Hockey

Denver Races Past University of Minnesota Duluth, 5-0

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#11 Denver (11-4, 5-2) played the #5 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (10-6-1, 3-3-1) Friday night at Amsoil Arena. Denver wanted to flip the script as the Bulldogs owned an 8-2-1 record against Denver over the past three seasons. Denver cruised past UMD, 5-0, in their best performance to date.

Shai Buium scored an even-strength goal, assisted by captain Cole Guttman at 8:11 of the first period to start the scoring. Ten minutes later, coming out of a Bulldog powerplay, Cole Guttman scored on a beautiful shot through traffic to build a 2-0 advantage. Denver outshot the Bulldogs 11-6 and controlled the pace of play the entire first period.

The second period was more of the same. Mike Benning lifted a high laser into net past Bulldog goalie Ryan Fanti for a 3-0 edge at 4:16. Three minutes later, the Pioneers countered again when Ryan Barrow took a pass from Brett Stapley after trapping the puck in the UMD end and slapped a shot past Fanti. Denver’s third goal of the period came ten minutes later when Mike Benning scored again with a 30-foot blast into the cage, 5-0, Denver. DU dominated faceoffs in the first two periods 23-12.

Denver employed a smothering forecheck in the third period, keeping UMD bottled up in their own zone. DU was also solid on the penalty kill all night, holding the Bulldogs scoreless on three powerplays. Magnus Chrona stopped a paltry 23 shots-on-goal to earn the shutout.

After the game, head coach David Carle said, “We were opportunistic. Proud of our effort on the road against a good hockey team. We haven’t had a lot of success against this team in this building. The opportunity (of a sweep) is in front of us.”

No doubt, this game was Denver’s best performance so far this season. Denver returns to Amsoil Arena tomorrow night at 6:00 pm MT.

4 thoughts on “Denver Races Past University of Minnesota Duluth, 5-0”

  1. Great effort. This team is really beginning to click. DU dominated the game from beginning to end. Only weakness was the 0-4 power play where they needed to work the puck in closer for some better shots. Still not complaining about a superior overall game from everyone…including Chrona!

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  2. DU just rolled the #1 team in the PWR 5-0 in their own building.

    Wow.

    What I liked most about the win was DU’s offensive efficiency on the road with 5 goals on 26 shots on a perhaps the best goalie DU will see this year in Fanti, who has a saves percentage of over 94%. He might have been a little rusty coming off a covid layoff, but DU buried opportunities early on him and you could see the wind coming out of UMD’s sails. That should give this offensive DU team enough confidence that they can score on anyone when the play with speed and the work rate, winning puck battles.

    Also great to see Chrona grab the first shutout of the season. There are going to be times when DU will need to rely on Chrona, and to know he can produce on the road against quality teams is also a confidence booster.

    DU knows that UMD is going to play with much more fire to salvage the split on Saturday night, and the Pios need to be ready for that. It’s a great test of DU’s character to see how this young team reacts to UMD’s push…

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  3. Happy to eat crow from my post-NoDak post. DU showed nothing that weekend, extended its losing streak to four and making a mockery of my looong drive to purgatory, er, Grand Forks. Pio play since then has been superlative, culminating in the beatdown of the Dawgs last night. Agree with Swami that UMD will be more driven tonight and will bring its A-game. They are a championship-caliber team with a fine coach and a proud tradition. Should be a great game 2… GoDU!

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  4. Pingback: LetsGoDU: Denver Hockey Road Trip Recap: Pioneers Earn Road Split With UMD Bulldogs

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