DENVER – Maybe it was rust from a bye weekend or too much Thanksgiving turkey from the previous day, but whatever the Pioneers' performance was last Friday night wasn't up to the standard the Denver hockey program holds itself to.
The No. 1 Pioneers dropped the series opener at Magness Arena by a 3-0 score, but maybe more telling from the loss was the lack of offensive chances generated. DU was outshot every period and by a 40-22 margin overall, and the only stanza where it reached double-figures was in the first when it had 10 shots on goal.
It was a lesson for the newcomers on the squad to see first-hand: every game in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference is going to be tough and you need to give your best every night for a chance to the win and earn the three points in the standings.
"We're going to get everyone's best game and you can't take anyone lightly," said DU captain
Justin Lee. "Everyone is a good team and has a chance to beat you every night, so I think [Saturday] was good for us to answer back like that."
Credit goes to the players on responding from Friday night and making the necessary adjustments on Saturday to earn the series split. Denver scored just 5:36 into the game and used three goals in the second period en route to beating the Mavericks 6-3.
"That was our focus, just playing Denver hockey," Lee said. "We kind of got away from it [on Friday], but we had a good answer. Just trying to play our game and pucks were going in for us."
The Pioneers outshot the Mavericks 35-26 and didn't let up after taking a 4-1 lead. Omaha did make it a one-goal game early the third period, but DU countered with a power-play tally from
Tristan Broz and then an empty-netter from
Aidan Thompson to seal the victory.
Saturday also might have served as a tone-setter for later in the year if the teams meet in the NCHC playoffs, as the two-game set marked the only time during the regular season that Denver and Omaha will play each other.
"I think we wanted to play Denver hockey today and show them what we're all about," said defenseman
Mike Benning after the game. "This is the last time we'll meet them in the regular season, so we should give them our best."
MAGIC MIKE
Mike Benning led Denver's offensive push on Saturday by scoring two goals, including the game-opening marker less than six minutes into the first period.
Coming up the right-wing wall, Benning received a perfect cross-ice pass from freshman
Jared Wright and found twine on the short-side.
"
Jared Wright gave me a nice pass and I had to pick a spot, and I think that was huge for us to get us going," Benning said. "It brought energy to the building. It brought energy to the bench, and after that the guys were rolling."
The defenseman's second goal of the night at 3:49 of the second period was just as impressive, as he forced a turnover at the Omaha blue line and scored blocker-side from the high slot.
It was Benning's first multi-goal game of the season and the fifth of his career. He leads all Denver defensemen with four goals and nine points on the campaign and now has 22 tallies in his career—quickly approaching to top 10 all-time in goals by a Pioneer blueliner.
FACING RUBBER
Goaltender
Magnus Chrona has been the beneficiary the past two seasons of playing behind puck-moving defensemen and dynamic forwards that can quickly clear the puck out of the defensive zone to limit second and third chance scoring opportunities by the opposition.
With that, Chrona often doesn't face a lot of shots in games, but he showed on Friday how he can also be a force between the pipes and keep his team in contests as well. He made a season-high 37 saves in the outing and stopped double-digit shots each period, including 16 in the opening frame. His play between the pipes at least kept the Pioneers within distance of possibly producing a comeback.
Chrona's 37 saves were the second-most in a game of his career and two shy of his personal best of 39 from Jan. 4, 2020 against UMass.
Friday's loss ended Chrona's eight-game unbeaten stretch in regulation (seven wins, one overtime loss), but the Pioneers started a new streak on Saturday behind the senior's 23 saves.
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