A five-goal second period was all Denver (14-5-1, 5-3-0) needed to overcome a first-period deficit and coast to a 5-1 win at Magness Arena Friday night.
St. Cloud got the best of Denver in the first period, particularly in their offensive zone, beating DU to pucks, cycling in the corners and controlling play. A nifty pass from St. Cloud’s Tyson Gross below the goal to Ethan AuCoin who was camping by the crease, led to the first and only goal of the period and a 1-0 lead. St. Cloud outshot DU 9-7 during a sluggish first twenty minutes.
The Pioneers came out buzzing in the second period. Early in the period, Massimo Rizzo got an assist from Carter King at 1:43 to knot the game. A minute later, a slap shot by DU’s Cale Ashcroft caromed off the backboards to Jared Wright who tucked the biscuit into goal, 2-1 DU. A turnover by the Huskies in their defensive end gave Massimo Rizzo a clean look and another tally, 3-1 at 10:59 into the period. With St Cloud reeling, Denver broke down the ice with numbers and Rieder Lorenz scored a shorty with four minutes left, 4-1 DU. A powerplay snipe by Miko Mattika with only four seconds left in the second period capped the best period of Pioneer hockey this season, 5-1.
The third period was uneventful as Denver goaltender Matt Davis held the Huskies at bay turning away 9 shots on goal. The Huskies were 0-5 on the power play for the night. Denver handily defeated the Huskies on the heels of a dominant five-goal second period.
REPLAY: Miko Matikka scores his 13th goal in the last 13 games.
Is that good? pic.twitter.com/iWmzsZ0sPb
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) January 13, 2024
Carter "the King of the Shorty" gives the apple to Rieger Lorenz for tonight's @Safeway Goal of the Game! pic.twitter.com/WvSHqkkKqK
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) January 13, 2024
Massimo Rizzo showing why he leads @NCAAIceHockey in scoring and, dare we say, is a @HobeyBakerAward candidate!
Rizzo with his 34th point of the season#GoPios pic.twitter.com/rhgtOIBNDr
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) January 13, 2024
Get to the dirty areas & good things will happen (and a little puck luck).
Jared Wright with his 6th goal of the season. pic.twitter.com/V88Cs4TIiG
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) January 13, 2024
Strong win. Davis was on top of his game tonight.
Was Davis hurt before, why has Halyk been playing over him and why bring in the USHL guy early?
Davis was hurt. When Halyk started to struggle they needed insurance.
there’s a lot more to the story, but essentially that’s true.
After a sleepy and uninspiring first period, Pios found their legs and really took over the game. That was great to see.
Davis looked good. He looked calm and composed, had good rebound control, and was positionally sound. He’s also a sneaky good puck handler and passer. I really noticed that last night. He made some good outlet passes to get DU’s transition game going.
Let’s get another W tonight fellas!!