It was an eventful homecoming weekend for the Denver Hockey program. The 2022 national championship banner was raised into the rafters of Magness Arena in front of 6,324 fans Saturday night. This was the 9th banner to be lifted in DU’s history and is tied for the most in all of NCAA Division I history with the University of Michigan. DU also took on the no 11. ranked Providence Friars and swept the weekend series. It was a bounce-back weekend for the team, as they fell in their previous two games to the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Denver won 4-1 Friday night, and then 3-2 Saturday night in overtime.
The weekend started Friday night with a game that was a lot closer than the score suggested. The teams were evenly matched from that start in 5-on-5 action, and neither team could gain momentum over the other. Providence ended up outshooting Denver 14-12 in the first period but senior goaltender Magnus Chrona (Stockholm, Sweden) stopped every shot he faced. Chrona finished with 25 saves on the night including a key skate save off of a breakaway that kept the game 0-0 early.
Special teams were the catalyst for Denver’s offense. Denver went on the power play for the second time, eight minutes into the first period and got the first tally on the scoreboard. Sophomore forward Jack Devine (Glencoe, Ill.) fired a sharp pass that was redirected up front by freshman forward Rieger Lorenz (Calgary, Alberta) and into the back of the net. This was the first career collegiate goal for Lorenz and is the first player from the freshman class to register a goal this season.
Two more power plays in the second period led to two more goals for Denver. Great puck movement from the first unit led junior defenseman Mike Benning (St. Albert, Alberta) to give a great feed to sophomore forward Carter King (Calgary, Alberta), who then fired away a piercing shot past the Providence goaltender’s shoulder. DU would capitalize again on their next power play opportunity via a slapshot from sophomore forward Massimo Rizzo (Burnaby, B.C). Rizzo took a pass from Benning and fired a bullet into traffic for his second goal of the season.
DU would finish 3 for 5 on the power play and head coach David Carle was happy with the influence the power play had on the game. “Three power play goals is a huge factor in the win,” he said. “We spent a lot of time in the zone on the power play because of our puck support and we won battles to extend our zone time.”
Providence would score a goal off their own power play in the second period and would try to push back into the game via their physical play. But nine minutes into the third period Denver would stifle Providence’s momentum and put the game out of the hands of the Friars. A 2-on-1 developed between Rizzo and senior forward Casey Dornbach (Edina, Minn.) which led to Rizzo feeding a laser pass under the body of a Friar defenseman and into the pocket of Dornbach, who finished away a beautiful goal. Rizzo and Dornbach were among four players who finished with multiple points on the night. Benning had two assists, and sophomore defenseman Shai Buium (San Diego, Calif.) finished with three assists on the night. DU would win 4-1.
Less than 24 hours later, the night that many DU fans had been looking forward to all offseason had finally come. Before the game, DU fans were handed replica banners and the stands of Magness Arena were the most full it has been all season. During the pregame ceremony, senior defenseman and captain Justin Lee (Waskada, Manitoba) skated a lap around the rink and touted the championship trophy to the cheering home crowd. The banner was then brought out onto the ice and the players from last year’s championship team proudly watched as the banner was lifted into the rafters.
Devine described what the banner raising meant to him best and said it was an emotional night all together. “I think it was a really special moment to see that banner getting raised and was definitely a testament to all of our hard work from last year,” he said. “It was awesome to be there with some of my brothers from last year and watch it get raised.”
Penalties and power plays continued to be the recurring theme for the weekend in the first period. Both teams had two power plays in the first period and could not capitalize on either. Providence finished 2 for 7 on the power play and Denver finished 1 for 6.
The first goal of the game didn’t come until the second period and came from the visiting Friars. The fourth power play of the game led to a quality shot in the slot that Chrona could not stop. Providence had all the momentum going forward until two minutes later, when Denver capitalized on their own power play. Crisp puck movement from the first unit led to a rebound to skimper out front to the stick of sophomore forward Carter Mazur (Jackson, Mich.) who finished away his fifth goal of the season.
Denver would go into the intermission with even more momentum when with a minute left in the second period, Rizzo finished a cross-crease feed from Mazur. Mazur drove into the zone and beat the Friar defenseman in order to give a perfect pass to Rizzo for his second goal of the weekend.
Once the third period was underway, both teams got quality chances early that could have changed the momentum of the game. DU held their lead until two minutes and 56 seconds left in the period as Providence capitalized on a late power play with a goal that barely crept past Chrona. The third period ended and the teams would need another period to decide who would come out of Magness Arena with a win.
It would only take 86 seconds for Denver to score in overtime and win the game. Lorenz, along with sophomore defenseman Sean Behrens (Barrington, Ill.) created a turnover in the offensive zone which led to Lorenz feeding a backhand pass to Devine in the slot. Devine then walked farther into the slot and fired a wrist shot for the game-winning goal. DU would win the game 3-2, and improve to a 4-2-0 record on the season.
DU looks to continue their weekend success into NCHC conference play as their next four opponents are conference opponents. Their next series is this weekend against the Miami RedHawks on the road in Oxford, Ohio and they will return home Nov. 4 and take on St. Cloud State for the first of two series this season.
