In a season of hope, Denver men’s basketball (9-19, 5-10) delivered a clunker in Hamilton Gym Saturday afternoon. Denver never could stop the University of South Dakota (15-10, 8-6) on the offensive end and they were unable to make timely baskets as the Coyotes cruised to the win on DU’s Senior Day. The only positive was the effort put out by senior Taelyr Gatlin in place of Jordan Johnson (COVID protocol) who left every ounce of effort on the court in the exasperating home finale. Continue reading Denver Falls in Disappointing Loss to South Dakota
Category Archives: Men’s Sports
Denver Weathers Brenden Crouse’s Six-Goal Effort to top Air Force in 2022 Home Opener
On the heels of an unexpectedly strong winter storm, the #12 Denver Pioneers men’s lacrosse team (2-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) took to the field at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium to face Air Force (0-2, 0-0 SoCon) in the Pios’ 2022 home opener. Air Force, for their part, came up I-25 after getting dominated by #1 Virginia, 21-11 while the Pioneers came home from topping Utah last weekend, 14-13, in a season-opening thriller. With an all-important trip to Duke on the schedule next weekend, the Pioneers planned to use the matchup against Air Force as a tune-up and, along the way, they had to withstand a one-man scoring machine in Brenden Crouse who scored six goals for the Falcons. Fortunately for DU who had five different players score at least two goals, Crouse was the only Air Force attacker to make a difference as the Pioneers pulled away in the second half to win 13-9. Continue reading Denver Weathers Brenden Crouse’s Six-Goal Effort to top Air Force in 2022 Home Opener
Second Period Pioneers Score Three Against Bulldogs En Route to 9th Straight Victory
The #3 Denver Pioneers (21-5-1, 14-3-0-1 NCHC, 41 pts) have the country’s best offense. But you already knew that. The Denver Pioneers boast the country’s highest-scoring player in Bobby Brink (But you already knew that too). What you may not have known is that after outscoring the #6 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (14-11-3, 7-6-3-0-1-1 NCHC, 26 pts) 3-1 in the second period, the Pioneers are now outscoring opponents 55-16 in the second period this season which is among the country’s best marks for that stat. As a result of another dominant second period, for the ninth straight time, the Pioneers won, this time a 5-3 effort over the Bulldogs, just their second in their last 10 meetings, dating back to the 2019 NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinal. Continue reading Second Period Pioneers Score Three Against Bulldogs En Route to 9th Straight Victory
Denver Men Hit Home Stretch with Major Goals in Sight
Denver men’s basketball (9-17, 5-8) is heading into the final five regular conference games of the season. The goal at this point is simple – achieve double-digit wins and earn a trip to the Summit League Tournament. Considering all the optimism the team has created so far this season, a swoon at the end of conference play could wash away much of the hard-earned respect this team has earned from opponents and fans alike. Continue reading Denver Men Hit Home Stretch with Major Goals in Sight
DU Athletes Conquer the ‘Ice River’ at Beijing Olympic Games
This week saw the start of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The Denver Pioneers are well represented in multiple sports. The first sport to see a Pioneer in action was Alpine Skiing and the Men’s Super-G on Monday. Denver Alum Trevor Phillip (’15) of Team Canada powered through the challenging course to a top-10 finish. This was Trevor’s 3rd Olympic Games, having competed in Sochi 2014 & PyeongChang 2018 games. We will see Trevor compete again in Men’s Alpine Combined on Wednesday. Continue reading DU Athletes Conquer the ‘Ice River’ at Beijing Olympic Games
Pioneers Use Savoie Hat Trick to Erase Three-Goal Deficit & Beat Huskies in Magness Arena Thriller
Disastrous first periods often lead to bad losses. For most teams, giving up three goals in the first 18 minutes of games almost never leads to victories. For most teams. The #3 Denver Pioneers (19-5-1, 12-3-0-1 NCHC, 35 pts) are not most teams. These Pioneers are, to borrow a Gen-Z internet phrase, built different. The #7 St. Cloud State Huskies (14-8-1, 6-6-1-1-1 NCHC, 19 pts) shot out to a 3-0 lead at Magness Arena in the first period thanks in large part to some lucky bounces and an at-times lackadaisical DU defense but for the Pioneers who lead the country in scoring, 3-0 was far from an insurmountable lead. All they had to do to right the ship was score 8 goals over the final 40 minutes, including four – three from Carter Savoie himself – in the second period to erase the three-goal deficit and four more in the third to come away with their sixth-straight victory and remain unbeaten at home. Continue reading Pioneers Use Savoie Hat Trick to Erase Three-Goal Deficit & Beat Huskies in Magness Arena Thriller
Denver Thaws Out Just in Time Against North Dakota
Denver men’s basketball (9-16, 5-7) traveled to frigid Grand Forks Thursday to play the North Dakota Fighting Hawks (4-20, 0-11) Grand Forks had heated up from -25 to a balmy -5 at tipoff. The Hawks resided in the cellar of the Summit League and Denver had a chance to secure a conference sweep. DU’s Tevin Smith was out of the game under the Covid protocol and UND was on an eleven game losing skid. Something had to give and it was the late charging Pioneers who took the game in OT, 81-79 in an unlikely comeback win.
Continue reading Denver Thaws Out Just in Time Against North Dakota
Renaissance Man Tyler Maun Has Become the Voice of the Pioneers
From 2005 to 2014, DU Athletics had a featured broadcaster, Mitch Hyder, who was best known for his radio play-by-play for the University of Denver’s men’s basketball team. A jack-of-all-trades, Hyder also did play-by-play for women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, gymnastics, and men’s and women’s lacrosse. The transition to a new voice has taken time but current play-by-play announcer, Tyler Maun has assumed the mantle as the voice of the Denver Pioneers.
Continue reading Renaissance Man Tyler Maun Has Become the Voice of the Pioneers
Denver Hockey Road Trip Recap: Pioneers Earn Road Sweep of RedHawks to Stay in First Place
The #5 Denver Pioneers (18-5-1, 11-3-0-1, 32 pts) were always expected to sweep the last-place Miami RedHawks (4-20-2, 1-14-1-0-1, 6 pts) this weekend. DU swept them at Magness Arena back in November by a combined score of 11-2 and MU was coming off of a dismal, embarrassing weekend sweep at the hands of #6 St. Cloud State, 11-1 & 8-0. Everything was lined up perfectly for an easy road sweep for the Pioneers before they came home to begin their toughest stretch of the season, hosting SCSU and Minnesota Duluth before traveling to Kalamazoo to take on the Western Michigan Broncos in a weekend that could determine who earns a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But the weekend in Oxford ended up far from the easy series that most had expected and though the Pios did indeed earn the sweep, though the path to get there was filled with obstacles even the most seasoned college hockey fans probably didn’t expect. Continue reading Denver Hockey Road Trip Recap: Pioneers Earn Road Sweep of RedHawks to Stay in First Place
Pioneers Survive Upset-Minded RedHawks to Escape Oxford with Five Points
The #5 Denver Pioneers (18-5-1, 11-3-0-1 NCHC, 32 pts) traveled to the Goggin Ice Center in Oxford, Ohio to take on the last-place Miami University RedHawks (4-19-2, 1-13-1-0-1, 6 pts) expecting two easy wins after the RedHawks were demolished 11-1 & 8-0 against St. Cloud State last weekend. Instead, the Pios got a lot more than they bargained for in the two-game series as DU had to come back from a third-period two-goal deficit on Friday night to force overtime before coming away with the 5-4 victory. On Saturday evening, the RedHawks once again gave the Pioneers all they could handle, spotting the Pioneers a 2-0 lead before tying it back up at 2 entering the third period. Ryan Barrow scored the game-winner less than six minutes into the final frame and McKade Webster sealed the win with an empty-netter with just over a minute left.
It was a gritty series sweep where the first-place Pioneers narrowly escaped with two wins and come home with five more points to become the first team in the NCHC to reach 30 points on the season. They are now five points clear of North Dakota which is currently trailing St. Cloud State, 3-1 (as of 5:51 pm MT).
We will have a more in-depth discussion of both of this weekend’s games tomorrow in our normal Denver Hockey Road Trip Recap.