DU hockey split a back-and-forth series last weekend against the St.Cloud State Huskies, with a strong 3-1 win on Friday and a difficult 2-1 loss on Saturday.
Friday started off flying for the Crimson and Gold with captain senior forward Carter King scoring a powerplay goal at 4:34. King batted the puck out of mid-air twice to put it past Huskies goaltender Isaac Posch and give Denver the 1-0 lead.
Roughly five minutes later, at 9:28, St. Cloud State finally got their first shot on goal, and it was a goal from North Dakota transfer Nick Portz with a glove side snipe on senior goaltender Matt Davis to tie the game up at 1-1.
Towards the end of the first period, Denver got a 5-on-3, but Huskies netminder Posch came up big with some stellar sliding stops to keep the game tied at one a piece heading into the middle frame.
The middle frame was explosive for the Crimson and Gold. At 4:20, King scored his second goal of the night off a deflection from sophomore defenseman Boston Buckberger’s shot to give Denver the 2-1 lead.
At 8:56, it seemed like deja vu when senior forward Jack Devine deflected a Buckberger shot into the net to extend the lead to 3-1, Denver.
The top line for Denver had all three of the goals on the night and a combined six points.
“We’ve been moving our feet, moving the puck, using and supporting each other. When other teams try to over-pressure us, we move it to an open guy and continue to create offense,” King said of his line’s success.
Buckberger was a key standout on Friday, recording two primary assists, both off shots from the point that were deflected in.
“Our forwards do a great job down low and make teams run around in their own zone; it opens up the top and provides good shots, and our forwards are gonna be at the net tipping pucks and having success,” Buckberger said on his recent offensive surge.
The final period of the night was quiet, with zero goals scored. Denver locked down the game and sealed the 3-1 win. They had a strong special-teams game, recording two power-play goals and 20 shots on 6 attempts.
“We had a lot of offensive zone time with good puck movement and chances to make finishing plays. Obviously, 20 shots on the powerplay and only 2 went in is frustrating. But, I loved it other than wanting to finish a couple more times,” Head Coach David Carle explained on the powerplay opportunities on the night.
Saturday’s game was a vast change from the previous night. St. Cloud came out flying, pushing DU and putting them on their heels early.
At 8:03, a bad-angle shot by Daimon Gardner from below the left circle beat a crouched Davis, giving the Huskies a 1-0 lead.
The middle period saw more trouble for the Crimson and Gold as they took two penalties in the frame and four penalties total.
But, St. Cloud took a slashing penalty at 12:44, and at 14:23, a Devine one-timer from the top of the left circle beat Posch to tie the game back at 1-1.
Less than a minute later, at 15:33, St. Cloud answered back with a goal of their own. Verner Miettinen got a shot pass from Colin Ralph and Miettinen slid the puck through the legs of Davis to give the Huskies the lead back at 2-1.
Denver made a big push in the final eight minutes of the weekend, but Posch came up big for St. Cloud, making 38 saves on 39 shots and giving the Huskies the 2-1 win and weekend split.
Denver will end their regular season facing off against their in-state rival, Colorado College. Friday’s contest on March 7 is at Magness Arena, and March 8 is at Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs as the two rivals battle for the gold pan.
