This is not ‘the revenge tour’ because Denver is fielding an entirely different team than the one that lost to UMass and Cornell in previous tournaments. However, the Springfield Regional was a chance to make amends for an overtime loss to UMass in the 2019 Frozen Four (4-3). Now, they have a chance to make up for a Manchester Regional semifinal loss to this same Cornell team a year ago. Based on statistics and the eye test, Cornell will be a much tougher challenge than UMass-Amherst.
Cornell is better than UMass-Amherst, scoring nearly a goal more per game with a better defense and goaltender. They are stronger at the faceoff dot than UMass-Amherst was and they certainly have the defensive edge on Denver in nearly every statistical category. While the ECAC is not as strong as Hockey East, the conference is strong and deep enough that Cornell is battle-tested, especially during the conference tournament, and the Big Red play a smart, disciplined game.
As the ECAC tournament champions, they were led by junior goaltender Ian Shane who was named the 2024 recipient of ECAC Hockey’s Ken Dryden Goaltender of the Year award. Cornell forward Gabriel Seger led the Big Red in all scoring categories with nine goals and 17 assists for 26 total points during the regular season.
Denver could be a year ahead of schedule this season so it will take everything they have, especially defensively, to defeat Big Red. The Big Red are disciplined and will be sure to take a page out of the UMass-Amherst playbook with physical play, trying to clog up the neutral zone. On offense, once Denver finally finds a way to enter the offensive zone, they will need to solve Big Red goaltender Ian Shane, something they could not do in last year’s 2-0 loss in Manchester.
The other variable is going to be Denver’s recovery from their two-overtime tilt against the Minutemen. Fortunately, the Pioneers have a day off to recover. This game will surely be a grind-it-out game, and Denver will need another great performance from Matt Davis if Denver is to win and advance to the Frozen Four in St. Paul. Denver will need to be much more comfortable and careful with the puck and control of the tempo against Cornell or they could find themselves in deep trouble.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 2:00 pm MT tomorrow.
Looking for more sweet revenge! No doubt tomorrow will be an extremely tough game. However, I believe Denver’s speed and skill will find a way to win as long as Davis continues to stand tall.
Settling all family business….
Cornell’s leading scorer has put the puck in the net only as many times as Ferris Bueller has been absent?!
DU had sickness ripping through the team last year, which showed up for the last two games of the season, when Denver could not score.
Cornell will be tough for sure, but I think they are not gods. I think the Pios can get a few past Shane, but it may be hairy at the end, when DU’s legs may get heavy.
Survive, advance, and maybe get Rizzo back for the Frozen Four…
What’s up with that Maryland Heights regional? People were saying it was too small to house teams with traveling fans, but there were a ton of empty seats. And very few North Dakota fans, from what I could see. Maybe they should have played in an even smaller arena?
Think the empty seats were tickets allocated to the other teams participating who don’t really care about NoDak or hockey?