Grand Forks, N.D. – The Denver Pioneers hockey team was blanked 3-0 by the No. 1 North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Friday at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
 
Turning Point
North Dakota's penalty kill following Gavin Hain's five-minute major at 18:25 of the first period prevented Denver from tying the game 1-1 and regaining momentum from the Fighting Hawks.  

Quotable
"I've never seen pucks bounce underneath our sticks and over our sticks as much as they did in key moments tonight and to me that was the most disappointing part was our lack of execution in the offensive zone. We were there in some moments five-on-five and on the power play and weren't able to bear down" -  Richard and Kitzia Goodman Head Coach David Carle 
 
First Period
Eighteen seconds encapsulated the most memorable moments of the first period. Denver started well, but failure to convert on an early power play and back-to-back minor penalties swung momentum back in North Dakota's favor. At 17:41 of the period, Jake Sanderson rang a shot off the post. At 18:07, Jasper Weathebry made it 1-0 for the Fighting Hawks with a wrist shot off the rush. At 18:25, Gavin Hain crashed the net and collided with Magnus Chrona. The final play resulted in 13 minutes of combined penalty minutes and a power play for Denver. Hain was assessed five minutes for charging the goalie.  

Second Period
After getting outshot 16-6 in the first period, the Pioneers were the aggressors in the second to outshoot North Dakota, 13-7. Still, North Dakota was the only team to find the back of the net with Shane Pinto's power-play goal at 13:03 to make it 2-0. Denver saw the majority of its chances on the man advantage with three power plays in the frame. Chrona continued to keep the Pioneers in the game with a slew of saves on Grade-A Fighting Hawk chances. On the opposite end, Adam Scheel benefited from Denver sailing a few of its shots over the net and made the saves required to keep the shutout, including a glove stop on Bobby Brink alone in front of the net late in the period.

Third Period
Denver rang two shots off the post on its power play to start the period, then went back to the man advantage seconds after North Dakota returned to full strength. Hain's second collision of the night with Chrona prompted the second power play of the period for the Pioneers and caused a similar to stir to the first. Denver failed to convert on the man advantage but continued to stay in the game with more point-blank saves from Chrona. The penalty was one of the last stoppages in a comparatively free-flowing final period that saw North Dakota clamp down defensively and add an empty netter with 1:05 remaining.

Significant Stats
-Magnus Chrona made 26 saves
-Antti Tuomisto led the Pioneer skaters with five shots
 
Inside the Box Score
-Denver was outshot for the first time in nine games, 29-24
-The Pioneers are 2-3 this season vs. North Dakota

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