Denver men’s hockey (12-10-2, 8-5-0) visited The Ralph Friday night for a two-game set against the Fighting Hawks in Grand Forks. It was a recurring theme for the Pioneers as they fell behind early, struggled on the powerplay and had uncharacteristic breakdowns on both ends of the ice in a 5-0 rout.

DU fell behind early, 1-0, when UND’s Ellis Rickwood, unassisted, solved Quentin Miller at 1:03. Rickwood got called for holding four minutes later but the Pioneers came up empty handed with the extra man. UND’s Anthony Manghini doubled up the score at 8:30, 2-0, UND. For a team struggling to score, the early two-goal deficit felt nearly insurmountable for DU’s struggling offense. At the end of the period, DU had 45 seconds on the power-play but came up empty handed against goaltender Jan Špunar. The Pioneers could only muster 6 shots in the period.

Opening the second period, Denver failed to get a puck past Špunar with a 1:15 minute man advantage. Denver started to create some scoring pressure but failed to light the lamp after several good looks. At 7:08, UND’s Jack Kernan came down the ice on a 2-on-1 break and rifled a shot to the stick-side of Miller, 3-0. Two minutes later, Manghini got a feed from Cole Reschnyn in the right circle and slapped a shot past Miller, 4-0. DU withstood two penalties on Eric Pohlkamp and Samu Salminen respectively, the only positives in another brutal period for the Pioneers.

The final period was a gut check. Denver was nearly certain to lose the game but would they come out with energy and fight?

Johnny Hicks opened the third period in goal for DU after Miller gave up 4 goals on 20 shots. Eric Pohlkamp was called for a penalty in the first 30 seconds and DU went on defense and held strong. Denver failed to create scoring chances the balance of the period. With time winding down, North Dakota’s Cole Reschny sent a shot through traffic past a screened Hicks, 5-0. DU came up short on their only power-play opportunity of the period and could only generate a paltry 5 shots in the period, only 18 for the game.

It’s clear, DU has lost confidence in the offensive end and has lost their early-season mojo. The fight and effort, especially in the third period, was subpar and provides fans little optimism for Saturday nights final matchup of the regular season against UND. It’s up to the team to escape the current slump and begin to play with desperation and urgency – both lacking Friday night.