The Denver Pioneers wrapped up their weekend against Omaha with one win and an NCHC overtime win. The NCHC overtime win grants the Pioneers the extra point in conference standings—however, according to official rules, the game will go down as a tie for the official record.
On Friday, March 1, the Pioneers struck early in the game to take the 4-1 win over the Omaha Mavericks. Junior Michael Davies (St. Louis, Mo.) was the first to score at 11:20, followed by senior Jarid Luckosevicius (Squamish, B.C.) one minute, 20 seconds later. Freshman Cole Guttman (Los Angeles, Calif.) and sophomore Jaako Heikkinen (Helinski, Finland) were recorded with the assists on Davies’s goal while sophomore Kohen Olischefski (Abbotsford, B.C.) and freshman Emilio Pettersen (Manglerud, Norway) had the assists on Luckosevicius’s goal. The Mavericks would strike early in the second period and despite a handful of chances, the Pioneers were unable to strike. In the third period, however, Heikkinen scored early at 2:53 off of an assist from sophomore Ian Mitchell (Calahoo, Alberta). Guttman sealed the win for the Pioneers at 14:06.
On Saturday, March 2, despite an early start to scoring, Denver tired 3-3 with Omaha, eventually earning the extra point in the NCHC standings.
“It was an emotional hockey game,” Head Coach David Carle said. “We’re ultimately happy we were able to get the extra point, but disappointed our special teams weren’t executing to the level they were last night. You have to tip your hat to Omaha.”
Denver took the lead at 18:38 of the first period when freshman Kyle Mahew (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) scored his first collegiate goal off a pass from sophomore Jake Durflinger (Walnut Creek, Calif.). However, Omaha tied the game up one minute later. In the second period, the Pioneers were off to an early start when they scored at 1:24 with a goal from junior Liam Finlay (Kelowna, B.C.). Olischefski scored at 13:22 to bring the score to 3-1, Denver. However, Omaha would score once more in the second, and then in the third period to tie the game, both goals coming during power plays. In the overtime, senior Les Lancaster (Ypsilanti, Mich.) would score at 1:09, giving Denver the extra point.
The Pioneers return to Magness Arena on Friday, March 8 to take on Colorado College at 7 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast on Altitude 2, as well as 104.3, The Fan.
