In a tough season filled with bad nights of hockey, the Denver Pioneers (7-11-1, 25 pts) delivered another dud against the #2 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (14-4-1, 41 pts), falling 3-0 at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was a game that featured 17 penalties, 11 power plays, and a game that altogether did not spell success for the Pioneers. It was, fittingly, a DU penalty followed by a North Dakota power-play goal that served as the turning point of the game. Continue reading Lackluster Pioneers Shut Out by #2 Fighting Hawks in Grand Forks
Category Archives: Hockey
DU vs UND: When Perception and Reality Collide
When head coach Dave Hakstol left North Dakota to lead the Philadelphia Flyers, a cleaner version of hockey was introduced by his replacement, Brad Berry. But, in some ways, the Fighting Hawks have returned to their old tricks under Berry with a slash here, a boarding there, an extra shove, and a trip to lead the NCHC in penalties with 248 total minutes spent in the sin bin. Denver sits in sixth place with 156 minutes in the box. In comparison, UND’s top five offenders have spent 131 minutes in the box, double Denver’s total of 66. Continue reading DU vs UND: When Perception and Reality Collide
NCHC Announces Single-Elimination Postseason Tournament in Grand Forks
The NCHC announced this morning that it is completely revamping its annual postseason tournament and moving the entire thing to Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Instead of a two-week tournament starting with best-of-three-game-series at campus sites followed by the semifinals and championship at the Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul, Minnesota, all teams will be invited to a five-day single-elimination event. Quarterfinals, seeded as they would have been normally (1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, etc.) will occur on Friday and Saturday, March 12-13, while the semifinals and championship will take place on Monday, March 15 and Tuesday, March 16, respectively. No third-place game will occur. Continue reading NCHC Announces Single-Elimination Postseason Tournament in Grand Forks
Denver Melts Down, Gags-Up a 5-4 OT Loss to Omaha
It was a game that has encapsulated Denver’s entire season to this point – a lot of solid Denver hockey played, but ending in a embarrassing result, as the Denver Pioneers played well for the first 45 minutes but gagged-up a two-goal, third-period lead and fell to the Omaha Mavericks, 5-4 in overtime in a gut-wrenching loss that may have major implications for the Pioneers’ now-slim home ice playoff hopes. Continue reading Denver Melts Down, Gags-Up a 5-4 OT Loss to Omaha
Pioneers Topple Mavericks to Take Game One, Close Standings Gap
The Denver Pioneers (7-9-1, 24 pts) have a long road ahead of them if they’re going to defy the odds and earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the NCHC Tournament by finishing in the top four of the conference. The only way Denver will be able to do that is if they start to win games and continue to win games. Cole Guttman tallied three points on a goal and two assists leading the Pioneers to a strong 3-1 victory over the #9 Omaha Mavericks (10-6-1, 30 pts) and helped the Pioneers take a step in the right direction and pull a bit closer to fourth place. Continue reading Pioneers Topple Mavericks to Take Game One, Close Standings Gap
Maybe it’s Just a COVID Year
The #20 Denver Pioneers hockey team sits 6-9-1 with yet another postponed series again this weekend. Coming into the season, there were high expectations followed by erratic play and disappointing results. Various theories attributed the performances to coaching decisions, leaky goaltending, tepid faceoff results, or a simple inability to score?
Or is the simple answer the ‘COVID-19’ pandemic? Continue reading Maybe it’s Just a COVID Year
First Sweep Eludes Pioneers as Omaha Finally Breaks 19-game Winless Streak Against Denver
Inconsistency has been the single biggest theme of the season for the #19 Denver Pioneers (6-9-1, 21 pts). Through 16 games, the Pios have won consecutive games just once, against North Dakota and then against Miami in December at the Pod in Omaha. Since then, they have struggled to string together sustained stretches of good, dominant hockey. Denver is playing .500 hockey with three wins and three losses in six games in 2021, all coming in series splits against Colorado College, North Dakota, and now, thanks to a 5-2 loss in the second game of this weekend’s series, #11 Omaha (9-4-1, 27 pts). Tonight’s loss ended a six-year, 19-game stretch that saw Denver go 16-0-3 against Omaha. Continue reading First Sweep Eludes Pioneers as Omaha Finally Breaks 19-game Winless Streak Against Denver
Pioneers Extend Unbeaten Streak Against Mavericks to 19 with 4-1 Victory
Don’t look now but the #19 Denver Pioneers (6-8-1, 21 pts) have quietly won three of five games since their underwhelming performance at the NCHC Pod in Omaha. DU’s latest victory came against the upstart #11 Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks (8-4-1, 24 pts) who have ridden their hot start to the season to third place in the NCHC. The victorious 4-1 effort in their first return to Omaha since the Pod not only extended Denver’s unbeaten streak against Omaha to 19 straight games and puts the Pioneers back in position for home-ice advantage to begin the postseason. Another victory in game two of the series tomorrow night will vault them back into the top half of the conference in fourth place. Continue reading Pioneers Extend Unbeaten Streak Against Mavericks to 19 with 4-1 Victory
Denver Hockey Series Preview: Omaha
The Pioneers got the split against North Dakota last week and improved to 5-8-1, but that record doesn’t seem to do justice. The Pioneers are out-shooting their opponents on average 30-24, they’re getting quality chances, but they aren’t getting the puck luck. They’re 2-4 in one-goal games which could be the difference right now, especially how Denver started the season. In their first season without a national champion on the roster, this is a big test not only for the players but for coach David Carle. Leadership is going to play a big role in the next ten games of a unique season, but everyone knows it all starts with a little momentum.
Mysterious ‘Orb’ Discovered in Omaha
After an unexplained monolith was sighted in Utah late last year, a new mysterious ‘orb’ has appeared on the University of Nebraska Omaha campus. The newly discovered unidentified object was reported Tuesday morning in front of UNO’s Arts and Sciences Hall. Continue reading Mysterious ‘Orb’ Discovered in Omaha