Coming into the weekend on a four-game losing streak, this weekend’s series was make or break for the DU hockey team, and they rose to the occasion sweeping a quality Western Michigan team (WMU), 5-3 and 5-2. Head Coach David Carle thought the success this weekend was big for the group.

“I think it’s great for our group to build confidence, it’s hard to win in this league, and it’s really hard to sweep,” Carle said. 

Game one:

The game got off to an inauspicious start for the Crimson and Gold, especially given the context of their losing streak. In the first minute of the game, the Western Michigan Broncos found the back of the net thanks to a defensive miscue by DU. Broncos defenseman Michael Joyaux (Bloomingdale, Ill.) was left all alone in front of the net after a faceoff and made Denver pay when he tipped in a shot from forward Cole Galland (Dover, Fla.) past junior goaltender Magnus Chrona (Stockholm, Sweden).

Instead of letting things snowball and get out of control, DU immediately put their foot on the gas and hunted for the equalizing goal. Their efforts were eventually rewarded when senior forward Cameron Wright (Newmarket, Ontario) snuck the puck past Broncos goalie Brandon Bussi (Sound Beach, N.Y.) on a two-on-one situation assisted by freshman forward Carter Mazur (Jackson, Mich.).

DU would continue to control the action until another defensive breakdown led to a WMU goal with less than a minute to go in the period. Forward Drew Worrard (Birr, Ontario) got past a sea of crimson jerseys and got off a shot that Chrona could not stop. 

Despite going into the first intermission on a sour note, Denver was undeterred and it showed in the second period. Junior defenseman Justin Lee (Waskada, Manitoba) said the message in the dressing room between periods was to “stay focused, and stick to the game plan.” That message was clearly received by the team, who started the second period extremely fast, or as sophomore forward Carter Savoie (St. Albert, Alberta) put it, “guns a-blazing.” Savoie was right in the middle of that fast start, scoring 45 seconds into the period on a one-timer set up by senior captain Cole Guttman (Los Angeles, Calif.) who got an assist on the play. 

Now with momentum on their side, the Crimson and Gold’s hot start was not over. Less than two minutes after the Savoie goal, Mazur connected on a pass to fellow freshman forward Massimo Rizzo (Burnaby, B.C.), which Rizzo buried in the back of the net to give Denver the lead. Another freshman, defenseman Shai Buium (San Diego, Calif.) also tallied an assist on the play, underscoring how young DU’s talent is. It is not often one sees three freshmen combine for a goal in collegiate hockey. 

The freshmen were not done making their mark this period, with Mazur depositing a loose puck into the back of the net on the powerplay seven and a half minutes into the period. Mazur had a breakout performance in this game, scoring three points and was excellent throughout the weekend. Yet another freshman, defenseman Sean Behrens (Barrington, Ill.) got on the scoresheet, tallying an assist on the Mazur goal. 

Western Michigan would score on the powerplay later in the period—an area that has been a persistent issue for DU so far this season. Regardless, DU played some of their best hockey of the season in the second period given the level of opposition. 

The quick play would continue into the third period, as the smaller DU team began to wear down Western Michigan, the biggest team in collegiate hockey. DU countered that size with speed and skill. Carter Savoie attributed the success to “sticking to the basics and playing the way DU needs to play”. 

Savoie would score the only goal of the third period on a picture-perfect wrist shot that beat Broncos goalie Bussi. While Savoie was excellent as a freshman, he has taken his game to another level this year putting up 10 goals and 17 points in the first 10 games, making him second in the nation for goals scored so far this season. 

“[Savoie is] finding a way to be more involved and more dangerous. He’s moving his feet more and scoring goals in different ways,” Coach Carle said.

Savoie’s two goals would end up being the difference, the final score being 5-3 in Denver’s favor.

Game Two:

After winning game one, it was critical to come back and win game two given the four-game losing streak, and DU did just that on the back of another massive second period. Once again, the start was not promising for DU, but in a different way. Denver came out flat and seemed to lack energy to start the game, with Coach Carle saying he “thought [Denver] could have been down 4-0” based on how they played in the first period. 

Luckily for DU, WMU failed to take full advantage of the home team’s lack of energy. DU was punished for some of their mistakes, with an ineffective DU powerplay culminating in Broncos forward Josh Passolt (Hayward, Wis.) racing out of the box and setting up forward Max Sasson (Birmingham, Mich.), who put the puck in the back of the net to break the ice. 

DU would quickly respond, however, with Mazur scoring another goal to continue his incredible weekend. He tipped a shot from sophomore defenseman Mike Benning (St. Albert, Alberta) to tie the game. After the equalizer, DU went back to their lethargic play from earlier in the period, which Western Michigan made them pay for.

The Broncos took advantage of a power play given to them after junior forward Brett Edwards (Grand Prairie, Alberta) was called for a slashing penalty. While the penalty kill was better this weekend, holding Western Michigan to a combined 2 of 8, a marketable improvement on their .64 kill rate for the season, they were not able to kill this one. Forward Drew Worrard capitalized on the ample space and time DU allowed him to have, and he blasted a shot past Chrona to make it a 2-1 game. That would be all of the scoring for the period, and given how DU played, they were lucky to only be down one.

Denver would punish Western Michigan for not putting them away when they had the chance. The DU offense would show their potential in the second period with dazzling skill and a killer instinct. Chrona, who was solid all weekend, would make some key saves in the beginning period to keep the game at 2-1 and give the offense time to get going. 

The offense was given an opportunity when Western Michigan was penalized for having too many men on the ice. Junior forward Bobby Brink (Minnetonka, Minn.) cashed in on the man advantage when he beat Bussi with a well-placed wrist shot.

“It is tough to get back into games without an effective power play,” Brink said later, emphasizing the importance of the play. 

Brink’s goal clearly energized the group, who played with much more intensity compared to the first period. DU was in complete command for the rest of the game, but would not be rewarded for their control until late in the second period when they had a breathtaking explosion of offense. 

The scoring would be spearheaded by none other than Savoie, who scored two goals in the span of 20 seconds. The first goal would be set up by a gorgeous feed from Cole Guttman, who put the puck on a platter for Savoie to bury into the net. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Savoie scored yet again turning a tied game into a two-goal lead for DU in a matter of seconds. 

That top line, Savoie, Guttman and Brink, showed what they are capable of with that explosion late in the second period.

“[We] have great chemistry together and read off each other well,” said Brink of the trio after the game. 

DU was not done scoring. With time winding down in the period, sophomore defenseman Antti Tuomisto (Pori, Finland) made a nice pass to Wright, which led to a two-on-one chance. Wright took the shot and got it past Bussi with less than a second on the clock to cap a wild second period. 

The third period would be a defensive stalemate, without any goals, but it was possibly even more impressive than the second period. DU would play their best defensive hockey of the season, doing a great job limiting Western Michigan’s chances. The performance was in stark contrast with the Providence loss, which kicked off their four-game losing streak when the Crimson and Gold blew a three-goal lead in the third period. 

“We are a young team and we have to grow throughout the year obviously. I think our maturity took a big step tonight in that third period,” said Savoie, explaining the difference between the two games. 

Coach Carle echoed that sentiment.

“I thought our young team took a real step in their maturity by closing a game out in the right way. We didn’t veer from the game plan and didn’t cheat the game,” he said. 

This weekend’s series was a key sink or swim situation for DU, and the young team swam, building confidence one stroke at a time. This series was huge for Denver in terms of building confidence. 

“Winning gives us confidence. Playing our way and having success following our game plan and structure gives us confidence and a reason to keep following it. When we play like we practice, we are very successful,” said Brink.