For all of their problems with the rest of the NCHC, the #6 Denver Pioneers (21-7-1, 10-6-1 NCHC) have had no issues with the #17 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (14-12-2, 9-7-1 NCHC) through three games. The Pioneers outshot their visitors 32-21, including 16-4 in a scoreless first period, and altogether outclassed their out-of-state archrival en route to their 4-0 victory – the Pioneers’ first shutout of the Fighting Hawks since the 2019 NCHC Quarterfinal Round – at Magness Arena. At the moment, the 4th place Pioneers are two points clear of the Fighting Hawks and #7 in the Pairwise, up two spots from their position at the beginning of the evening.
Jack Devine scored twice, including an empty-netter, in the third period while Kieran Cebrian and Boston Buckberger accounted for the Pioneers’ two other goals. Concerningly, Matt Davis exited the game with an apparent injury with just more than five minutes left, and backup Freddie Halyk held North Dakota scoreless in the waning minutes of the shutout. There has been no update on Davis’ status to this point.
Game two gets underway tomorrow night at 6pm MT on NCHC.tv and Altitude. We will have a more in-depth analysis of both games in a series recap tomorrow night.
Top photo courtesy Tyler Schank/Clarkson Creative Photography via Denver Athletics
Good all around effort on both ends of the ice. Always love to beat (and shut out) NoDak.
With the playoffs on the horizon, very concerned about Davis’ non-contact injury.
Terrific win and a solid all-around effort for the Pios last night. They were on their toes for much of the game and were the better team. One other thing that really stood out was faceoffs–Pios won a lot of key draws last night, allowing them to get to their transition game quickly and also keep the pressure on UND. Let’s get another W tonight!!
Hopefully we see Davis back soon.