Hockey, Men's Sports

Denver Builds a Snowman Against Miami to Earn Second-Straight 5-Point Weekend

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There are plenty of reasons to be frustrated with the 2023-24 Denver Pioneers hockey team but their NCAA-best offense (4.88 GPG) is most certainly not one of them. That offense was on full display in game two against Miami (of Ohio) (7-20-3, 1-17-2 NCHC, 7 pts) as the #3 Pioneers (21-8-3, 12-6-2 NCHC, 36 pts) exploded for eight goals en route to an 8-1 drubbing of the Redhawks. The win broke the third-place tie with Colorado College and they are alone there, four points behind 2nd-place St. Cloud State with a series with the Huskies in Minnesota on deck next weekend.

A night ago, the vibes, as the children say, were in shambles. The Pioneers, playing without three of their best scorers in the third period, blew a two-goal lead and skated to a shootout victory/tie with the lowly, last-place Redhawks. It was, in no uncertain terms and regardless of the players who weren’t on the ice, a bad result. A night later, though, the Pioneers hit the ice determined to erase the bad taste from Friday. If it wasn’t for an unfortunate bounce during a delayed Redhawks penalty that saw the puck enter Denver’s empty net, untouched by the visitors, the Pioneers would have earned the  8-0 shutout.

Quite possibly the most impressive part of the rout, though was that Denver’s scoring depth showed itself in a huge way – eight different Pioneers scored a goal and an incredible 16 players recorded at least a point. Tristan Broz (1-3-4) and Boston Buckberger (0-3-3) led the way with the most points of any Pioneer on the night, though.

Even with the impressive offensive outburst and stout defensive and goaltending performance on Saturday, Friday night’s frustration still cast a pall over the weekend. The 8-1 drubbing of the basement-dwelling Redhawks is what DU fans expected both nights but instead, they couldn’t put Miami away when they could have buried them in the third period on Friday and were punished for a couple of momentary defensive lapses. And the tie may loom rather large with the postseason right around the corner. Using College Hockey News’ Pairwise Customizer tool, Denver would be #4 – a number one seed in the national tournament – with four regular season games left had they won. Instead, thanks to the tie for national purposes, the Pioneers fell to #6 behind Wisconsin and Michigan State.

Some might think we and some frustrated commenters are being overly harsh on a young team that boasts the nation’s top offense and has 21 victories under its belt with two weeks left in the regular season. That argument held some weight in November and December when there was still a lot of hockey left and plenty of time to shift the narrative. But the reality is the Pioneers struggle to hold leads and too often fail to put teams away despite their incredible offense.

That’s who the Pioneers are.

And for the uninitiated, that might be good enough. But remember, this program evaluates itself on winning national titles and nothing else. Anything less than a banner is a failure.

The book on the 2023-24 Pioneers is still being written. There’s still plenty of opportunity for the Pios to reverse the bad defensive trend of the season and catch fire at the perfect time. But until they show it, frustration with an underperforming team is valid. Enjoy the 8-1 win over a bad hockey team, sure. But a big-picture perspective is important. The Pioneers still need to prove it when it matters most against the best.

Next weekend at St. Cloud State is a perfect time and place to start.

Highlights

8 thoughts on “Denver Builds a Snowman Against Miami to Earn Second-Straight 5-Point Weekend”

  1. Well put Nick. The Schizophrenia on Ice that is DU this season was on full display this weekend. The missing players on Friday had NOTHING to do with the outcome. With a 2 goal lead and just ten mins to play against a 1-16 team we did not need offensive firepower, we needed grit and a determination to win….it wasn’t there. Last night was more indicative of the relative strength of the two teams (sorry, Miami) and a similar outcome should have been the case on Friday. Giveaway games like Friday have a way of coming back to haunt you when it comes time to assign regions and seedings in the NCAA’s.

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  2. This weekend proved, once again, what a great sport hockey is. Even the best teams can be beaten by those without as much talent (almost anyway). That’s why we play the game. Looking forward to a sweep of St. Cloud next weekend.

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  4. Needless to say, DU bounced back in emphatic fashion last night from Friday’s setback. Last night’s game was never in doubt. DU played a complete game, skated hard, competed hard, and Miami had no answers. I’m sure there were some good lessons to take from the 3rd period in Friday’s game.

    Only 4 games left in the regular season. Next weekend’s series against St. Cloud should be a battle royal.

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  5. This team still plays young and inconsistently each week – the worst 21-win DU team in the modern era. Would have expected more defensive improvement by this point, and losing late leads is the recipe for tourney failure. Nick is right that this is who this team IS this season. All the teams DU will face going forward are good teams. I don’t think this DU team is going to survive in a regional, because they don’t have the defense and goaltending they need to beat good teams at this time of year…

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  6. You never know…Fortunately, that’s why they play the game.
    Remember Yale in 2013. They caught lightning in a bottle. It can happen again.

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  7. Too funny, the entitlement here. Looks like some of the “uninitiated” are not familiar with the idea that it’s nice to be aware that you’re in the good old days, before the good old days are gone. Four national titles in 20 years, top 5 in the country with a young team. Chill out, enjoy the good times, we are fortunate to have the luxury of nitpicking the lack of perfection.

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