In a critical NCHC clash on the road, Denver used their dynamic offense to bury a solid Omaha team with 6-3 and 6-2 victories. These impressive wins improved DU’s record to 17-5-2 and put them in a solid position to compete for the NCHC regular season title heading into a massive road series against rivals North Dakota this weekend.
For a series that would prove to be so bright, things got off to a dark start, with Omaha scoring a shorthanded goal to open the scoring. Mavericks forward Zach Urdahl was on a breakaway when freshman forward Miko Matikka fouled him, which resulted in a penalty shot. Urdahl would convert the penalty shot to make it 1-0.
However, the Crimson and Gold responded at the end of the period with a goal from freshman defenseman Boston Buckberger to tie the game entering the second period, a frame that Denver would dominate.
The second period started off with a five-on-three power play in which Denver would finally manage to score after hitting the post twice. The breakthrough came from a one-timer by sophomore forward Aidan Thompson, who blasted a shot past the goaltender at the very end of the two-man advantage.
Omaha responded with a power-play goal of their own, tying the game midway through the period. However, after this Denver turned on the afterburners and began to blow away the Mavericks with their offensive talent.
This explosion was led by DU’s potent first line of senior forward McKade Webster, junior forward Massimo Rizzo and fellow junior forward Jack Devine. The trio was on the ice for all three of Denver’s goals late in the second period, with Webster scoring one and Devine scoring two. Rizzo had an assist for all three of the goals. Devine had a career-high five point game, while Rizzo had four points and Webster had three.
Devine was the one to break the tie, with a goal that was assisted by his two linemates. Just over two minutes later, Webster would strike to make it 4-2 on a goal assisted by the top two point scorers in the country, in Rizzo and Devine.
Rizzo created the fifth goal with a fantastic steal and pass which created an easy opportunity for Devine who did not miss, making it a 5-2 game after two periods. The game went from close to decided in a matter of minutes thanks to the firepower of Denver’s top line.
This top line would cap off their ridiculous night with yet another goal early in the third period. This time the playmaker of the group, Rizzo, would get a goal of his own, with assists from his two superstar linemates.
Omaha would get a consolation goal to make it 6-3, but the damage was done and DU would win the game by that score.
While the story of the first game was the top line, the story of the second game was the Buium brothers. Junior defenseman Shai Buium and freshman defenseman Zeev Buium put on a show in Omaha to help Denver secure the sweep.
Just like the previous night, Omaha would strike first against the run of play with a special teams goal, this time on the power play to give DU an early deficit. Once again, the Crimson and Gold responded late in the period with the nation’s leading goal scorer Devine tying the game up, who scored off a wicked wrist shot.
The patterns from game one continued, with Denver absolutely taking the game over in the second period, out scoring the Mavericks 4-1 in the second frame for the second night in a row. Unlike Friday night, Denver scored the first goal of the second period, thanks in part to a stellar save by junior goaltender Matt Davis, who flashed the glove at the Mavericks forward Dominic Vidoli.
Freshman forward Sam Harris picked up his fourth goal of the season, taking the puck the length of the ice before beating the goaltender with a beautiful wrist shot. Harris, who is a talented player stuck on the fourth line thanks to Denver’s outstanding depth, has worked hard all season and was rewarded with a goal in this game.
Then, the Buium brothers took over the game, with Shai Buium scoring on a thunderous one-timer assisted by his younger brother Zeev. Shai would pick up an assist for the next goal, which was scored by hard hitting senior forward Connor Caponi, which was the second goal of the night for the fourth line, making it a 4-1 game.
Future first-round draft pick Zeev Buium would finally tally one with a brilliant dangle and an even better wrist shot to make it 5-1, putting the game out of reach. The freshman defenseman has 32 points in 22 games, which is the most in the country by a defenseman and tied for fourth among all skaters. The defenseman is playing his way into a very high pick in the 2024 NHL draft, potentially in the top 10.
His dominance would continue in the third period with an assist on junior forward Carter King’s power-play goal, which put the cherry on top of a dominant night for Denver and their preternaturally gifted defenseman.
The 6-2 score would hold, giving the Crimson and Gold a huge road sweep over a conference foe. Their road trip will continue next weekend with a trip to Grand Forks to take on a stacked North Dakota team, who will provide a huge test to Denver. The game on Friday is nationally televised on CBS Sports Network with puck drop starting at 6 p.m.
