DENVER – The No. 6 Denver Pioneers hockey team twice erased one-goal deficits on Saturday night at Magness Arena and tied the No. 15 Maine Black Bears 3-3 in its final non-conference game of the season.
 
"We played them last year in their building, and thought it was obviously two hard-fought games here in our building, as it was last year–two one-goal games in their building last year," sand DU Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle of the Black Bears. "They're a team that plays extremely hard. I think it prepares you for conference play and what's coming, so we need to have a good week of practice as we prepare for the defending national champions and a team that we beat earlier this year in their building."
 
Maine (12-7-2, 6-5-0 HEA) won 2-1 in the best-of-three shootout after a scoreless five-minute overtime, but the game officially ends in a 3-3 tie for each squad.
 
Junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp and freshman forward Kyle Chyzowski each had a goal and an assist, while junior forward Sam Harris also scored for Denver (12-7-2, 8-2-0 NCHC). Senior Rieger Lorenz, junior Boston Buckberger and freshmen Clarke Caswell and Reid Varkonyi each picked up a helper.
 
Denver goaltender Quentin Miller stopped 30-of-33 shots faced.
 
The Pioneers tied the contest after trailing 1-0 in the first period and 2-1 in the second stanza. They took their first lead of the evening early in the third frame on a one-time shot from Pohlkamp at 3:37.
 
DU scored two power-play goals on five opportunities and has now netted markers on the man advantage in three consecutive games. Harris evened the contest at 12:27 of the first off a centering feed from Chyzowski, and Chyzowski found his own twine on a one-timer on a pass by Pohlkamp at 12:36 of the second during a 4-on-3.
 
Frank Djurasevic netted the game-tying marker for the Black Bears with 2:27 left in regulation with the extra attacker on the ice and seconds after Maine head coach Ben Barr used his timeout. William Gerrior and Charlie Russell also scored in regulation for Maine, while Miguel Marques and Justin Poirier tallied in the shootout.
 
DU outshot Maine 6-3 in OT but couldn't beat goalie Albin Boija (24 saves) in the extra frame.
 
The Black Bears finished with the 33-27 edge in shots on goal.
 
UP NEXT: The Pioneers continue their four-game homestand and return to NCHC play next weekend by hosting defending national champion Western Michigan. Friday's game begins at 7 p.m. MT and Saturday's contest is at 6 p.m. MT. Both contests will be broadcast on Altitude 2 and NCHC.tv.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Denver and Maine played its first-ever tie, with the Pioneers now owning a 10-14-1 all-time record and a 5-6-1 mark on home ice. The Pios are 4-2-1 in the past seven matchups against the Black Bears dating back to Oct. 12, 2007.
• The Pioneers finished non-conference play with a 5-4-2 mark.
• Denver is now 1-3-2 in overtime this season and 1-1 in the shootout.
• DU scored multiple power-play goals for the second time this season and has tallied on the man advantage in three straight games.
• Denver registered six power-play goals in its last six games and eight in its past nine contests.
• Kyle Chyzowski (1g/1a) recorded his second straight multi-point game and his third of the season.
• Chyzowski stretched his career-long point streak to six games (4g/4a).
• Eric Pohlkamp scored his 13th goal of the season, moving him into an eight-way tie for ninth place in the school's record book for the most goal by a defenseman in a single season.
• Pohlkamp (1g/1a) picked up his sixth multi-point game of the campaign.
• Boston Buckberger now has 16 points (6g/10a) in the past 14 games since Nov. 1 and eight points (3g/5a) in the past seven outings.

 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
4:09 MNE (0-1) – Will Gerrior scored from the slot after the puck caromed to him following a centering feed by Brandon Chabrier, who kept the puck in the zone off a failed DU clear.
12:27 DU (1-1) – PPG, The Pioneers passed the puck around the zone to Kyle Chyzowski who sent a pass to the front of the net for Sam Harris, who tipped it backside near the crease.
 
2nd Period
11:35 MNE (1-2) – Charie Russell forced a turnover in the defensive zone and tallied unassisted with a wrister during a rush that came 14 seconds into a 4-on-4.
12:36 DU (2-2) – PPG, Kyle Chyzowski scored on a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Eric Pohlkamp during a 4-on-3 power play.
 
3rd Period
3:37 DU (3-2) – Eric Pohlkamp went far-side, top corner with a wrist shot from the left circle.
17:33 MNE (3-3) – EA, Frank Djurasevic went high, far-side with a one-timer shot from the left side.
 
Overtime
No Scoring
 
Shootout
R1 – MNE, Sully Scholle, saved
R1 – DU Sam Harris, scored
R2 – MNE Miguel Marques, scored
R2 – DU Kyle Chyzowski, saved
R3 – MNE Justin Poirier, scored
R3 – DU Kristian Epperson, scored
 
 
QUOTABLES
Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle
On Maine's push late in the third period: "I don't know if it's any different than they were doing previously. I mean they put a lot of pucks to the net. They win races in the wall. They had a push to try to tie a hockey game. Could have managed it a little bit better, but you know, I thought after we made it 3-2, we had a lot of good looks to make it 4-2 as well ourselves."
 
On the team's power play: "It was great. They moved it around really well, handled their pressure good. That group's finding a little bit of chemistry and was nice to see them execute for sure. Hope it gives us some confidence and some life, as we go back into conference play."
 
On the expectations for the team before the next game: "It's coming to the rink detailed, ready to work with a level of focus and attention to detail to give us our best chance of success on Friday night. A team we know very well in Western [Michigan] but we need to make sure we have a good week of practice so we'll be ready on Friday."
 
Junior Defenseman Eric Pohlkamp 
On the third period pace of play: "After that goal, I thought we had some really good shifts—we built them on each other. That 6-on-5, [Maine] really found a lane and they got one, so you just got to tip your cap at the end of the day, but it's unfortunate." 
 
On if the team was dusting off rust: "Yeah, I think everyone is, you know. Just getting back and playing with these guys. I was playing different systems (at the Spengler Cup), but really, that's no excuse. For these guys, it's probably just shaking the rust off and getting back into shape, but I'm sure those guys (Maine) were too. So you can't really look at it like that, but we got Western Michigan is coming in next week and it's a good match for us." 
 
On the success of the power play: "It's definitely a big sigh of relief. Denver's always had a really good power play and you saw the first half, we struggled a little bit. The second half, hopefully we can keep that train going and go into the other games."
 
On facing Western Michigan next: "They are a tough team to play every year, and you know it's going to definitely be a tough matchup. I mean, we swept them in their building, so they are going to come out ready to play, for sure." 

 
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