Was it the turkey-induced Tryptophan, exam week or just taking the Omaha Mavericks too lightly? Denver (9-4-0, 5-2-0) was outshot, out worked and outplayed Friday night at Magness Arena. The Mavericks took no mercy on #1 ranked DU in a display of superior hustle and quickness. The Mavs beat DU to pucks, shut down passing lanes and beat the stuffing out of DU on shots, 40-22, in a dominant 3-0 victory.

Denver looked listless from the start. The Mavs had the jump in the first 20 minutes, outshooting DU 16-10 and missing several golden opportunities to score. The only good news from the first period was a 13-13 draw on faceoffs and no penalties on DU with only one 2:00-minute penalty call on Omaha.

Omaha made the Pioneers pay in the second period, outshooting the home team 14-7 and scoring three goals. The Mavs struck early, 12 seconds into the period on a Cameron  Berg even-strength goal. Five minutes later, Omaha’s Matt Miller tickled the twine with an assist from John Tychonick. A minute and a half later, Matt Miller completed the three-goal Maverick trifecta, again with the help of John Tychonick who assisted on all of Omaha’s goals.

Denver looked just as disinterested and disorganized in the third period as Omaha created 10 shots on goal to 5 for Denver. Head Coach David Carle elected to not even pull the goalkeeper as Denver was struggling with possession and a smothering Omaha forecheck.

These nights are bound to happen every season with the distraction of final exams, the Thanksgiving holiday and parent’s weekend. The game felt a lot like the 2018 mid-December Dartmouth series at Magness arena when a listless Pioneer team scraped by with a one-goal win and a one-goal loss against the Big Green. Tomorrow night should be an interesting contest to see if this game was merely a blip on the radar screen or something more concerning in what promises to be a successful season.