Denver Hockey came off a bye weekend and traveled to Duluth, Minnesota to take on the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. They would split the weekend, losing 4-3 on Friday and winning on Saturday 2-1.
Entering Friday’s contest, senior goaltender Matt Davis would get the night off, and sophomore goaltender Freddie Halyk would get the start for the Crimson and Gold.
The first period was quiet, with chances going back and forth for both teams until 16:46 when Denver took a tripping penalty to put the Bulldogs on the powerplay. At 17:05, Duluth’s Aaron Pionk fired a shot from the point, beating Halyk to give UMD a 1-0 lead.
The pace would pick up early in the middle period. At 2:31, Denver’s sophomore forward Sam Harris scored on an open net, off a centering pass from freshman forward James Reeder. Reeder threw a puck to the front of the net and after bouncing off a Duluth D-man, found the tape of Harris to tie the game at 1-1.
Midway through the period at 13:02, DU took a holding penalty and at 13:14, sophomore forward Zeev Buium’s World Juniors teammate from a month ago, Max Plante, scored a goal from the slot with a tic-tac-toe play to put UMD back in the lead at 2-1.
Later in the middle period, Duluth would answer once again, a goal from Kyle Bettens, which was his first of the year, beat Halyk from the point. A shot that Halyk wasn’t expecting, beat him over the right shoulder, to extend Duluth’s lead to 3-1.
The third period continued the tension and fireworks. The Bulldogs continued the offensive pressure and at 6:39, they scored again. A one-timer goal on the rush from Anthony Menghini beat Halyk to make it 4-1 Duluth.
Just past the midway point of the period, the Crimson and Gold answered with a goal of their own at 11:07. A net-front scramble that ensued allowed junior forward Jared Wright to pounce on the loose puck and put it past the UMD goaltender to cut the deficit to 4-2.
A little over a minute later, UMD took a hooking penalty, putting DU onto the powerplay for the third time on the night. During the powerplay, the Bulldogs would take another penalty, but due to Denver having possession of the puck, it was a delayed penalty, and that allowed Denver to play 6 on 4. The extra man on the ice would help them convert on the powerplay for the first time on the night at 12:47. Buium would wire a cross-ice pass to senior forward Jack Devine who tapped the puck into a wide-open net and cut the Duluth lead to one goal at 4-3.
But, it would be too little too late for the Crimson and Gold and after a hard-fought and tough game, the Bulldogs gained the win. Duluth was able to capitalize on the chances given to them with two powerplay goals on the night.
During Saturday’s game, a couple of milestones were achieved: junior forward Aidan Thomspon played his 100th game in a Denver sweater and head coach David Carle coached his 250th game at Denver.
Denver would go back to Davis in net to help get the weekend split for the Crimson and Gold. Like Friday, it was a quiet first period with a tight, hard-checking game between both teams.
Until the final minute of the period at 19:16. Junior forward Samu Salminen scored on a rebound from sophomore defenseman Eric Pohlkamp’s shot, giving Denver their first lead of the weekend at 1-0.
The middle period was filled with more offense as Denver would score early in the period at 3:06. Senior forward Carter King scored on a breakaway, beating a UMD defenseman wide to give him the breakaway and squeak a backhand shot through the five-hole of Duluth’s goaltender Klayton Knapp and give DU a 2-0 lead early in the middle period.
The Bulldogs put the pressure on and finally got on the board for the only time of the night late in the period at 15:33, a point shot that deflected off a Bulldogs forward screening Davis. The goal Davis had little to no chance of saving and cut the deficit to 2-1 Denver.
The final period of the weekend would be a quiet but tense one, with both teams exchanging chances. Denver had a good amount of offensive zone time throughout the period but late in the game, Duluth would make a push and attempt to tie the game but was unsuccessful. Denver was able to finish a tight game and get out of Duluth with a split.
Denver Hockey is back in action at home taking on the University of Nebraska-Omaha on Jan. 31 – Feb. 1.
