Box Score Grand Forks, N.D. – The No. 6 Denver Pioneers hockey team (17-8-5, 7-7-4-3) fell 3-1 to the No. 1 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (23-3-3, 14-2-2-2) on Saturday at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The Pioneers brought an onslaught of pressure in the final two periods, where they trailed 1-0 and 2-1, but failed to tie the game before Jasper Weatherby's empty-netter with 12 seconds remaining. Denver outshot North Dakota 18-11 in the final 40 minutes.
"In the last two periods, I thought it was an evenly contested game and I thought we played our game and we generated some looks, but that's the story of how it's gone the last little while," Richard and Kitzia Goodman Head Coach
David Carle said. "We've struggled to put the puck in the back of the net. I thought our effort level was higher in last 50 minutes and more complete than it was last night throughout our lineup and we gave ourselves a chance against a real good hockey team. Ultimately, we're finding a way to lose hockey games."
North Dakota used its second power play of the night to take a 1-0 lead at 9:31 of the first period. For the second straight night, Matt Kiersted was the catalyst for the game-winning goal with a one-timer that pinballed through a sea of bodies before finding the back of the net.
The Fighting Hawks extended their lead to 2-0 on a three-on-one rush at 11:25 of the second period that set up Colin Adams for a one-timer from the top of the right circle. Five minutes later,
Brett Edwards cut the deficit with Denver's only goal of the game, a one-timer off
Jake Durflinger's dump-in that snuck under Thome's blocker.
"We're finding a way to lose tight games against really good teams," Carle said. "Whether we outplay (the teams) or we don't, we're not finding ways to win. The reality is we need to continue to grow. We're now in a battle for home ice (advantage) in our league play. We have to turn the page. We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We have to get back to work on Monday."
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Denver went 0/1 on the power play and 2/3 on the penalty kill…
Magnus Chrona made 21 saves…The Pioneers have lost four straight games…
UP NEXT: Denver Hockey presented by Centura Health returns to the Mile High City for a two-game series against Miami on Feb. 21-22
FROZEN FACEOFF TICKETS: Tickets for the 2020 Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul, Minn. are on sale now. More information is available here.
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.
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