DENVER –  The No. 6-ranked University of Denver hockey team lost 3-1 against the No. 17 North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Saturday night to split the two-game series at Magness Arena.
 
"I think it's playoff hockey, it's hard hockey," said DU Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle. "It's good for us to go through these games and understand again that the margins are tight. We've been kind of living this for the past month, and you know the next game is your next biggest game. Were in a battle national picture-wise and also in our league, so it's on to the next one and trying to take care of ourselves. Get our bodies rested and go on the road to Miami."
 
Denver (21-8-1, 10-7-1 NCHC) defeated North Dakota (15-12-2, 10-7-1 NCHC) 4-0 in the opener on Friday and won the season series 3-1-0 after sweeping the set in Grand Forks on Nov. 15-16.
 
Sophomore goaltender Freddie Halyk held the net for the Pioneers and saved 20 shots, including 12 in the first period.
 
DU outshot UND 35-23 in the contest, including by a 15-7 margin in the second period and 13-3 in the third.
 
Senior Carter King tied the game at 1-1 during a 5-on-3 power play at 4:19 in the second after North Dakota opened the scoring in the first period. Sophomore Zeev Buium and junior Aidan Thompson had assists on King's 14th tally of the season
 
The Hawks responded by scoring two unanswered goals within seven minutes to make the score 3-1. Cameron Berg tallied on a power play at 14:21 of the second frame and Dylan James scored shorthanded just one minute into the third stanza.
 
North Dakota goaltender T.J. Semptimphelter saved 34-of-35 shots that the Pioneers shot his way. 
 
A heated exchange ended the game with 11 players on the ice each being penalized two minutes for roughing and 10 minutes for persistent in misconduct. The teams totaled 156 penalty minutes in the contest.
 
UP NEXT: The Pioneers head out onto the road next weekend for their only two contests away from Magness Arena in a seven-game stretch. They face the Miami RedHawks on Friday and Saturday in Oxford, Ohio.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• DU finished the season series with North Dakota at 3-1-0 and is now 8-4-0 in the last 12 games of the series.
• The Pioneers are now 4-2-1 in their last seven games.
• Both Aidan Thompson and Carter King both moved to 99 points in their career. Denver has had 103 previous players reach 100 career points, with Jack Devine being the last to do it on March 8, 2024 at Colorado College. 
• Sophomore Zeev Buium competed in his 70th game with the Pios. 
• Aidan Thompson extended his point streak to five games (3g/4a).
• Carter King is on a three-game point streak (1g/3a). 
• UND scored a short-handed goal in the third period, the last time that happened against DU was in the last meeting at North Dakota on Nov. 16, 2024. 
• The Pioneers have sold out each of its 15 home games this season at Magness Arena.
• Goaltender Freddie Halyk made his third start of the season while Matt Davis and defenseman Alec Whipple served as backup netminders in the game.
• The 82 penalty minutes by DU, the 74 by the opponent and the combined 156 were all season highs in a game that the Pioneers have played in 2024-25. 

GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
11:57 UND (0-1) – Ben Strinden slipped the puck past the stretched left pad of Freddie Halyk during a scramble at the front of the net.
 
2nd Period
4:18 DU (1-1) – PPG, Carter King knocked in the puck while wide open on the back side of the crease after receiving passes from Zeev Buium and Aidan Thompson during a 5-on-3 power play.
14:21 UND (1-2) – PPG, Cameron Berg scored on a one-timer from the right circle
 
3rd Period
1:00 UND (1-3) – SHG, Dylan James tallied on a wrist shot from the left circle on a rush up the ice after intercepting the puck in the Hawks' defensive zone.
 
 
QUOTABLES
Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle
On the end of the game: "It's hockey. It's an emotional game. Both teams stand up for each other, and it is what it is, nothing much to say on it."
 
On dissecting the loss: "We didn't have to kill much. They make a play on their best shooter. He has the ability to put the puck in the back of the net. We get the 5-on-3 goal, which is huge, and 5-on-4 we had some looks. Obviously, on the one in the third. Disappointing to give one up on the shorty, like on that little broken 4-on-3 play. I mean, we generated a lot. (UND goalie) TJ [Semptimphelter] played great for them tonight and had a real response for them. I thought we could have generated a few more secondary chances, but it wasn't in the cards tonight."
 
On North Dakota's play: "I thought their intensity level and battle level was a bit higher, especially in the first period. They seemed to be winning more of the 50-50 battles. I didn't think they dominated the period by any stretch, but I just thought their intensity, engagement; their first goal is obviously indicative of it. They won a few stick battles in the slot. Get it down to the net front, are able to put a rebound."
 
On Matt Davis's injury: "It's nothing long term. We felt he's healthy enough to backup tonight, maybe healthy enough to play a full game. But lower body and we would expect him to make a full recovery soon."
 
On what the team has learned at this point of the season: "We have got a lot of guys in the room who have been in playoff hockey-type games, but I think for the younger guys just the intensity level is starting to ratchet up. And I think that it's good for us to get that experience as a group and continue to find ways to push through."
 
Senior Captain Carter King
On playing North Dakota: "We don't like each other; everybody knows that we play each other a lot in the conference, so that's going to happen. Power play, even strength, there was a lot of situations tonight where we needed to be better and to do better. So back to the drawing board to get better." 
 
On pushing through difficult games: "A lot of difficult games this year, we all know that, but we learn a lot from it. Every single time, you just have to get better, and we have to work harder."
 
On learning from the losses: "Yeah, that's the culture we have—throughout the year whether you win or lose, you grow. Obviously, when you lose, it hurts more, but it also means you have more to grow. So it's on us to take it the right way and to look in the mirror to see how we could get better."
 

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