It was not a great game for Denver on both the offensive and defensive ends. DU had numerous chances to beat Omaha goaltender Simon Latkoczy, 63 shots in regulation, but only solved the netminder three times in sixty-five minutes and three times in 16 shootout opportunities. DU gave up a powerplay goal, a back door stuff and an odd-man rush, giving the Mavs life in different ways. Omaha deserved the point and DU deserved what they got on this rather glum night, overshadowed by the loss of Daniel L. Ritchie. The highlight of the night was a touching tribute to Ritchie by Athletic Director Josh Berlo and a photo montage following the National Anthem.
Denver had a sluggish first period. A penalty on Denver led to an Omaha powerplay goal by Sam Stange with 11 seconds left on the penalty midway through the period. The Mavs controlled the pace of play against Denver and exited the period with a 1-0 lead. Omaha held a 16-13 edge on shots and had the jump on Denver.
Denver jumped on Omaha to start the second period when Kieran Cebrian scored an even-strength goal for the Pioneers, 1-1. The second period featured long stretches with Denver in firm control. Still, in the middle of the period, Omaha dug a hole for the Pioneers with goals from Liam Watkins and Brock Bremer to plunge Denver into a two-goal deficit, 3-1. DU’s Eric Pohlkamp restored some order with a goal shortly before the end of the period to draw closer to the Mavs, 3-2. DU peppered Simon Latkoczy with 18 shots-on-goal, many Grade A opportunities, but still trailed by a goal.
Early in the third period, Zeev Buium scored to knot the score, 3-3. For the remainder of the period, both teams had quality chances to take the lead but Matt Davis and Latkoczy stood their ground. The pair faced 44 shots and 23 shots-on-goal during the period but neither team could open the scoring floodgates.
Overtime was evenly played with both teams earning four shots on goal, all denied. The game ended in a tie, 3-3, in the NCAA record book. A subsequent shootout for an NCHC extra-point lasted an eternity, 16 rounds. The Omaha captain, Nolan Krenzen, finally beat Matt Davis to end the night for a sparse crowd eager to head for the exits.
The 16-round shootout capped a rather sad and lackluster day for Denver hockey and their fans. DU sits in fifth place in the NCHC, an unfamiliar spot for the defending National Champions. Yes, tomorrow will be a new day and a chance at hockey redemption. However, the Pioneers will need to execute better and find a gear that has been largely missing since the holiday break.
Ugly
Right now, this DU team is a mid-pack NCHC team – good, but not great. So much recent inconsistency in scoring, special teams play, goaltending and overall effort levels have this team mired in the mid-pack in the NCHC.
Can this team still be special? Perhaps. As of right now, though, this team does not pass the eye test for special.
For comparison, last year’s DU team lost only once after Feb 3.
That game had a little bit of everything–offensive chances at both ends, momentum changes, an always exciting OT period, and then a long shootout. Unfortunately for DU, the overall effort and execution wasn’t good enough, and they settled for a tie on home ice against a team they should have beaten. If that sounds familiar, it should. The theme for the last 2+ months has been mediocrity, and the record shows it. Pios are 6-6-1 since the middle of November.
I kept waiting for the Pios to take over the game. When they are on their toes and moving their feet, they can do some really good things. They had some good sequences last night. They also had some lackluster sequences and ended up pinned in their own end for several minutes at a time against a determined UNO forecheck.
Only 11 games left in the regular season. It’s time for these guys to find and sustain that next gear and start playing a solid 60 minutes each and every game.