Hockey, Men's Sports

Poor Discipline, Defense Doom Pioneers Against Huskies in Final Tilt of 2025

6 Comments

Everything was going perfectly fine for the #6 Denver Pioneers (12-6-1, 8-2-0 NCHC)…until it wasn’t. They held a two-goal lead late in the second period, but the St. Cloud State Huskies (8-10-0, 3-7-0 NCHC) scored with just 14 seconds left to pull back to within in one entering the third. Then, two ill-advised penalties, including a major for head contact, later, the Huskies flipped the script, tying the game and then taking the lead right after the major penalty ended. The Pioneers did their best to find the equalizer over the final five minutes, but it was to no avail, as they fell, 4-3, in their final game of 2025, ending what was a 12-game regulation unbeaten streak.

Sometimes, in close, comeback games like these, the result doesn’t reflect who should have won, or it can feel like the team that lost didn’t deserve their fate. That wasn’t the case tonight in St. Cloud. The Pioneers didn’t play well enough, especially in the defensive zone over the course of the third period, to earn a road win. Yes, if the shorthanded two-on-one shot during the major penalty kill hit the crossbar just half an inch lower, we might be talking about a 13-game regulation unbeaten streak and great vibes entering the winter/holiday break.

But the reality is, even while they were building their 3-1 lead, they were playing with fire on defense. They struggled throughout the game to effectively defend the Huskies’ zone entries, perhaps best exemplified on St. Cloud’s opening goal, when Max Smolinski entered the zone with no DU coverage and wired an elite wrister over DU goalie Quentin Miller’s right shoulder. It had to be a perfect shot to beat the reigning NCHC Goaltender of the Week and that’s exactly what it was.

Denver scored the game’s next three goals, as Kent Anderson and Reid Varkonyi sandwiched Kyle Chyzowski’s heads-up tap-in on the power play with perfect one-timers for their respective first goals of the season. But it didn’t end up mattering. Tyson Gross scored that last-second goal in the second period to give the Huskies life, and in the NCHC, if you give the opposition an inch, they’re going to take a mile.

The Pioneers clung to their one-goal lead and nearly added to it throughout the first 10 minutes of the third, but it was Samu Salminen’s two consecutive penalties combined with Eric Jamieson’s five-minute major and game misconduct for contact to the head right after Salminen’s second penalty (hooking) that burst the door wide open for the Huskies. All they had to do was walk through it. The Pioneers killed off the five-on-three with a valiant effort and what seemed like 15 different blocked shots, but they were never going to keep the country’s 7th-best power play off the scoreboard and Barrett Hall hammered home the game-winner with just over five minutes left, right after the major penalty ended.

The loss will leave a sour taste in DU’s mouth entering the three-week break, but it doesn’t erase their strong, 8-2-0 start in NCHC play. There are plenty of good things from the first half to build on as the calendar flips to 2026, but perhaps more importantly, there are many, many lessons that it’s important that they learn before the stretch run arrives. As well as DU against their first half NCHC opponents, they severely underachieved in nonconference play, tying Air Force and losing to Lindenwood, Alaska Anchorage (at home!), and Northeastern.

But big picture, they sit at #5 in the NPI and are just one point behind 1st place North Dakota in the NCHC standings with that series at The Ralph looming in mid-January. For DU, which has traditionally been a strong second-half team under David Carle, everything remains in front of them. Every goal, from the Gold Pan (which is all but locked up) to the NCHC and an 11th national championship, is still attainable.

It’s a long season. Bad games like this are going to happen. But it’s important that the Pioneers learn the lessons they need to from these kinds of games. That has always been the hallmark of the Pioneers under Carle, and there is no reason to think that there isn’t another fantastic second half ahead.

With that, enjoy the next three weeks with your families. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours. We’ll see you in 2026 when Maine comes to town.

Highlights

Top photo courtesy of St. Cloud State Athletics

6 thoughts on “Poor Discipline, Defense Doom Pioneers Against Huskies in Final Tilt of 2025”

  4. This was a very winnable game, and blowing a two-goal lead by playing undisciplined hockey should be concerning.

    The good news is that the holiday break will hopefully allow these guys to relax a bit, recharge and get ready to refocus on the second half.

    There is plenty of reason for optimism in the second half – offensive depth, defensive experience, solid goaltending, the freshmen are getting better, more home games than road games (after a road-heavy first half) and the huge carrot of playing for a Colorado regional berth.

    I expect Carle and Co. to take all the steps needed for team improvement in the second half…

    Reply

  5. #5 in the NPI despite the loss. The Jamieson 5 was a very dumb moment, but I’m choosing to have perspective. He’s a freshman learning a lesson in a relatively meaningless game in December vs a regional in March who has made a significant impact already. I also recall Behrens taking a similar penalty that cost them at NoDak a few years ago as a junior, and the team responded by winning 16 of 18 to win the natty. The NCHC is just the best conference year after year, and we’ve been spoiled by success into thinking these weekends are a given.

    Reply

  6. Unfortunately, ‘relatively meaningless’ games early in the season have a way of becoming regrettable ‘if only’ games by the end of the season. No question DU took their foot off the gas late in this game.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Puck SwamiCancel reply