In an exhibition game that featured 10 goals, 15 power plays and 74 shots on goal between Denver and the University of Alberta, it’s pretty hard to draw many meaningful conclusions beyond the 6-4 Pioneer victory in a scrambling and at times, very sloppy exhibition opener.
DU head coach David Carle used the game as true tuneup, with all 27 DU players dressing, some major players taking the whole third period off and playing a wide variety of line combinations and defensive pairings to see what players had some chemistry together.
Alberta, the defending Canadian Champions, with six former minor league pros in its lineup with ECHL and AHL experience (legal in Canada since there are no scholarships) presented an older, bigger and stronger opponent for the Pios. Alberta has already been playing together for a month, while the Pios have only had a handful of practices coming into the exhibition.
The game was really three games in one. In the first period of the game, DU was the better team and shut out Alberta behind goals by Michael Davies and Freshman Emilio Petterson, as the Pios looked to be largely in control, pleasing the large student turnout.
But in the second period, DU took a number of bad penalties, and the tables quickly turned as the Golden Bears vaulted ahead to take a 3-2 lead behind a pair of power play goals, until DU senior Jarid Lukosevicius tied the game 3-3 on a walk-in with about a minute left in the second.
In the third period, DU took over the game again with a pair of early goals to essentially seal the win, making the score 5-3, with Ryan Barrow roofing a PPG in the crease, and Emilio Petterson picking a corner for his second goal of the game (the eventual game winner). DU and and Alberta traded a couple of meaningless goals late in the game to make the final 6-4.
Here’s what we learned:
- Emilio Petterson is a highly skilled freshman, whose two goals led the Pioneers, and whose game winner was big time shot into the corner of the net after he stole the puck from an Alberta defenseman. He will likely be a first line forward for DU this season.
- Cole Guttman and defensemen Slava Demin also stood out with a pair of assists each. These freshmen can clearly play.
- DU didn’t play Ian Mitchell or Jarid Lukosevicius in the third period
- DU, one of the least penalized teams in the country last year, took nine penalties in the game, with five of the nine taken by freshmen. DU will need to clean that up in the coming weeks.
- DU’s inexperienced and lightly recruited goalies were surprisingly adequate – Sophomore Devin Cooley played well, holding Alberta scoreless into the second period, until DU hung him out to dry with poor penalty killing in the second period. None of the three goals scored on him were his fault. Michael Corson came on to play the third period and only let in one goal to get the win, not bad for a third-stringer freshman.
- DU gave up 40 shots in the contest to Alberta, so defense will need to tighten in the coming weeks.
Penalties were obviously a problem. Need to work on the emotions and discipline. Alberta got under our skin and we made silly retaliatory responses and ended up in the penalty box.
Looking at the roster sheet provided by DU, it looks like we only have one senior on the team. Is this correct?
Bigger crowd than I expected. Nice energy in the building.
Kudos to the women who were keeping the ice cleared during breaks in the game. A couple of them looked like they were new and my hat is off to them for the courage to show their shaky skating skills in front of a big crowd. I know their skating will improve as the season progresses.
Student section, Whiteboard and cheerleaders did a great job last night with a lot of energy. Pretty unusual for an exhibition game at Magness. Kudos to all of them!
Hope Carle can find the right combo and chemistry of lines soon. Some flashes of skill came from the freshman. A little disappointed in the speed of this team so far. D must improve to compete in the NCHC. Hope the small D-men be able to hold up thru the season’s long grind. Hope Larsson can return sometime this season.
Penalties were obviously a problem. Need to work on the emotions and discipline. Alberta got under our skin and we made silly retaliatory responses and ended up in the penalty box.
Looking at the roster sheet provided by DU, it looks like we only have one senior on the team. Is this correct?
Bigger crowd than I expected. Nice energy in the building.
Kudos to the women who were keeping the ice cleared during breaks in the game. A couple of them looked like they were new and my hat is off to them for the courage to show their shaky skating skills in front of a big crowd. I know their skating will improve as the season progresses.
Student section, Whiteboard and cheerleaders did a great job last night with a lot of energy. Pretty unusual for an exhibition game at Magness. Kudos to all of them!
So glad to have hockey back! Great time of the year.
Last night had a lot of what I expected from an exhibition. Some good, some bad, and some promise of what might lie ahead. Obviously there are a lot of new faces on the team who will likely be playing meaningful minutes. It’ll be an interesting season, and I’m definitely trying to temper my expectations.
I thought DU looked pretty good in the first and third periods, but the 2nd was painful. There were some lazy and undisciplined penalties, and Alberta had some good looks on the PP.
Can’t wait for the real thing next weekend. Go Pios!!!!
Hope Carle can find the right combo and chemistry of lines soon. Some flashes of skill came from the freshman. A little disappointed in the speed of this team so far. D must improve to compete in the NCHC. Hope the small D-men be able to hold up thru the season’s long grind. Hope Larsson can return sometime this season.
So glad to have hockey back! Great time of the year.
Last night had a lot of what I expected from an exhibition. Some good, some bad, and some promise of what might lie ahead. Obviously there are a lot of new faces on the team who will likely be playing meaningful minutes. It’ll be an interesting season, and I’m definitely trying to temper my expectations.
I thought DU looked pretty good in the first and third periods, but the 2nd was painful. There were some lazy and undisciplined penalties, and Alberta had some good looks on the PP.
Can’t wait for the real thing next weekend. Go Pios!!!!
Les Lancaster should bring some maturity to the D. Pettersen, Guttman, Stapely, and Demin were the top frosh for me.
Les Lancaster should bring some maturity to the D. Pettersen, Guttman, Stapely, and Demin were the top frosh for me.