Hockey

Denver Blasts Hapless Redhawks, 7-0

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Starting the weekend, Denver (19-8-5, 9-7-4 NCHC) was in search of goals and steady goaltending. The Pioneers got both in a 7-0 rout of the Miami Redhawks Saturday night.

In the first period, Denver jumped out to a lead on a Cole Guttman power-play goal at 14:23 with assists from Emelio Petterson and Liam Finlay. Denver outshot Miami 12-6 in the first 20 minutes and carried the pace of play.

 

In the second 20 minutes, Denver exploded with four goals. Mitchell delivered a wrister from the circle to put Denver up 2-0 at 6:53 of the second period. Emelio Pettersen collected his goal at 10:41 with a helper from Brett Stapley. Griffen Mendel rang home the third goal of the period with a Griffin Mendel assist. Pettersen capped the barrage with his second goal of the period at 18:28. While Denver was busy scoring, Devin Cooley made some nifty saves to protect the shutout and make his claim on the #1 goaltender job. Denver continued to double-up the Redhawks on shots and dominated on faceoffs by winning 29 of 47 opportunities in the circle over the first two periods.

 

Denver continued to find net in the final period. Freshman Justin Lee picked up a goal at 12:25 and Brett Stapley delivered the capper at 14:05. Mercifully, that was it for a final score of 7-0.

 

You could call Denver’s offensive explosion a picture of efficiency with 7 goals on 31 shots. Or, you could just say that the Miami defensemen were a step slow all night long and Miami goalie Ben Kraws could not track Denver’s shots. Either way, this was a big 3-point night for DU – and a big 6 points on the weekend. Bigger yet is the confidence gained in the 2-game 14-goal outburst. Sure it was Miami but good teams win games that they are supposed to win. And the Pioneers absolutely dominated again tonight.

On Devin Cooley, head Coach David Carle added, “Big glove save and a few other saves that stand out. Our guys wanted to kill that (game) out for him and save the shutout.”

4 thoughts on “Denver Blasts Hapless Redhawks, 7-0”

  1. Great weekend for the Pios with so many players contributing. Should build their confidence going into the critical St. Cloud series next weekend.

    With the Huskies looking strong in taking 5 of 6 points from #1 NoDak this weekend, a split or better won’t be easy, but certainly possible if the goals keep coming.

    Though he was hardly tested, Cooley should get the start next Friday, and maybe Saturday too.

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  2. Cooley’s spectacular save near the end of the second period got an instant standing ovation from the crowd. Pioneer teammates certainly got a boost from it too.

    Miami tried to stay in it, but were a step behind all night.

    Tough road trip next weekend against a confident St Cloud team. Enjoy the sweep tonight. Every game now is a playoff game.

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  3. Strong and quite-needed bounce-back offensive weekend for DU, certainly. Scoring 14 goals is a confidence booster for any team, even if Miami is having a pretty horrendous year. Good to see most of DU’s top scorers racking up points. I almost felt bad for Miami this weekend, but they will back strong soon enough.

    St. Cloud is playing its best hockey of the season right now, and it should be a great test for the Pios on the road to see if DU can get a win or more up there which would a long way to passing Western and helping to secure home ice. With Western having to go to UND next weekend (tough assignment), it would be an ideal opportunity for DU to vault into third place, as Western then hosts Miami to finish the season, while DU finishes with a Gold Pan on the line with CC home and home, and the Huskies finish at UMD. Could be a very interesting finish on the last weekend…

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  4. Just what the Dr. ordered. After managing only two tallies against UND last weekend, the floodgates opened this weekend. Pios scored 14 times against a Miami team that was clearly overmatched. The Redhawks have some size and they competed hard, but they had no answers for DU’s speed and puck management.

    It was great to see Cooley get the shutout. He wasn’t tested a lot, but when he was, he was very sharp.

    How big is this series next weekend against St. Cloud?! DU has 34 points, St. Cloud has 30. Should be a great series and a stern test for both teams.

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