Two forwards on opposite ends of their collegiate careers led the No. 6-ranked DU Pioneers in sweeping Boston University (BU) in the non-conference series hosted by DU on Friday, Oct. 14 and Saturday, Oct. 15.
Senior Evan Janssen (Green Bay, Wisconsin) totalled two goals in the first game’s 4-3 victory. Freshman Henrik Borgstrom (Helsinki, Finland) amassed three points (two goals, one assist) on Saturday’s 3-1 win to secure the weekend sweep.
Denver (2-2) rebounded after its last place finish in the Ice Breaker Tournament on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8, where they lost 3-2 and 3-1 to Ohio State and Boston College, respectively. The Pioneers defeated the highly respected BU Terriers without the on-ice presence of standout sophomore forward Dylan Gambrell (Bonney Lake, Washington), who is recovering from hand surgery.
“It’s two nights in a row where we’ve had players do real unselfish things,” Head Coach Jim Montgomery said. “Last night, [Evan] Janssen could have tried for a hat trick, but he just killed the game off with a one-goal lead. Borgstrom ended the game with a great play to Tyson McLellan (San Jose, California), but that’s just good puck support.”
The Pioneers’ third line, consisting of Janssen, freshman McLellan and sophomore Logan O’Connor (Calgary, Alberta), delivered half of DU’s four tallies on Friday night. At 4:44 into the second period, Janssen finished on the doorstep off a feed from linemate O’Connor to extend Denver’s previous lead 3-0.
Just over the halfway mark of the period, BU added its first tally on a power play goal buried by Calgary Flames prospect Brandon Hickey. Hickey bounced the puck past Jaillet of a feed from Jakob Karlsson.
At 12:06 remaining in the middle frame, McLellan centered the puck across the slot to Janssen. Janssen sent his wrist shot past BU goaltender Jake Oettinger to extend the Pioneers’ lead 4-1.
Denver lost momentum in the final frame but never relinquished its lead. 2:47 into the period, the Terriers cut their deficit in half. 8:01 later, Doyle Somerby was assessed for holding, delivering Denver’s seventh power play of the evening. Despite the man disadvantage, BU’s Clayton Keller picked up a loose puck and scored BU’s third goal on a shorthanded breakaway.
Boston’s physicality and overbearing intensity backfired as the Terriers served 14 penalty minutes and allowed the Pioneers to gain momentum on their power plays.
Denver’s first goal was scored on the third power play of the night as BU’s Dante Fabbro was assessed with interference. 16 seconds in, Jarid Lukosevicus (Squamish, British Columbia) fed senior captain Will Butcher (Sun Prairie, Wisconsin) at the point. Butcher fired a wrist shot which senior center Matt Marcinew (Calgary, Alberta) tipped bar down past Oettinger to put the Pioneers on the board first.
The Pioneers’ second conversion was finished by Anaheim Ducks prospect Troy Terry (Denver, Colorado). 4:02 into the second period, Terry drove into the slot and shot a wrist shot past Oettinger on the weak side. Freshman defenseman Michael Davies (St. Louis, Missouri) picked up the assist.
Looking for their second win of the weekend series, Denver stumbled out of the gate early. However, following a domineering first period by BU who outshot DU 9-3, Borgstrom put Denver on the board first at 1:37 into the second period. Borgstrom wired his shot from the left circle over Oettinger’s left shoulder to record his first career goal.
Borgstrom, a NHL first round draft pick within the 2016 freshman class, recorded his first collegiate goal, relieving the previous tension and frustration on missed opportunities.
“I said last night, wait until the first one goes in…and you could just see him,” Montgomery said. “He started going around people, through people and that second goal was a big-time play.”
Borgstrom’s second and eventually game-winning goal occurred 9:37 into the final frame after BU equalized the score 43 seconds into the period on a powerplay. Fellow freshman and first round draft pick Kieffer Bellows, a New York Islanders prospect, scored the Terriers’ sole point.
“This was a great weekend for us and a big step forward for our team,” said Montgomery. “We won a lot of one-on-one battles this weekend and a lot of different guys stepped up with big time efforts for us. These were two good team wins and it’s definitely encouraging to see positive results coming from the hard work our student-athletes have been putting in.”
Denver travels to East Lansing, Mich. for a nonconference series against the Michigan State Spartans on Friday, Oct. 21 and Saturday, Oct. 22.
