ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Denver Pioneers hockey team lost 1-0 to the Colorado College Tigers on Friday in the semifinals of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff at Xcel Energy Center.
 
"Any time we've had a setback, this team has showed the ability to look in the mirror and evaluate itself honestly as to what didn't go well," said Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle. "We did that a year ago, we've done it throughout this season in the moments of adversity we've had, and we plan on doing the same thing again."
 
Hunter McKown scored the afternoon's lone goal for the Tigers on a power play with 6:38 remaining in the second period. Nicklas Andrews and Noah Laba had assists on the tally.
 
CC finished 1-for-4 on the power play while Denver went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
 
Goaltender Magnus Chrona started for DU and stopped 20-of-21 shots in the first 49:28 of the contest—his first action since Feb. 25 due to a lower-body injury. Matt Davis finished the game and made five saves.
 
"He's fine. I pulled him," Carle said of Chrona's status after the game. "I wanted [Davis] in there, be able to play the puck a little bit more. [Chrona] had gotten the pucks and touches he needed, and Magnus is just fine."
 
The Tigers outshot the Pioneers 26-23 in the game, but Denver finished with an 18-14 edge in the category in the final two periods of play.
 
Colorado College goaltender Kaidan Mbereko of Aspen made 23 saves in the shutout, ending DU's 11-game winning streak over its in-state rival that dated back to Jan. 2, 2021.
 
Despite the loss, Denver is still expected to be a No. 1 seed for the start of the NCAA Tournament next week. The Pioneers will learn where they'll travel to for regionals on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. MT during the NCAA Selection Show on ESPNU.
 
Colorado College will face the winner of the other semifinal between St. Cloud State and North Dakota on Saturday at 6:37 p.m. MT.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• The game marked the 337th all-time meeting between DU and CC, tying Michigan and Michigan State for the most-played rivalry in college hockey.
• The teams were playing their second-ever contest in the Frozen Faceoff in Minnesota and the first since the 2019 Third-Place Game. The last time the rivals met in a semifinal or final of a conference tournament was in the 2005 WCHA Final Five Championship Game.
• Denver is now 16-12 all-time vs. Colorado College in conference tournament games and 5-2 in the NCHC.
• CC picked up its first-ever win over DU at the Xcel Energy Center (DU is now 3-1-0).
• The Pioneers are now 24-9-1 all-time in the NCHC Tournament.
• Denver dropped to 2-8 all-time on games on St. Patrick's Day.
• DU won 35-of-50 faceoffs, with Carter King and Aidan Thompson both winning 13 draws.
• Carter Mazur had his career-long, 10-game point streak (5g/9a) and six-game assist streak both come to an end.
• Tristan Lemyre had his career-long, four-game point streak and three-game goal streak end (3g/3a).
• Sean Behrens, Magnus Chrona, Massimo Rizzo, McKade Webster and Jared Wright all returned to the lineup after missing time recently with various injuries.
• Mike Benning (illness) missed his first game of the season.

 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
No Scoring
 
2nd Period
13:22 CC (0-1) – PPG, Hunter McKown tallied with a wrist shot from the left circle.
 
3rd Period
No Scoring
 
 
QUOTABLES
Richard and Kitzia Goodman Head Coach David Carle
On the game: "Congratulations to CC. I thought they were the better team tonight. They were much more hungrier and desperate than we were, and it was disappointing that we couldn't get it going. I wasn't surprised early that that was the case, but I thought we had some moments where we pushed and sustained that level. They are an excellent defensive team and make things hard on you. Goaltending was good. They won the special teams battle, and they're moving to the championship game, so congratulations to them."
 
Senior Captain Justin Lee
On CC's game: "They wanted it more. They were a little more hungrier than we were, and they were able to keep us to the outside tonight, which we struggled to penetrate through and get into the house and in the hard areas. They were just able to keep us to the outside and made our lives harder."
 
On Hunter McKown's goal: "He made a nice move there, a nice pump-fake, and he was able to get around me. I take responsibility for that. I should have been in that lane. He is a very skilled player, and he is very good with the puck, so you're just trying to get in his way out there."
 
Senior Alternate Captain Kyle Mayhew
On Colorado College's defensive strategy: "I just think they were able to keep us to the outside all night. I think one of the strengths we've always had is our skill, especially on the puck, our speed, and combine those two and I think we were able to penetrate and get to the middle and get chances from there. I just think most of the game we were on the outside. They kept us out there all night. We weren't at the net front very much the whole game, so just not enough inside the 'the house.'"
 
 
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