Omaha, Neb. – The No. 6 Denver Pioneers (19-8-4, 11-8-2-2) scored twice in the first and third periods to defeat the Omaha Mavericks (9-20-2, 5-15-1-1) 4-1 on Friday at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb.

The victory moved Denver to within one win of clinching home-ice advantage in the first round of the NCHC playoffs as well as to within one win of its 18^th-consecutive 20-win season. The win also moved the Pioneers to third place in the NCHC standings.

"I loved our start," Richard and Kitzia Goodman Head Coach David Carle said. "I thought in the first we were on our toes and were very aggressive. In the second period their puck pressure was better and it made us uncomfortable…the game got a little bit sideways for us and we were able to come out with a 2-1 lead. I thought we played better in the third, it was similar to the first in the mentality that we tried to take the game to them."

Denver's special teams shined in the opening period. After killing a penalty for the first two minutes of the game, the Pioneers leveled the ice and attacked with a power play of their own. Tyson McLellan rang Denver's first scoring chance off the post before Michael Davies and Jarid Lukosevicius would solve Evan Weninger twice in only 1:20. At 11:20 of the frame, Davies caught a cross-ice pass from Cole Guttman and wired a power-play goal past Weninger to make it 1-0. Lukosevicius extended the lead shortly after as he picked up the puck from Kohen Olischefski, skated down the right-wing boards and scored on a tight-angle shot to give Denver a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.   

The Mavericks cut the Pioneers' lead only 53 seconds into the second period on Taylor Ward's rebound from Mason Morelli's shot. Denver's one-goal lead was tested as the period continued with both teams putting a slew of shots off the post.  Lukosevicius attempt on the short side with 7:45 left in the frame marked the Pioneers' best chance.

Jaakko Heikkinen was eventually able to extend Denver's lead at 2:53 of the third period. Ian Mitchell started the chance by breaking up a play in the neutral zone, then fed Heikkinen who took the puck into the zone, split two defenseman and swept around the net to beat Weninger with the wrapround. Guttman's wrist shot at 14:06 would seal the three-goal win.  

Heikkinen and Guttman each finished with one goal and one assist. The Pioneers finished 1/4 on the power play and 5/5 on the penalty kill. Larsson made 25 saves, including 11 in the third period.

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