The Pioneer hockey squad lost both of its conference-opening games this past weekend against the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks during a two game homestand to drop to 3-5-0 overall.
In NCHC play, the team has yet to win a game, and sits at 0-2-0. Statistically, the Mavericks won both games in near-identical fashion, each by 3-2 overtime margins. Four of Denver’s five losses have come in the form of 3-2 overtime decisions. The last two overtime losses came at the hands of Alaska and Alaska Anchorage two weeks ago.
Friday night’s game was a back and forth affair, with the two teams trading goals leading up to a Maverick goal 1:34 into overtime.
During Saturday night’s matchup, the teams headed into the first intermission scoreless. Then towards the end of the second period, the Pios jumped out to a two goal lead in a matter of two minutes. Omaha rallied back with goals in both the second and third periods.
“I think they’re down and really frustrated. [We’ve had] four overtime losses all by identical scores,” Head Coach Jim Montgomery said.
Maverick forward Josh Archibald tallied the game-winner in both matches.
“I think they outplayed us,” said Montgomery after last Saturday’s game. “I think their speed was difficult for us to match up against. They did a good job. They played harder and better than we did. When you’re playing a lot in your d-zone, you’re going to give up a lot of shots. Thank god Sam Brittain was really good for two periods.”
Junior defenseman Joey LaLeggia led the team in scoring over the weekend with two goals and an assist through two games. Fellow junior Daniel Doremus also finished the weekend with three points on a goal and two assists.
This weekend means rivalry hockey, as the Pios will take on Colorado College in a two game home-split series starting at 7:37 p.m. on Friday in Colorado Springs. Magness Arena will host Saturday’s 7:07 p.m. match.
This week’s match also signals the return of co-aptain and junior forward Zac Larraza, as well as freshman forward Emil Romig. Larraza scored 12 goals and had nine assists in 36 games last year.
Both teams will be looking to get back on the right track this weekend and to snap their current losing streaks. DU has dropped three games in a row, while CC has lost five in a row since opening the season with a 3-1 win over Minnesota Duluth on October 18.
For Montgomery, bouncing back against CC will mean sticking to team foundations.
“You do the same things. As a coach, you do what you believe in, you prepare your team for how they need to play against the next upcoming opponent, and you reinforce the staples of how you want to play, and that starts with puck protection and puck pressure, so that’s what we’ll be working on.”
