Omaha, Neb. - The No. 9 Denver Pioneers (2-4-0, 2-4-0-0) lost to the No. 3 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs 4-1 on Saturday afternoon at Baxter Arena.
Turning Point
Jesse Jacques' goal to make it 3-1 for Minnesota Duluth 1:32 into the third period was the beginning of a tough final frame for the Pioneers. Less than two minutes after going down by two,
Kyle Mayhew was assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for checking from behind. The Pioneers compounded their disadvantage with a bench minor penalty during the major to pin themselves with 2:37 of a five-on-three penalty kill. The Bulldogs proceeded to score on the two-man advantage.
Quotable
"We felt like we hand delivered them the third goal on an uncharacteristic play – obviously the five-minute major and myself taking a bench minor to go onto the five-on-three (penalty kill) for a full 2:00. We're all responsible starting with myself of letting our emotions get too much of us and being undisciplined. Ultimately the result was what it was after the implosion that took place in the first 8-10 minutes of the third"- Richard and Kitzia Goodman Head Coach
David Carle
First Period
The first period was characteristically tight. Both teams went 0/1 on the power play and the Pioneers had the slightest of leads in shots and faceoffs at 12-11 and 11-10, respectively. Denver's best chances came on its lone power play of the period with both
Carter Savoie and
Kohen Olischefski getting shots in the left circle. On the opposite end,
McKade Webster's backcheck helped shut down Minnesota Duluth's best opportunity and keep
Magnus Chrona's workload to a minimum.
Second Period
Savoie opened the period with a shot from the slot off the left post. The shot rang loudly in an empty Baxter Arena and rang louder as Denver struggled to flip their fortune later in the period. Minnesota Duluth made good on its first power-play chance of the second with Jackson Cates shooting five-hole on Chrona to make it 1-0 at 5:32. Denver responded with
Connor Caponi's short-side, bar down one-timer on
McKade Webster's pass from the boards, but the Bulldogs separated themselves again just past the midway point of the period with Koby Bender capitalizing on a rebound at the net.
Third Period
Tanner Laderoute's spinning pass to Jacques on a two-on-one rush early in the period gave the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead. Pioneer penalties helped Minnesota Duluth protect that lead and add to it. Cole Kopeke scored on Minnesota Duluth's five-on-three power play at 6:58 to give the Bulldogs a 4-1 advantage and Denver was unable to solve Fanti once returning to even strength.
Significant Stats
- Caponi recorded his first NCAA goal
Inside the Box Score
-Savoie,
Cole Guttman and
Brett Stapley ended their point streaks
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