The DU Pioneers’ unbeaten streak hit eight games on Saturday night as the Crimson & Gold captured a 3-2 road victory at the expense of the UND Fighting Hawks. Denver is now 7-0-1 since beginning the season 0-2-0 and have yet to lose in NCHC play (3-0-1). Head Coach Jim Montgomery was pleased with his team’s effort on Saturday.
“This was a tremendous win for our team,” Montgomery said following Saturday’s victory. “I’m very proud of our group. We played with great puck support and speed. We played fast mentally, we played fast physically and we had (North Dakota) on their heels for most of the game. Our guys played their hearts out and we’re really playing dynamite hockey right now.
“These young men are tremendous representatives of the University of Denver and of the City of Denver – we hope to see a lot of DU fans cheering them on in the stands next weekend when we take on Miami at Magness Arena.”
After North Dakota scored in the opening minute of play to take an early 1-0 lead, the Pioneers drew even at the 5:07 mark of the first period when freshman winger Liam Finlay(Kelowna, B.C.) tipped home a Michael Davies (St. Louis, Mo.) point shot to register his first career NCAA goal during a Denver power play. The Pioneers took a 2-1 lead 4:13 later when junior blueliner Adam Plant (Penticton, B.C.) jumped up in the play and buried a feed from senior center Matt Marcinew (Calgary, Alta.).
The Fighting Hawks tied the game back up at two apiece with a power play marker by Washington Capitals prospect Shane Gersich 5:28 into the second period but freshman DU forward Henrik Borgström (Helsinki, Finland) restored the Pioneers’ one-goal advantage 57 seconds later, taking a pass from Will Butcher (Sun Prairie, Wis.) near UND’s blue line, carrying the puck into North Dakota territory and ripping home a wrist shot to register his team-leading sixth tally of the season. Period No. 3 saw both teams register several high-quality scoring chances but Pios goaltender Tanner Jaillet (Red Deer, Alta.) and his UND counterpart, Cam Johnson, were able to keep the puck out of their respective nets over the course of an intense closing twenty minutes of action as DU hung on to take the decision by a 3-2 final.
Featured Image Credit: DenverPioneers.com