You would have to get on the way-back machine to experience a home loss sweep like this weekend at the hands of Arizona State. In February of 2020, DU was swept by Minnesota Duluth at Magness Arena – 1,757 days ago. The 5-2 loss Saturday night was a repeat of Friday night when ASU was the better team on the ice as well. DU had critical defensive breakdowns and could not execute on several grade-A scoring chances against a relentless ASU team. Luke Pavicich was golden between the pipes for the Sun Devils and stifled a number of great scoring opportunities from DU. Denver got off 60 shots on the night to 49 for ASU but only a pair of shots found their intended target. Matt Davis was not the problem either as DU turnovers, odd-man rushes and clean scoring looks carried over from Friday night’s game. The final ASU goal was an empty-netter and Davis made several big stops on the night to keep DU in the game.
We have seen a ‘holiday swoon’ by Denver hockey before but it was the suddenness of this weekend’s series sweep, after a 12-0 start, that was a surprise to many fans. Facing a two-week break, DU has a chance to catch their breath with the Thanksgiving holiday and a bye next weekend before resuming play against Top 10 NCHC conference foe Western Michigan on the road. Denver is still sitting in an excellent position and can focus on hockey for nearly a month and a half until school resumes for the winter quarter.
Denver was outshot in the first period, 23-20 and the Pioneers only put eight shots-on-goal. However, DU took advantage of an interference penalty on the Sun Devils with less than two minutes remaining in the period. Denver fired away at goal but could not solve Pavicich until DU’s Sam Harris took a feed from Jack Devine to gain first blood, 1-0, with 8 seconds remaining in the first period. Things were looking up for Denver at this point as the Pioneers often turn up the heat in the second period.
The second period, aside from the final five minutes, was all ASU as they bottled up DU and put 11 shots on Matt Davis while Denver could only generate 6 shots on goal. Early in the period, DU’s Tory Pitner was called for holding. ASU’s Noah Beck responded with a powerplay goal at 3:55 to knot the game. A turnover by DU created yet another Sun Devil rush and Cullen Potter buried a shot past Davis for a 2-1 lead at the midway mark of the period. Less than a minute later, Artem Shiaine had a clean look at goal and put ASU up 3-1 as the Pioneers struggled to find answers on both ends of the ice. With a little over five minutes left in the period, Aidan Thompson scored for Denver, 3-2, and Denver seemed to catch some momentum and life at the tail end of the period. Still, Denver could never find the equalizer before the end-of-period buzzer.
ASU came out with aggression to start the final period, clogging up the blue line and creating numerous scoring opportunities. Less than three minutes into the period, ASU’s Shiaine beat Davis on an even-strenth goal, 4-2, and the tally seemed to take the oxygen out of Magness Arena. Denver finally started to generate shots down the stretch but Pavicich stood tall for the Sun Devils The Pioneers took 24 shots in the period -14 shots-on-goal. Head Coach David Carle pulled Davis with 5:30 remaining and Denver continued to pepper Pavicich with no luck. Then, with two minutes remaining, ASU Bennet Schimek scored an empty net goal to cap the weekend sweep and send the Denver fans packing.
Defeats are going to happen in a long college hockey season. It may be best for Denver, following such a strong start to the season, to hit a road bump fairly early for the team to reset and refocus for what is certain to be a rugged NCHC gauntlet of games in front of them. No doubt, one of the most anticipated future series will be the rematch in Tempe, Arizona in February when the Pioneers will attempt to return the favor. No doubt, the visitors see this as an important, new rivalry. Denver will have to respond in kind.
Reddit College hockey blog put together a college hockey rivalry chart (i.e. Hate Map). DU fans see Colorado College as their biggest rival. ASU fans see DU as their biggest rival. This is a BIG win for the new NCHC entrant.
Top Photo: Clarkson Creative via Denver Athletics
This weekend was ugly…Should we be concerned?
It’s a long season and still early. It is a wake up call but nothing more at this point. #1 DU is 12-2. That is a pretty solid start by any measure. However, going forward DU is going to need to prepare for ASU like they do when they play CC and North Dakota.
Looks like someone coughed up a hair ball.
Very surprising…..best to set aside and focus meanwhile on Pio’s men’s soccer NCAA run!
Went to game last night. I never had the feeling DU was in control. Maybe last few minutes of second period. Tough to get swept and then take a week off. Go Pioneer soccer team!!
Yes, DU played long stretches of very poor hockey, but give ASU credit. The Sun Devils were well prepared, stuck to their game plan and played a great road series to sweep a formerly hot DU team.
One side of me thinks this was a bad, trap weekend blip. A 12-0 start would lead a lot of teams to a more complacent patch, especially during finals week, which is a huge disruption to sleep patterns and normal routines. Hockey players thrive on the routine, and going into (and coming out of) holiday breaks is a jarring change to these players, and there are often poor DU performances at this time of year. The good news is DU is now on a school break that lasts until January, and that will allow them to focus entirely on hockey again.
However, the other side of me remains more concerned. The Pios played a softer schedule to start the year, and now DU is going to see mostly stronger opponents. Coaches have now studied DU this year and have produced detailed game plans to take DU out of its comfort zone. ASU’s ability to evade DU’s puck pressure and stretch the Pios gaps on transition resulted in numerous chances for ASU this weekend, and the Pios were not able to adjust well. ASU was the best team on the ice for 75% of this weekend, and the Pios getting badly out-skated on home ice could also be the sign that the Pioneers are just not as good as we thought they were.
The Pios now next travel to play top 10 Western Michigan, one of the hottest teams in the country. WMU has only a single loss (to BC), and the Pios will face the Broncos where a very hostile crowd certainly awaits them on the road in Lawson Arena. Then the Pios will face the CC Tigers, who appear to be an NCAA Tourney team this year and likely are even better than last year’s 21-win CC team. And then there is a looming early January trip to one of the most hostile arenas in the country in Maine to face the top 5 Black Bears, likely without coach Carle and Zeev Buium on World Junior duties. This very fearsome stretch of the season will tell us a lot about how good DU is this year…
ASU got FOUR goals this weekend from a 22yr old fifth year senior portal puppy from Moscow. Previously played for UConn and N Mich before ASU. The rot that is killing college football has invaded hockey…