Denver hockey played their home opening series against Northeastern this homecoming weekend, winning both games 5-2. The festivities included raising the 2024 championship banner and senior captain forward Carter King presenting the trophy to the fans.
The first game started strong for Denver. Their first goal came in just the sixth minute of the opening frame with junior forward Aidan Thompson playing a pass off the wall to senior forward Jack Devine. Thompson got the puck right back and passed it across the goal to senior forward Carter King who put it in the back of the net.
Denver scored again at the start of the second period. Sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium pulled a nice move and passed to freshman forward Jake Fisher who smashed it into the goal in the second minute of the period, his second goal of his freshman season. His classmate, freshman forward Hagen Burrows, also picked up an assist and the first point of his collegiate career.
Northeastern got back within one with junior forward Cam Lund playing a quick one-two pass with freshman forward Joe Connor in the middle of the ice and beating the goalkeeper in the fifth minute of the period.
Denver responded immediately with sophomore forward Sam Harris receiving a pass from Fisher and putting the puck in the top right corner of the goal. Burrows got the secondary assist, his second of the night.
Soon after Denver’s third goal, freshman defenseman Tory Pitner received a five-minute penalty as well as a game misconduct for face masking in the seventh minute of the period, giving Northeastern a big opportunity on the power play. Denver managed to hold on and get the kill.
The Crimson and Gold started to run away with the game in the 15th minute of the second period. Sophomore defenseman Boston Buckberger found his first goal of the season, tapping in a pass from across the goal from junior forward Jared Wright.
Denver went on to score their fifth goal at the start of the third period after junior forward Samu Salminen got the puck near the center of the ice and pulled a long-range shot that found the bottom left corner of the goal.
In the 12th minute of the third period, sophomore forward Dyland Hryckowian scored to get one back for Northeastern, making the score 5-2.
Senior goaltender Matt Davis continued his strong start to the season, saving 15 of the 17 shots he faced Friday night.
Freshmen forwards Burrows and Fisher both had great home debuts. Burrows put up two assists for his first two points while Fisher had a goal and an assist. After the game, Harris had high praise for the two freshmen.
“They’re young and good people…They’re skilled players. They got a little grit to them too, which is awesome…They’re fast and know how to move the puck well, and obviously know how to score,” Harris said.
Saturday’s game got off to a scrappy start. Sophomore forward Kieran Cebrian was sent to the penalty box in just the fourth minute to give the Huskies a four-minute power play. Davis made three saves and led Denver to a kill.
In the 18th minute of the first period, Denver was given a power play after Northeastern forward Ryan Maguire was sent to the penalty for cross-checking. They quickly capitalized with a shot from Thompson that was initially saved by Northeastern’s goalie Cameron Whitehead, but the puck trickled out in front of the goal. King finished it off, giving DU a 1-0 lead.
Denver got rolling in the second period with a power-play goal from sophomore defenseman Eric Pohlkamp. Cebrian passed the puck across the ice to Pohlkamp who smashed it into the top corner in the seventh minute of the period. This was Pohlkamp’s first goal as part of Denver’s squad. Last season he scored 11 goals at Bemidji State.
Denver got their third goal in the 11th minute of the second period. King found Harris open right in front of the goal and Harris capitalized.
Northeastern got one back in the 17th minute of the period. Lund pulled a move in front of goal to beat Davis and make the score 3-1.
Denver opened the third period with a goal from King. He made a nice move in front of the goal and beat the goalie to get his second of the game in the first minute of the period.
In the eighth minute of the period, Denver had a power play — however, it was Northeastern’s Hryckowian who scored on a breakaway opportunity.
Down by two with two minutes to play, Northeastern pulled their goalie. Buckberger received the puck in Denver’s defensive zone and flicked it into the open net to close out the game at 5-2.
This game saw the Crimson and Gold scoring twice from power plays, but they also conceded on a power play. Head coach David Carle was still pleased with the team’s power plays over the weekend and said he “loved the attack mentality.”
King was a top performer, scoring two goals and registering two assists after raising the championship trophy. He emphasized the culture in the program post-game.
“You come to Denver to win championships,” King said.
Denver’s sweep of the Huskies moved their record to 4-0 and maintained their status as the No. 1 team in the country. They will play at home again next weekend with a doubleheader against Wisconsin on Oct. 25 and Oct. 26.
