DENVER, Colo. (UND Athletics)– No. 4 Denver scored a trio of power play goals, all coming on a pair of major man advantages, to complete the weekend sweep over North Dakota with a 5-2 win on Saturday night from Magness Arena in Denver, Colo.
Despite a great performance from Drew DeRidder in net that saw the fifth year make 32 saves, the Pioneers (23-7-0, 14-4-0 NCHC) took advantage of some penalty trouble by the Fighting Hawks (12-13-4, 6-10-2 NCHC) to capture their fourth straight win over NoDak.
It was a bit of a choppy start for both teams in the early going, with icings dictating most of the stoppages through the opening half of the first period. That changed mightily in the final 10 minutes of the stanza, with the teams combining for 29 penalty minutes, including a major penalty and game misconduct to Gavin Hain.
Denver capitalized just five seconds into the major, as Carter King tipped home a shot to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead. DeRidder and his penalty killers were stout for the remainder of the kill, however, stopping multiple grade-A chances to keep the deficit at just one after 20 minutes of play.
Penalties again dominated the second period and Denver took full advantage to extend its lead to 3-0. Following a major penalty and game misconduct on Tyler Kleven, the Pios converted twice in the final half of the power play to carry a three-goal lead into the locker room after 40 minutes.
North Dakota didn’t go quietly over the final 20 minutes, striking just 1:43 in the third on a goal by Mark Senden to get the visitors on the board and cut the lead to 3-1.
The Fighting Hawks had a trio of chances on the power play over the next 10 minutes but couldn’t cash in on the opportunities before Denver increased its lead to 4-1 with just over eight minutes to play in the contest.
Jackson Blake showed why he is one of the top rookies in college hockey, showing great patience to wait out the defense and the goaltender on a breakaway out of the penalty box to cut the lead to 4-2 with his 13th goal of the season.
Denver closed out victory with a late goal in the final moments to complete the 5-2 victory.
North Dakota returns to action next weekend for a home series against St. Cloud State beginning on Friday night from Ralph Engelstad Arena at 7:07 p.m.
Postgame Notes
- Drew DeRidder made his sixth straight start for UND, matching his season long
- Saturday marked the most power play goals allowed by UND this season
- Denver claims all four games in the regular season between the two teams for the first time since 2009-10
- Senden’s goal was his sixth of the season, matching his career-high set in 2018-19
- Denver finished with a 37-23 shot advantage
- DU also won the faceoff battle, 42-23
How It Happened
First Period
14:36 | DU – Carter King deflects home a shot from the point on the power play to give DU a 1-0 lead
Second Period
16:12 | DU – Aidan Thompson doubles the DU lead with another power play goal
17:01 | DU – Shai Buium adds the third tally with the man advantage for Denver to make it 3-0
Third Period
1:43 | UND – Mark Senden snaps home a shot from the point to get UND on the board
11:10 | DU – Tristen Broz takes advantage of a bouncing puck and makes it 4-1 DU
13:10 | UND – Jackson Blake scores a highlight goal to cut the lead to 4-2
16:04 | DU – Massimo Rizzo seals the victory for DU and increases the advantage to 5-2
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | 2/11/2023 9:42:00 PM | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com
