The #1 Denver Pioneers (1-0-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) have turned the page from their record-setting 10th national championship season and if there was any lingering doubt about it, the 2024-25 team put them to rest immediately by drubbing the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves (0-1-0) 6-2 to open the season. It’s only one victory on the march towards title number eleven. Still, it was resounding as the Pioneers outshot the Seawolves 38-12, out-attempted them 68-19, and tallied a whopping four power-play goals in nine tries.
Aidan Thompson and Sam Harris each scored twice on the power play, Jared Wright and Jake Fisher – his first-ever collegiate goal – each added even-strength markers, and Jack Devine recorded four assists in the victory.
We will have a more comprehensive series recap after the conclusion of game two tomorrow night. You can catch the game for free on UAA Athletics’ YouTube page. The game will start at 7 pm MT.
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Excellent first game out of the gate for the Pios. The 6-2 scoreline did not reflect how dominant DU actually was.
This DU team runs the same dominant offensive cycling system as our fans have become used to seeing over the years — plenty of speed, skill and depth, and more importantly, the freshman fit right in terms of playing with pace and confidence. None of them looked out of place.
A few little observations:
— UAA had almost no sustained offensive zone time – most of the few shots the Seawolves generated were on the rush.
— A UAA “sellout” crowd of only 710 people shows how really small UAA’s on-campus rink is, and made me long for the old days of the 6,000 seat Sullivan Arena in downtown Anchorage, which is being restored from damage after serving as a homeless shelter during Covid.
–Davis was very solid in net for DU. Hard to stay razor sharp with the very few shots he saw.
— DU dominated in the face-off circle, which was great to see, especially Carter King, who went 17-3.
–Keeping Wright/Cebrian/Lorenz together as they were last year is a difference-making line for DU.
–Looks like Aidan Thompson will be using his solid one-timer on the PP, which should help with the loss of Miko Matikka.
— Hope to see Garrett Brown get into the lineup soon. He was scratched last night.