Denver was great for 16 seconds and then CC flipped the script and controlled the pace most of the night. Denver made a late push in the third period trailing 4-1 and closed the gap to 4-3 with 1:30 remaining – it was too little, too late. Denver was missing centers Massimo Rizzo and Carter King and suffered at the dot, 40-23, a problem that has plagued the Pioneers off and on during the season.
It was a rocking Robson Arena with a Top 10 matchup pitting #4 Denver (23-9-3, 14-7-2) against #10 Colorado College (20-10-3, 14-7-2). The game would feature super Tiger goaltender Kaidan Mbereko against DU’s high-flying, nation-leading offense. Something had to give. It was CC’s offense that would win the day as Mbereko was only truly tested late in the third period.
In the first period, Denver solved Mbereko quickly off the faceoff, 16 seconds into the first period when Jack Devine stuffed the puck past the CC keeper. Sometimes, a quick score means little to the final result. CC proved the point two minutes later with a goal from Noah Laba, 1-1. CC beat Matt Davis once again at 13:25 to exit the first period with a 2-1 lead. CC led Denver shots-on-goal 16-8 during the first 20 minutes.
Laba scored again on a short-handed goal on a breakaway, shelving a shot over Davis, 3-1. It was a brutal turnover from Denver to give CC the two-goal bulge. Three minutes later, CC punished Denver again with a pass from Stanley Cooley to Max Berkholder who found twine as the Denver defense got beat yet again. Denver had their chance on a subsequent powerplay but failed to score on the man advantage as the Pioneers looked out of sync. DU’s Boston Buckberger was called on a 5-minute penalty for boarding in the corner near the end of the period. Denver was able to hold off the CC powerplay the final 1:40 to end the period trailing by three goals.
Denver opened the third period and killed the balance of the five-minute major. Unfortunately, Denver missed a subsequent short-handed breakaway and the score remained 4-1. CC started to dump the puck and shorten their shifts as they ran the clock in the third period. DU’s Reiger Lorenz finally found the net and punished the Tigers to cut the lead to 4-2, with 6:24 remaining. Denver pulled Davis with four minutes left and two-and-a-half minutes later, Tristan Broz scored for the Pioneers with the extra man, 4-3. Denver could not solve Mbereko in the final 90 seconds, 4-3 final.
Colorado College earned the win. Denver could only generate 23 shots to 31 shots-on-goal for the Tigers. Both teams were 0-4 on the powerplay but CC was +17 on faceoffs, a large margin for a tightly played game.
CC travels to Denver for a 7:30 start at Magness Arena on Saturday night to conclude the regular season.
Jack Devine’s milestone marker is tonight’s @Safeway Goal of the Game. #GoPios pic.twitter.com/AaNWmxrkJN
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) March 9, 2024
Will somebody please explain what the injuries to Rizzo,and King are? and are they done for the season and if so so are we. Best kept secret in our mass media.
DU is always very tight-lipped about injuries. That’s hockey culture in general, and the lack of public info is designed to keep opponents from hacking/re-injuring them on their healing bodies when they get back to playing.
According to coach Carle’s podcast before CC, neither player skated this week, but both are making progress and he’s hoping they should be back in the lineup by the end of the NCHC playoffs: “week-to-week”
CC was flat-out the better team for about 80% of the game last night, and was full value for the victory at home. They won most of the puck battles and reaped the results.
Denver is going to need to play better if they hope to salvage a split at home tonight.
Injury information: Folks DU cannot by law talk about the injurys to King and Rizzo. It’s against the law. MEDICAL PRIVACY per the HIPPA law. They must get patient approval.
It’s HIPAA and it doesn’t apply to coaching staff or anyone other than the medical staff. Regardless, like Swami said, not providing details about injuries is pretty standard.
Weird game last night. Pios had the great start, grabbing the lead only seconds in, and then proceeded to sleepwalk through most of the remainder of the game, only to find their legs late in the 3rd, play with some urgency, and cut the lead to one. I really thought they were at least going to tie it up. I’m glad DU found that extra gear, but watching this game was an exercise in frustration. Pios were outworked and outcompeted and looked lethargic for the bulk of it. CC deserved the win. Need to be a much better effort overall tonight.
CC is an interesting team. They work hard, can play a very effective tight-checking and physical style, and obviously Mbereko is an elite goaltender. They could be a dangerous team in the postseason. Full credit to Mayotte–he clearly is building a solid foundation and has this team headed in the right direction.