On Jan. 27 and 28, the DU hockey team hosted the University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO) Mavericks. Going into the game, DU was second in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and ranked third in the NCAA.UNO was ranked fourth and 18th, respectively. On Jan. 27, DU defeated UNO 5-3 and on Jan. 28 shutout UNO 5-0. DU is now tied for first in the conference with the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
The starting line for the Pioneers on Friday night included junior Tanner Jaillet (Red Deer, Alberta) in goal, forwards senior Evan Janssen (Green Bay, Wisconsin), sophomore Dylan Gambrell (Bonney Lake, Washington), senior Matt Marcinew (Calgary, Alberta), junior defenseman Tariq Hammond (Calgary, Alberta) and freshman Michael Davies (St. Louis, Missouri). Freshman Chris Oldham was in goal for UNO. Marcinew won the opening faceoff for the Pioneers.
Three and a half minutes into the game, Janssen was sent to the penalty box for boarding. 15 seconds into the UNO power play, Mavericks captain, senior Justin Parizek, scored the first goal of the game.
Four minutes later, Ortega added another point to the board for UNO, putting the Mavericks up 2-0. DU lost the puck on the line change, allowing UNO to take the fruitful shot.
After their disappointing first period, DU found their scoring touch by racking up four goals in the second period, three of which came in two and a half minutes. The first Denver goal came from freshman Tyson McLellan (San Jose, California), his third of the season. Hammond and freshman Kevin Conley (Wausau, Wisconsin) had the assists.
The next goal for the Pioneers was a power play goal by freshman Henrik Borgström (Helsinki, Finland), his 13th of the season.
Two minutes later, Borgström passed backwards to Gambrell, who was able to fire home Denver’s third goal and put the Pioneers up 3-2. Borgström and Gambrell are currently tied for the most points scored by the Pioneers this season with 25.
40 seconds later, the Pioneers scored yet again when freshman Liam Finlay (Kelowna, British Columbia) tallied his third of the season with assists from Janssen and senior captain Will Butcher (Sun Prairie, Wisconsin).
DU ended the second period with a strong 4-2 lead over the visiting Mavericks.
The beginning of the third period was uneventful, but 13 minutes into the period, UNO’s Morelli was sent to the penalty box for holding. Four seconds into the power play, immediately following a faceoff won by Marcinew, Butcher scored a fifth goal for Denver.
The final goal of the game was scored by Morelli to bring the final score to 5-3. The Pioneers led in shots on goal, 43 to 29, and in faceoffs, 41 to 20.
On Saturday night, the Pioneers completely dominated the Mavericks. UNO made a change in net, starting sophomore Evan Weninger (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan). Borgström, Butcher, Gambrell, sophomore defenseman Blake Hillman (Elk River, Minnesota) and sophomore forward Jarid Lukosevicius (Squamish, British Columbia) started for the Pioneers.
The first goal came after six minutes from the stick of sophomore Colin Staub (Colorado Springs, Colorado) on a power play. Janssen and Finlay had the assists. Marcinew also scored in the first period with assists from Staub and Butcher, giving Denver an early 2-0 lead.
With three and half minutes remaining in the period, sophomore Logan O’Connor (Calgary, Alberta) scored after his shot from behind the goal was deflected past Weninger and into the net. Senior Evan Ritt (Lakewood, Colorado) was attributed the assist.
The Pioneers started the second period on a penalty kill after Janssen was called for slashing at the end of the first. DU continued their impressive special teams play, and UNO was unproductive during their one man advantage.
Halfway through the second period, senior Matt VanVoorhis (Edina, Minnesota) scored his first goal of the season with assists from McLellan and Finlay.
UNO received a penalty for slashing, and DU scored their fifth and final goal during the power play. It was Staub’s second of the game. Janssen and Finlay had the assists, closing out the second period.
In the third period, Jaillet was pulled from goal, and senior Evan Cowley (Evergreen, Colorado) took over. The game finished with a score of 5-0, and DU led with 43 to 22 shots on goal and 28 to 25 faceoffs.
Staub was awarded First Star of the Game honors due to his impressive three point game.
The Pioneers will face Colorado College on Feb. 10 in Magness Arena.
