Denver coach Jim Montgomery wanted more intensity Saturday night against Miami. His Pioneers – specifically senior Quentin Shore and junior Trevor Moore obliged.
Moore, who was singled out by the coach after Friday’s 3-1 loss to the Redhawks, had a goal and two assists to reach 100 points in his DU career and Shore had his second two-goal game this month to lift No. 13 Denver to a 5-3 victory at Oxford, Miami.
The Pioneers took the action to the RedHawks from the opening face-off, aggressively forechecking and finishing their checks all over the ice.
“It was really impressive,” Montgomery told 104.3 FM’s Jay Stickney after the game. “I challenged the team. I really challenged our upperclassmen forwards to lead us tonight.
“I think that’s the best college hockey game I’ve seen Quentin Shore play. Trevor Moore, his tenaciousness on the puck (was something). It was the best team victory we’ve had with purpose this year.”
Despite carrying the play for most of the first period, the Pioneers (13-8-5, 9-5-2 NCHC) trailed 1-0 after the first period. Many of DU’s best scoring chances missed the net.
Moore changed that 7:04 into the second when he capped a beautiful tic-tac-toe play with line mates Danton Heinen and Dylan Gambrell, who carried the puck into the zone, found Heinen on the right and the sophomore feed Moore to the left of Miami goalie Jay Williams.
Matt Marcinew redirected Moore’s point shot on a power-play three minutes later to give DU its first lead since the first period Friday. It was Marcinew’s ninth goal and just the sixth power-play goal Miami (10-12-3, 5-9-2) had allowed in 25 games.
Then Shore went to work, following his own shot and poking the rebound past Williams for a 3-1 lead after taking a pass from Evan Janssen. The line of Shore, Janssen and Troy Terry created problems for Miami much of the game.
Miami tied it at 3 on goals late in the second and early in the third before Shore struck again, taking a pass between the circles and beating Williams 4:11 into the third.
“We were relentless,” Montgomery said. “I don’t know if they had more than two chances the rest of the night (after that goal).”
Shore and Moore got their third points of the night (including the 100th of Moore’s DU career) when Nolan Zajac lasered a shot from the left point to seal the outcome with 3:32 to go. Moore collected a loose puck and got it to Shore, who when faced with no path to the net sent it back Zajac.
“(Zajac) was really good all weekend,” Montgomery said. “He logged 30 minutes a night all weekend with (Butcher) battling the flu.”
The Pioneers ended up with a 31-22 shots on goal advantage and more than doubled the RedHawks in shots attempted.
Tanner Jaillet got his first start in three games and made 19 saves.
Lineup changes: In addition to Jaillet, Montgomery inserted junior forward Emil Romig into the lineup and sat freshman Logan O’Connor. Romig skated with Gabe Levin and Colin Staub and added plenty of jump to the lineup. Jarid Lukosevicius moved to a line with Matt Marcinew and Grant Arnold.
On a roll: Heinen’s assist gave him eight points in the past seven games and 20 overall. Gambrell’s helper gave him a point in nine of 10 games in 2016 (16 total) and a team-high 26 points. Moore’s three points gave him 11 points in the past 10 games and 24 overall. With two assists Saturday, defenseman Will Butcher has 18 points.
The last word: “I liked how we stayed with it,” Montgomery said. “We were the better team tonight from the first minute tonight through the 60th minute.”
@MagnessMayhem
We know this team is resilient. We know that they are well-coached, have excellent speed and skills. We also know they can work hard and do the little things required to win in the toughest conference in the country.
The one thing we still don’t know about this team is whether they can do all of it consistently. Good to see the top line guys and the senior asserting themselves and showing the way forward. Also good to see the improved power-play and relentless puck pressure, and moving from what was a pure bubble team at #15 in the PWR to a more solid #12 position.
There are still some big questions marks for this team around getting consistent goaltending, a propensity to give up odd man rushes and being physically overmatched by bigger and stronger opponents. If Monty can find the answers to these questions down the stretch, DU has a great shot to go deep in the postseason. If he can’t find those answers, the 20 win season streak and a 9th straight NCAA berth will be in jeopardy.
As always, a solid comment! I think DU has been more consistent in the past month but it’s a topic worth asking about. The Miami series showed us both sides of the physical game. MU took it to DU on Friday, but then DU was able to do the same Saturday. UND and WMU will be big tests in that department. And UNO will come in fighting for its NCAA life.