KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Junior forward Massimo Rizzo scored 62 second into overtime on Saturday night to lift the No. 4 Denver Pioneers hockey team to a 6-5 overtime win against the No. 13 Western Michigan Broncos at Lawson Arena.
 
Rizzo recorded his first career overtime goal by going coast-to-coast up the ice and depositing the puck into the cage after cutting across the high crease early in the extra session.
 
"It was not a clean hockey game from any stretch, but we got better in a lot of ways—special teams, I thought out discipline was good," said Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle. "They're an excellent hockey team. They make you very uncomfortable. I think they're top 10 in age in the country and in and height and weight, and they threw it around this weekend. Really proud of our guys' effort. A lot of guys responded in a bigtime way, and that was good to see. Again, it wasn't perfect, but we found a way. The young team is growing up and being put in tough environments."
 
Freshman Miko Matikka had two goals for the second-straight game for the Pioneers (12-5-1, 5-3-0 NCHC), while juniors Tristan Broz and Jack Devine and sophomore Sean Behrens also found the back of the net. Devine scored his NCAA-leading 15th goal of the season with 4:27 remaining to give DU a 5-4 lead at the time, but Joe Cassetti knotted the contest with 14 seconds remaining to force overtime while WMU had the extra attacker on the ice.
 
Devine and Rizzo both added assists to join Matikka with multiple points while rookie defenseman Zeev Buium had three assists and junior blueliner Shai Buium and freshman Boston Buckberger each had two helpers.
 
Zeev Buium is now on a 12-game point streak, surpassing Boston University's Lane Hutson's 11-game run from last season (Dec. 11, 2022-Feb. 6, 2023) for the longest point streak by a freshman defenseman in the last 21 years. Matikka extended his point streak to 11 games with his third multi-goal performance of the season.
 
Denver goaltender Paxton Geisel made his collegiate debut in the crease after joining the Pioneers mid-season on Nov. 24. The freshman made 31 saves in his first career start.
 
Broz and Matikka scored the game's first two goals to give the Pioneers the early advantage, but the Broncos stayed within reach throughout the game. DU had a 3-1 lead in the first period and led 4-2 early in the second stanza.
 
Western Michigan (11-4-1, 4-4-0 NCHC) used back-to-back markers from Hugh Larkin at 16:19 of the second and Samuel Sjolund 50 seconds into the third to tie the outing at 4-4 and setup a wild finish between the two squads.
 
Cassetti led WMU with two goals and one assist, while Ethan Phillips also had a three-point outing with one score and two helpers. Goaltender Cameron Rowe finished with 30 saves in the loss, which ended Western Michigan's seven-game winning streak.
 
The Pioneers earned a weekend split against the Broncos after losing in Friday's series opener, and they picked up their second overtime win in a matter of eight days after defeating then-No. 2 North Dakota last Saturday at home.
 
UP NEXT: Denver now heads onto its holiday break, as the team's next game is an exhibition against Minot State on Dec. 30, and the team returns to regular-season play versus Niagara on Jan. 5-6.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Denver is now 25-12-2 all-time against Western Michigan and is 8-10-0 in games at Lawson Arena.
• The Pioneers won their second straight overtime game and improved to 2-1-1 in the extra session this season.
• Denver improved to 8-0-0 on Saturdays this season.
• Head coach David Carle guided the Pioneers' bench for the 200th game to become the fifth DU coach to reach the milestone, joining Murray Armstrong, Ralph Backstrom, George Gwozdecky and Jim Montgomery.  Carle's .675 winning percentage is the second-best among that group through 200 games, with only Armstrong having a better mark at .735.
• Goaltender Paxton Geisel made his NCAA debut and first career start.
• Zeev Buium registered an assist to push his career-long point streak to 12 games (4g/17a), tying Lane Hutson of Boston University (Dec. 11, 2022-Feb. 6, 2023) for the longest run by a freshman defenseman in the last 21 years (since 2002, courtesy of College Hockey News).
• Buium is also on a personal-best five-game assist streak (1g/10a).
• Miko Matikka recorded his second consecutive multi-goal game and now has points in each of the last 11 games he's played (11g/4a).
• Massimo Rizzo stretched his assist streak to six games (2g/9a), tying a career long.
• Carter King is now on a five-game point streak (3g/2a) and has points in 14 of the last 15 games since Oct. 21 (10g/10a).

 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
2:34 DU (1-0) – Tristan Broz redirected Shai Buium's one-time shot from the right circle while stationed in front of the net.
10:51 DU (2-0) – PPG, Miko Matikka scored on a snap-shot from the slot off a pass from Shai Buium.
11:40 WMU (2-1) – Joe Cassetti buried a shot from the left wall that hit iron before settling across the goal line.
12:38 DU (3-1) – PPG, Sean Behrens chipped in the puck from a pass by Carter King after the Pioneers' reloaded following a man advantage.
13:44 WMU (3-2) – Ethan Phillips scored from a tough angle on the right side.
 
2nd Period
0:43 DU (4-2) – Miko Matikka netted his second goal of the game on a one-timer from the left circle off a feed by Boston Buckberger.
16:19 WMU (4-3) – Hugh Larkin buried a big shot from the left side.
 
3rd Period
0:50 WMU (4-4) – Samuel Sjolund tallied in front on a rush up the ice.
15:33 DU (5-4) – Jack Devine fired in a rebound after Boston Buckberger's shot was stopped in front
19:46 WMU (5-5) – Joe Cassetti knocked in the puck backdoor off a pass from Ethan Phillips.
 
Overtime
1:02 DU (6-5) – From his own zone, Massimo Rizzo attacked toward the WMU net and slipped the puck past the right pad of Broncos goalie Cameron Rowe.
 
 
QUOTABLES
Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle
On pressure Western Michigan was presenting: "The game was very much back and forth. It was similar both ways. When we created turnovers, our turnovers were more in the neutral zone than on the forecheck. But they give you fits on their forecheck. They're fast, they're big, they're well-coached. Did we make things hard on ourselves? Absolutely, especially in moments in the second period. There are certainly lessons to be learned as there always is, and they're a good team. They're going to win a lot of hockey games this year."
 
On Zeev Buium attending USA's World Junior camp with him next week: "He showed very well in the first half of the year, and I'm excited for him to have the opportunity to make the team. We'll go home for a couple days and be back here (in Michigan) next Wednesday, Dec. 13. So exciting time for him and his opportunity to represent the country, and one that has been very well-earned."
 

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