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The Pioneers suffered a home sweep for the first time since 2007 after No. 1-ranked Boston College defeated DU in both matches in last weekend’s Homecoming and home opener.
On Friday, the Eagles (3-0-0) torched the Pioneers (1-2-1), winning 6-2. On Saturday, the nation’s top-ranked team shutout Denver 3-0. Both losses were witnessed by a sellout crowd at Magness Arena.
It was the first time in 19 seasons that the Pioneers had been swept at home by a non-conference opponent.
The Pioneers, who dropped to No. 11/13 in the national rankings on Monday, finished Friday night’s game 0-8 on powerplay opportunities and followed that with a 0-9 outing on Saturday, which cost the Pioneers a chance to potentially comeback from an early deficit.
“Of all the things we did this weekend, the powerplay is without a doubt our biggest disappointment,” said head coach George Gwozdecky. “We didn’t adjust as well as we needed to, certainly pucks from the perimeter of the net needs to be a focus for us.”
Although they failed to convert on the powerplay, the Pioneers were perfect on the penalty kill over the weekend, stopping nine of BC’s attempts.
“Silver lining is penalty kills were good; powerplays need to be better,” Gwozdecky said. “Overall as a team, offensively, we had some chances especially in the early part of the game [on Saturday], but the power play was the deciding factor.”
In an attempt to end their powerplay woes, Denver changed around their line combinations using several underclassmen in different sets.
Freshmen Jason Zucker, Beau Bennett, David Makowski and Jarrod Mermis all saw extensive action in their home debut for the Pioneers.
“I think our freshmen and sophomores are very talented, but at this level it takes more than talent to be consistently effective and successful,” said Gwozdecky. “Those young guys don’t have the understanding of where to move the puck sometimes, and when you’re playing against this level of competition it gets the better of you.”
The Pioneers were outshot in both contests and never held a lead against the Eagles, who jumped to a 5-0-lead in Friday’s contest.
“They are the gold standard right now,” said Gwozdecky. “The way they are performing, I can’t see anyone better than them.”
Boston College is the defending NCAA champion. The team defeated Wisconsin 5-0 on April 11 to win its second national title in three seasons. Ironically, No. 13/14 Wisconsin is the next team on DU’s schedule.
The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) foes both start conference play when the Badgers travel to Magness Arena on Friday night.
After being the national runner-up last season, Wisconsin lost key players, including Blake Geoffrion, Michael Davies and Ryan McDonaugh.
However, the Badgers (3-1-0) restocked on talent and are coming off a sweep during their home-opening series against Alabama-Huntsville.
In the first conference series, Gwozdecky said he plans to continue rotating his goalies, sophomore Adam Murray and freshman Sam Brittain.
Despite allowing six goals to the Eagles, Murray will most likely get the nod on Friday, according to Gwozdecky, while Brittain will be in net Saturday night.
“At this point in time we need to rotate them so we are able to evaluate both guys,” said Gwozdecky. “Our plan is to do that the first eight to 10 games and at the end of that period, we will make our decision as to whether we want to continue with the rotation or go with the guy who has stepped in forward.”
Murray finished with 28 saves on Friday, while Brittain made 30 stops on Saturday.
Both goalies, like the rest of the team, will be in for another challenge this weekend. The Badgers have scored 18 goals in their last three games, which have all been victories.
The Pioneers will once again have home-ice advantage when the puck drops at 7:37 p.m. Friday, however they are playing a team that knows how to win at Magness Arena.
Before Boston College swept DU, the previous team to sweep the Pioneers at home was the Badgers.
