I can hardly wait to see what he does in Chicago! And what a time for Troy Terry to get a hat trick. Per Mike Chambers, Luko-savages broke his scoring drought, Adam Plant really stepped up this weekend–today took that reviewed”legal” hit and came back to play.
It was a great weekend for DU hockey and there’s more to come,!
DU just too much for Pederast State, but a it was a sound effort for a program in only its fifth year. Perhaps PSU’s early success will encourage other schools to start up Div I hockey (Northwestern? Marquette?).
Interest in the F4 here in Chicago spiked when Notre Dame made it in. The tournament host school, despite being in Indiana, is pretty much the hometown school (along with Wisconsin) for the Chicago area. The Irish will be out in force. DU needs to bring a large contingent to the F4, including the BAND!!!
Go Pios !!!
PS–word to the wise: the area around the F4 venue in CHI is not the greatest, especially after late night games. Better to do your victory celebrating back downtown…