The No. 7/10 ranked DU men’s hockey team tied the University of British Columbia 2-2 in overtime on Saturday at the Pepsi Center in front of a crowd of 2,251 fans.
For this year’s Pioneer men’s hockey team, the defense is in the spotlight with the departure of last season’s top scorers, including Drew Shore, Jason Zucker and Beau Bennett, in addition to the seniors who graduated.
The defense rose to the challenge in Saturday’s game, as junior defenseman David Makowski netted the first Pioneer goal at 2:38 in the first period.
Makowski missed 20 games last season to a head injury, but he is headlining the Denver blueline alongside senior captain Paul Phillips to start this season.
“I don’t think there’s any question that [scoring] gives him a real good boost,” said head coach George Gwozdecky. “Even though it’s an exhibition game and the goal won’t count in the record books, I think it gives him a little not only confidence, but he’s an offensive player, and to be able to have him get a puck in the net and feel good about the fact that he was able to contribute early.”
After not playing for almost two-thirds of last season, being back on the ice as a Pioneer was much awaited for Makowski, and scoring the goal was a confidence booster to show him he could contribute to the team’s success again.
“It’s great for my confidence,” said Makowski. “I think it’s a big thing for a lot of us; just getting back on the ice, you can see all the excitement and energy we’ve got. It’s definitely exciting and we’re looking forward to two weeks from now against UMass.”
Also scoring for the Pioneers was freshman forward Garrett Allen, who netted his first goal while donning crimson and gold at 1:54 in the second period to to push the Pioneers to a two-goal lead.
According to Gwozdecky, the freshmen, including Allen, played as he expected they would, allowing for a transition period.
“[I saw] some good shifts, some good decisions, some good plays,” said Gwozdecky. “[There were] some shifts where they made poor decisions based on some habits they gained over the years that they’re going to have to change, and we’ll get them to change them over the next short while, but that’s expected.”
The Pioneers let the lead slip as UBC’s Jessi Hilton knocked one past junior goaltender Sam Brittain at 9:57 in the second period to bring the game within one. UBC struck again as Brad Hoban chipped a goal in past senior goaltender Adam Murray late in the third period to knot the game.
After a scoreless overtime period, the Pioneers walked away with a draw with UBC.
“I don’t care if it’s an exhibition game or whatever; I think we’re all competitive and want to win, so we’re disappointed we gave up the one-goal lead,” said Gwozdecky. “We had some chances and certainly for the first time out, it was a good experience for everybody, including our new freshmen.”
With all seasons, a learning curve is to be expected, and, according to Gwozdecky, it began Saturday night and will continue throughout the season.
“One of the things I did like is the fact that we got better with the puck as the game went on,” said Gwozdecky. “The first period when we had possession of the puck our timing was way off, and, as a result, we turned over the puck like it was our job. I thought Sam Brittain came up with some big saves for us. The offensive part of the game always lags behind the defensive part this time of the year, and that’s probably the biggest thing we’ll have to work on the next two weeks.”
The Pioneers take on UMass-Lowell on Oct. 19 at Magness Arena. The puck is set to drop at 7:37 p.m.
