Photo by: Megan Westervelt
Going into Alaska over the weekend, the Pioneers had high hopes of coming back with two more wins.
The game on Friday night was a close one. Led by senior captain Rhett Rakhshani, who scored two goals, the Pioneers went on to win 3-2. After the injury to starting goaltender Marc Cheverie against Minnesota State, freshman Adam Murray took the reigns and played well in the game on Friday. He made 22 saves, helping the Pioneers get the victory.
Saturday’s game was a completely different story. The Pioneers started off well and were leading 2-1 in the second period with goals from Rakhshani and sophomore Patrick Wiercioch.
Midway through the second period, the game went downhill. Murray struggled, allowing three goals in less than two minutes. Murray was eventually replaced by junior goaltender Lars Paulgaard in the third period after allowing six goals on 15 shots. In his first game of the season Paulgaard made two saves and allowed one goal as the Pioneers lost 7-3.
The Pioneers are off this weekend.
Over winter break, the Pioneers have eight conference games scheduled. The first series is against rival No. 2-ranked North Dakota in Magness Arena. Denver is currently ranked at No. 4.
The next games will be at home against St. Cloud State. This is the weekend that Cheverie may be back in action. The injured goalie is expected to be out the next three weeks.
After this series, the Pioneers have a home-and-home series with in state rival Colorado College. The Tigers are off to a great start this year, which is a big surprise in the WCHA. Colorado College was predicted to be a middle of the road team after losing star goalie Richard Bachman as well as their two leading scorers last season. Senior Bill Sweat has stepped up his play for the Tigers and they have found a new star goalie in freshman Joe Howe.
After the series against CC, the Pioneers hit the road to Duluth, Minn., to play the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.
UMD has had a pretty good season thus far, as they are currently tied for No. 4 in the WCHA standings.
They also have also recently cracked the national rankings, as they made the top 20 last weekend.
The Pioneers then have three weekends off starting mid-December.
When they come back, the Pioneers start off the New Year with a bang, as the annual Denver Cup starts on New Year’s Day. The Pioneers welcome Boston College, St. Lawrence and the University of Nebraska-Omaha. It will be a competitive tournament this year as three of those four teams are ranked in the top 20 nationally.
The next month and a half will make or break the Pioneers season. With so many conference games, the Pioneers will have to get back to the basics in order to live up to their pre-season No. 1 ranking in the nation.
