The then-No. 10 Pioneers traveled to Duluth, Minn., last weekend, where they swept the Bulldogs, shutting them out 3-0 on Friday and rallying for a 4-3 win Saturday night.
The pair of wins improves the Pioneers to No. 9/8 in the national rankings, 14-8-4 overall and 9-6-4 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The Pioneers currently sit at No. 12 in the Pairwise Rankings and need to stay in the top 16 to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Friday night’s win also marks the first win on the road for Denver since Nov. 16, when they bested Colorado College in Colorado Springs.
The team was led both Friday and Saturday nights by associate head coach Steve Miller, as head coach George Gwozdecky dealt with the loss of his father.
The Pioneers saw goals from three different players Friday, with sophomore forward Larkin Jacobson, sophomore defenseman Joey LaLeggia and freshman defenseman Nolan Zajac getting into the scoring action.
Sophomore goaltender Juho Olkinuora recorded 26 saves to register his second shutout of the season, while UMD goaltender Matt McNeely stopped 22 shots in the Bulldogs’ loss.
“Every game in the WCHA is really close,” said Olkinuora. “I don’t think we played really well or really bad today; it was a bounce back game after an embarrassing weekend at St. Cloud. I think we played really good defensively and we played as a team, so I think we were one today. I think that’s the reason why the score was the way it was.”
Jacobson opened the scoring for the Pioneers at 11:28 mark in the first period, after rebounding a shot by freshman Grand Arnold that bounced off McNeely’s chest to give the Pioneers their first lead of the game, which they would not relinquish.
LaLeggia added to the lead on a one-timer halfway through the second period after a pass from senior forward Chris Knowlton. This goal marked LaLeggia’s second in the past two games and ninth on the season.
Zajac wrapped up the scoring Friday on a solo effort after a Duluth turnover, taking the puck up the ice and beating McNeely to make the score its final 3-0 with nine minutes remaining in regulation. The goal improved Zajac to at least one point in the past six of eight games.
The Pioneers had to rally Saturday night after allowing Minnesota Duluth to take the momentum and lead 3-1 in the third period before the Pioneers scored three goals in 91 seconds to out-score the Bulldogs 4-3.
Olkinuora recorded 30 saves in the win, earning his second straight victory and ninth total on the season.
UMD’s sophomore forward Caleb Herbert and freshman forward Austin Farley each scored for the Bulldogs at the start of the first and second periods, respectively, giving UMD a 2-0 lead at the start of the second period.
Senior forward Shawn Ostrow scored his first of the game to cut the lead to 2-1 at the 8:13 mark of the second stanza, assisted by sophomore defenseman Josiah Didier and sophomore forward Ty Loney.
The Bulldogs stretched their lead back to a two-goal margin at 16:20 in the second as freshman forward Tony Cameranesi capitalized on an elbowing penalty called on Didier to score a power-play goal.
Despite earning 31 penalty minutes compared to Duluth’s 14, the Pioneers were able to shift the momentum of the game just before the scoring rampage after killing a total of 5:30 in penalty minutes.
Ostrow netted his second goal of the game and 10th on the season at 13:40 in the final stanza after picking up a UMD turnover deep in the Bulldogs’ zone to bury it high on the stickside past McNeely to bring the score to 3-2 and begin the scoring flurry to come.
Knowlton followed up 36 seconds later to level the score off assists from sophomore forward Daniel Doremus and Zajac, marking his team-leading 12th goal of the season and first since Dec. 29.
Zajac finished the scoring for the Pioneers with the game-winner on a power-play at 15:11 in the final period to cap the comeback. Zajac’s goal was assisted by junior defenseman David Makowski and LaLeggia, improving the freshman to at least one point in seven of last nine games.
“Killing off the five-on-three and four-on-three for four minutes was a big momentum turner for us,” said Zajac. “Jussi shut the door in the third period, and we just clawed our way back.”
The Pioneers return to Colorado for an intrastate rivalry against Colorado College to continue the Gold Pan Series.
The teams will face off Friday at Magness Arena before playing Saturday in Colorado Springs.
This series will be the teams’ second meeting this season after Denver swept the Tigers in the first meeting in November.
