Denver hockey finished off a fruitful regular season with a 5-2 win over Colorado College, giving them a season sweep over their interstate rivals. They also earned a share of the NCHC regular-season championship thanks to a North Dakota loss to Omaha, an accomplishment they celebrated on the ice following the game.
It was senior night at Magness Arena. The team’s five seniors, forward Brett Stapley (Campbell River, B.C.), forward Cameron Wright (Newmarket, Ontario), forward Ryan Barrow (Banff, Alberta), forward Cole Guttman (Los Angeles, Calif.) and defenseman Kyle Mayhew (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) were honored before the game. Head Coach David Carle said that the senior class had “been through a ton, and it’s great to be able to honor them tonight in front of a sold-out crowd.”
That crowd inside Magness Arena was rocking from the get-go, and the home team gave them plenty to cheer about. After sustained pressure early, DU eventually found their way into the power play seven and a half minutes into the first period. They would take advantage of the opportunity when a pass from junior forward Bobby Brink (Minnetonka, Minn.) found the stick of sophomore forward Carter Savoie (St. Albert, Alberta), who deposited the puck into the back of the net.
On DU’s next goal, which was just a few minutes later, Savoie was involved again, but this time he was the setup man, making a great play to find Stapley, who beat Colorado College goaltender Dominic Basse (Alexandria, VA) to make it a 2-0 game.
Stapley, who tied for fourth in the NCHC in regular-season points, despite being the team’s third-line center, is the shining example of DU’s depth at the center position. Stapley said having that kind of depth is “pretty special and it can be big in the playoffs if we can get scoring from all lines.”
DU would face a scare 13 minutes into the first period when Tigers forward Stanley Cooley (Regina, SASK) was awarded a penalty shot after freshman defenseman Shai Buium (San Diego, Calif.) was forced to commit a penalty to stop a breakaway chance from Cooley. Freshman goaltender Matt Davis (Calgary, Alberta), who stepped onto the ice first over usual starter junior Magnus Chrona (Stockholm, Sweden) rose to the occasion and saved the penalty shot. Coach David Carle said that the decision to start Davis was a combination of Davis “earning it” and “an opportunity for Magnus to get a real good goalie skate in and work on parts of his game.”
DU would dominate the rest of the first period but would be unable to find the net again. However, it would not take them long to find the back of the net in the second period. Only 18 seconds into the period, senior Ryan Barrow would strike to give DU a 3-0 lead.
Around this time, it was becoming clear that Omaha was going to beat North Dakota, something DU needed to earn a share of the NCHC regular-season championship and get the number one seed in the NCHC tournament. All DU needed to do now was to hold onto their lead against Colorado College and they would earn a share of the Penrose Cup.
Savoie would help the cause late in the second period when he scored his second goal of the game and 20th of the season to give Denver a 4-0 lead. Coach Carle described Savoie as a “one-shot scorer.” That ability to score from all over the ice is why Savoie is one of the most dangerous players in college hockey.
DU would ease up in the third period, but they had built a big enough lead for it not to matter, and they ended up winning 5-2 to earn the No. 1 seed in the NCHC tournament.
The Crimson and Gold will face Miami of Ohio in a best of three series starting on Friday, March 11 in Magness Arena.
