Hockey, Men's Sports

Hockey Road Trip Recap: Pioneers Sweep Seawolves Behind High-Flying Freshmen to Kick Off Title Defense

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The #1 Denver Pioneers (2-0-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) traveled to Anchorage, Alaska, this weekend to take on the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves (0-2-0) to open the 2026-27 season and begin their defense of the program’s 11th national title. On Friday, Daxon Rudolph opened Denver’s scoring with his first collegiate goal before the Pioneers cruised to a 6-2 victory, but DU had to work a bit harder on Saturday to come away with a gritty 4-1 victory to clinch the sweep.

Friday: #1 Denver 6, Alaska Anchorage 2

The Pioneers unsurprisingly had to shake off a bit of rust over the course of the first period and were outplayed by the Seawolves for the better part of the opening 10 minutes. Tye Spencer opened the scoring for the Seawolves, just 1:41 into the game, taking advantage of a chaotic (and poorly lit) sequence in front of Denver’s goaltender Johnny Hicks. Spencer’s goal gave the hosts a surprising lead over the defending champions, but it was only a matter of time until the Pioneers found their stride.

About halfway through the opening period, they found it, and it came in the form of Rudolph’s goal off a good pass from Cale Ashcroft. The freshman defenseman showed exactly why he was the 4th player selected in this Summer’s NHL Draft with an elite release from the high slot to beat UAA goalie William Gramme.

The first period ended at a 1-1 tie, but the Pioneers ultimately outshot the Seawolves 16-4 in the opening 20 minutes and never looked back. Rudolph’s goal effectively broke the Gramme Dam, and Denver peppered the UAA goalie with 13 more shots in the second, four of which found the back of the net, including Kieran Cebrian’s shorthanded marker just 1:15 into the middle frame. Ashcroft, Sam Harris, and Jake Fisher rounded out DU’s scoring in the second period. They did allow Spencer to score a power-play goal midway through the period to restore what, at the time, felt like a tenuous one-goal lead, but barely a minute later, Harris and Fisher scored just 14 seconds apart to eliminate any doubt.

In the blink of an eye, the game went from a tight, one-goal game with the overmatched Seawolves within striking distance of a shocking season-opening upset to a predictable blowout.

Fisher added a power-play goal in the third period for good measure, but the Pioneers got all of the offense they needed in that explosive second period. In all, Denver had 10 players register on the scoresheet, six of whom tallied at least two-point efforts.

Saturday: Denver 4, Alaska Anchorage 1

If Friday night was a cakewalk for the Pioneers, Saturday night presented a bit tougher of a task, especially in a second-period slog. Ryan Lin joined Rudolph as a first-time collegiate goal-scorer when he one-timed a pass from Jack Pridham past UAA goalie Joey Rocha to open the scoring near the end of the first period on the power play in Game Two. Denver held a 17-5 shots-on-goal edge after the first period, but only mustered Lin’s extra-man marker, which was notable because Cooper Anderson tied the game early in the second period.

Denver had a few lapses and poor stretches in game one, but the second period in game two presented a whole new challenge when they were thoroughly outplayed by UAA. Denver chased the game from the jump, and the Seawolves led the way in the middle period with a 10-5 shots-on-goal lead. At times, it looked like the Pioneers were skating through cement and were shells of themselves, at least compared to game one.

Were it not for a strong effort from Alaska Anchorage goaltender transfer Tyler Krivtsov, it’s entirely possible that the hosts would have carried a lead into the third period. Instead, Krivtsov stopped the nine other shots from his former teammates and kept the game under control to allow the Pioneers to rediscover their legs in the third period.

And boy, did they ever. Four minutes into the third, Sam Harris tallied the Pios’ second power-play goal of the night – their third of the weekend – by tipping home a Daxon Rudolph shot from the point. From the moment the third period started, though, the Pioneers flipped a switch and played the purest form of “Denver hockey,” the exact kind of hockey that has led them to three titles in the last five years and made David Carle one of the best coaches the game has ever seen. Their puck possession and management were at their best in the final 20 minutes and, in the rare instance that the Seawolves actually had the puck, DU kept everything to the outside and made quick work of regaining possession. It was the polar opposite of the second period, and it was a sight to behold, even if it came against a team that will likely finish near the bottom of the NPI in early March.

Mikey Berchild added a helpful insurance goal – also his first collegiate tally – with just under five minutes to go, finishing off an eye-popping passing display that saw Kyle Chyzowski find the freshman forward across the slot for what was essentially an empty-net, tap-in goal.

Ryan Miller rounded out a highlight-reel weekend for the freshman class with an empty-netter with 14 seconds left for his first collegiate goal as well. In all, Denver’s freshmen scored four goals and tallied 11 points over the course of the weekend, and they all looked comfortable at the college level. There’s no question that they eased into their collegiate careers against a team like Alaska Anchorage this weekend, and the road gets much more difficult in a couple of weeks when #2 Michigan, which swept Bowling Green (7-2 & 4-3) this weekend, comes to town.

Regardless of the competition level, it’s extremely encouraging that they looked as comfortable as they did, opening the season with a long road trip to southern Alaska. Now, their attention will shift to the USNTDP for an exhibition at Magness Arena next weekend before the banner-raising weekend against Michigan, who, interestingly, will host these same UAA Seawolves in Ann Arbor before the 2022 and 2026 Frozen Four rematch in Denver.

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