If someone told the 7th-seeded Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs that their season might end this weekend at Magness Arena, it didn’t look like it. From the moment the puck dropped to the final buzzer the 2nd-seed & #3 Denver Pioneers completely outplayed the visitors en route to a 4-0 shutout win over the listless Bulldogs to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three NCHC Quarterfinal series. Senior captain McKade Webster opened the scoring, Jack Devine scored his 26th & 27th goals of the season, and Connor Caponi iced the game away with an empty-netter with 17 seconds left.
More important than the four goals the offense generated was the goose egg the Pioneers’ defense put on the scoreboard under UMD’s name in this young team’s postseason opener. Denver will score their goals. They boast the #1 offense in the country for a reason. Where they’ve struggled is in their own zone. It seemed in the second period, however, that the Pioneers figured out that they don’t have to play defense if the puck never enters their zone.
Entering the second period up 1-0 courtesy of Webster’s highlight-reel toe-drag on the rush, the Pioneers outshot the Bulldogs 13-1 in the middle frame, scoring twice thanks to Devine’s continued offensive wizardry (he’s shooting an impressive 21.1%), and out-attempted them 22-3. It was an absolute offensive clinic and Matt Davis had nothing to do but watch the ice melt and re-freeze in front of him all period.
The second period is a formula many of the best hockey teams in recent memory (cough, cough 2021-22 Avs) have employed – if your possession game is so good that the opposition is chasing the puck all game long, you don’t have to worry about your defense. And when you possess it as well as the Pioneers did in Game One, chances are, you’re going to get a few by the other goalie, no matter how good he is.
By the time the Pioneers entered the third period with their 3-0 lead and the series opener well in hand, they were able to focus on their defensive game and give Matt Davis as much support as he needed. Denver was outshot (10-6) and out-attempted (25-13) in the final period but the Bulldogs never really threatened to get back into the game. Most of their attempts were half-hearted panicked shots from the outside and with one or two exceptions, Davis wasn’t challenged. Then, with UMD goalie Matthew Thiessen on the bench where he spent most of the final five minutes of the game, Connor Caponi added the proverbial insurance goal with 17 seconds left to dash what little hope for a miracle the Bulldogs maintained.
For a team that has been searching for its defensive identity for much of the season, the postseason opener was uneventful and a nice confidence-builder. Postseason hockey is a whole different animal, no matter the seeding. Ending a team’s season is the hardest thing to do in sports but the Pioneers moved to within one win of ending the Bulldogs’ season with relative ease. Sure, the Bulldogs will come out with a renewed vigor and desperation tomorrow night but as long as the Pioneers just hold serve and put together a repeat performance, they’ll coast into St. Paul next weekend with their conference-record 10th (out of 10) Frozen Faceoff Semifinal berth.
Highlights
A give-and-go with McKade Webster and Lucas Olvestad puts the Pioneers ahead 1-0. pic.twitter.com/kHGi9VpPsl
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) March 16, 2024
Was it the most devine goal, no. But Jack gets dirty for his 26th tally of the season! pic.twitter.com/b2SQb0651w
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) March 16, 2024
Jack Devine gets his 2nd of the night and tonight's @Safeway Goal of the Game! #GoPios pic.twitter.com/oWUU9IHuEA
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) March 16, 2024
Photo credit: Clint Austin/Duluth News-Tribune
Goaltending and PK were solid and speaking of possesion, seemed that DU dominated at the face off dot.
Yes, DU had a great start to the playoff season….other than their power play anyway. Defense was stellar and Davis stood tall when he needed to. Still hoping to see Rizzo and King back on the ice, but impressed how this patchwork lineup has performed. It amazes me how deep in talent this young team really is.
DU won the faceoff battle 28-16 which was nice to see.
Awesome assist by Olvestad on the first goal. On the rush he kicked the puck over to Webster.
Great to see players who would not get much playing time continuing to grow in new roles. That said, this whole league playoff just feels stale…
As for King and Rizzo, I don’t see much point in DU playing them until the NCAAs begin. The league playoff, to me, is a largely a fundraising vehicle for the NCHC with little tangible reward for the Pioneers in terms of NCAA seeding upgrades. Would winning and NCHC trophy and vaulting over UND offer DU a better regional draw? Doubtful. I think Pios are pretty much ticketed to the (suburban) St. Louis regional at this point, and getting any more players hurt is in no one’s interest. At this time of year, I just cross my fingers and hope the Pios get through these league playoffs unscathed…
I really liked the effort and execution last night. Pios had jump, excelled on draws, were hard on the puck, and defended very well. Obviously UMD is having a down year, but that’s a great program with an elite coach, so any W over those guys is noteworthy in my opinion.