With winter break come and gone and the NCHC’s return to play in home arenas, DU hockey is deep into their 2020-2021 campaign. The team currently sits at 5-7-1 and is ranked 18th in the NCAA. DU’s performance in the Pod in December was inconsistent, as the team started the season with three consecutive losses and left the Pod with a 3-6-1 record.
Most notably, standout sophomore forward Bobby Brink (Minnetonka, Minn.) was missing from the roster in December. He was competing with the U.S. Junior National Team at the 2021 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in Edmonton, Alberta where the Americans took home the gold over Canada.
Though the team’s performance in the Pod may have been lackluster overall, there were a few bright spots. DU upset No. 1 North Dakota on Dec. 8 with a game-winning goal from freshman forward Carter Savoie (St. Albert, Alberta). Savoie had an explosive start to his time with Denver, becoming the first freshman to score in the first five games of his college career and being named both NCHC and NCAA rookie of the month for December. The Edmonton Oilers prospect is the first DU player since the 2004 season to perform such a feat.
Highlights of Denver’s play in the Pod include a 5-1 victory against Miami on Dec. 10 where five different players scored and four players had multi-point games, and a 3-3 nailbiter tie against Western Michigan on Dec. 19. In the Western Michigan game, freshman forward McKade Webster (St. Louis, Mo.) scored a goal in the shootout period to give DU a point in the NCHC standings.
The team also added two newcomers to the roster in the month of December: freshman forward Jack Works (Yellowknife, NW Territories) and freshman forward Carter King (Calgary, Alberta).
Upon their return from the Pod, DU faced in-state rival Colorado College for a weekend series on Jan. 1 and 2. DU dropped the first game with a 3-4 loss in Colorado Springs before picking up a 6-1 win the following night in Magness Arena. The victory marked DU hockey’s 1,500th win as a program, a feat that only six other teams have accomplished. Senior goaltender and Yale transfer Corbin Kaczperski (China Township, Mich.) saw action as goalie for DU in the second game and made 17 saves.
After Sunday and Monday’s home games against North Dakota, the team will return to Omaha to play the University of Nebraska Omaha on Jan. 23 and 24.
