OMAHA  – Brett Edwards' goal in the fifth round of the NCHC shootout finished a lengthy game as the No. 4 Denver Pioneers (15-4-4, 5-3-3-2) tied the Omaha Mavericks 1-1 before taking the extra point in the conference standings on Friday at Baxter Arena.
 
One week after upsetting then-No. 1 North Dakota, Omaha used the first half of the game to rediscover its confidence and second half to challenge Denver's six-game win streak and now 17-game unbeaten streak against the Mavericks.
 
Omaha's play gradually improved after getting outshot 13-4 in the first period. The Mavericks gained momentum with eight shots on three power plays in the second, then saw their momentum peak at 1:29 of the third when Littleton, Colo. native Noah Prokop stripped Michael Davies behind the net and capitalized for a shorthanded goal to make it 1-1.
 
"In the second and third period they did a better job of preventing us from breaking pucks out clean," Richard and Kitzia Goodman Head Coach said. "I thought our breakouts were great in the first, we had a lot of talk and we were a unit of five coming out (of our zone), but it seemed like in the second and third periods our talk dipped. It's a 60-minute game. We loved our first period… we had some posts and some other really good looks throughout the night, they had some looks as well. At the end of the day, it's a good hockey game and it probably ended like it should have."
 
Riding momentum from Prokop's shorthanded goal, Omaha nearly took the lead in the final seconds of the same penalty kill as Bobby Brink's broken stick in the offensive zone led to a three-on-one rush at the opposite end of the ice. Chrona denied the odd-man rush, keeping the Pioneers even with one of his 23 saves in the final 40 minutes of regulation, NCAA and NCHC overtime.
 
"Both goalies were really good," Carle said. "There were Grade-A chances both ways. They stood tall and did a great job."
 
The Pioneers' tenacious forecheck led to their first goal of the night at 4:34 as the puck was turned over behind the Omaha net, Brett Stapley collected it and snapped a pass to Tyler Ward who finished the play for his third goal in two games.
 
Denver's scoring chances became less frequent as the game progressed with the Pioneers getting only one power play after the first period, their best chance coming from Kyle Mayhew's shot off the post late in the second.
 
….
 
Magnus Chrona made 29 saves…Tyler Ward has three goals and one assist in his last two games...Brett Stapley is on a four-game point streak with one goal and six assists…Denver finished 0/3 on the power play and 4/4 on the penalty kill…
 
UP NEXT: Denver Hockey presented by Centura Health closes its weekend series with Omaha on Saturday, Jan. 18
 
2020 DENVER ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME RECEPTION: Denver announced its 2020 Athletic Hall of Fame class in January. The inductees will be honored on the DU campus May 16. For more information, registration for the reception and donation information, click here. 

DONATE: Fans interested in making a donation to the hockey program can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.  
 
SHOP PIONEERS: Get dressed for Game Day! Get your Pioneers gear at ShopPioneers.com, the official online store of University of Denver Athletics.

-OUR JOURNEY, OUR TIME- 
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 17 of DU's NCAA Division I sports
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Hockey on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_Hockey on Twitter
Follow @DenverPioneers and @DU_Hockey on Instagram