Grind-it-out hockey turned into a clinical dissection as #1 University of Denver dismantled Wisconsin 6-1. That was the turn of events Saturday night at Magness Arena. The Pioneers (6-0-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) wore down and outclassed the reeling Badgers – teasing, pestering and eventually pounding the visiting vermin into submission.
Ok, so Badgers are not technically vermin but they were symbolically transformed from major pests Friday night to a minor nuisance Saturday night. Denver limited penalties (only two) and played the entire ice surface. It was relentless end-to-end pressure that exposed Wisconsin and led to six repeats of Pitbull’s Don’t Stop the Party.
Wisconsin got on the board first with a powerplay tally but DU responded a minute-and-a-half later when Jack Devine took a feed from Aiden Thompson and buried it, 1-1. Three minutes later, Connor Caponi gave DU the lead for good on a feed from Hagan Burrows. In the final two minutes, captain Carter King roofed a slick tally, 3-1.
The second period featured tight checking as neither team could solve goaltenders Matt Davis or William Gramme. That is until the final three minutes when the Pioneers torched the Badgers. DU’s Samu Salminen poked in a goal from Eric Pohlkamp to build a three goal lead. A Wisconsin slashing penalty with only a minute-and-a- half remaining added insult to injury as Jake Fisher pounded home goal number five.
The rout was on in the third period when five minutes into the frame Sam Harris found twine from an assist from Zeev Buium with a hand from Fisher. DU coasted from there to earn an easy win.
Next up is a trip to play Yale in New Haven, Connecticut next weekend. The takeaway? These Pioneers are just as good as we thought they were.
Cap puts us in front after a strong forecheck by the 4th line! pic.twitter.com/eMaoyzmcsM
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) October 27, 2024
Carter King tallied late in the period and has now scored in 5 straight games–tying a career long! pic.twitter.com/KhTdtTtb0K
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) October 27, 2024
https://twitter.com/DU_Hockey/status/1850341270327083056
REPLAY: Great passing started by goalie Matt Davis and ends with Jake Fisher finding the back of the net. #GoPios pic.twitter.com/QIbicqPsUB
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) October 27, 2024
Total dominance.
Great game for the Pioneers! Lots of Wisconsin fans buying beer and food. Love to see them stay quiet!! Hope we can get other Big 10 teams on future schedules.
When you sweep a weekend against a ranked Big 10 team, score 10 goals and keep the opponent to three goals, there isn’t a lot to nitpick. Pios are learning how to adjust to different styles of play, and the lines are gelling before our eyes. Very impressed with compete level and close-outs, special teams (PP and PK) are better than last year and so is Davis’ saves percentage. Also really impressed with team face-offs, which are dramatically improved, and all the scoring balance up and down the lineup.
If there is something I’d like to see DU improve on, it’s slow starts. Last weekend, the Badgers opened the scoring in both games. While DU responded and become dominant at times, slow starts can hurt you in games against good teams. Hope this is a point of emphasis for Yale.
Finally, its was great to see Devine score his first to go with his massive number of assists. Against Yale, I’d also like to see Buium get his first goal.
Go Pios!