If there was any question about top-ranked Denver’s depth and desire to win a national championship, it should have been answered Thursday night at Chicago.
The Pioneers got contributions from all four lines and multiple defensemen en route to a convincing 6-1 victory over Notre Dame in a Frozen Four semifinal.
The victory made it four consecutive seasons the Pioneers have advanced one game further in the NCAA Tournament.
A familiar foe awaits DU in Saturday night’s final – NCHC rival Minnesota-Duluth, which split a series with the Pioneers in December at Magness Arena. The Bulldogs and Pioneers swapped the top two spots in the polls much of the season.
The Pioneers’ speed advantage Thursday allowed them to consistently generate pressure, and all six of their goals came from below the hashmarks.
Denver seized a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by Emil Romig and Henrik Borgstrom. Romig scored his second goal in three NCAA games off a feed from Colin Staub, while Borgstrom had a chip shot from the top of the blue paint after defenseman Will Butcher attempted a wraparound on Notre Dame goalie Cal Petersen that slipped off his stick right to the freshman.
Outshot 13-3 in the first period, Notre Dame came out with plenty of jump in the second period and had a handful of chances to pull to one goal. However, the Pioneers essentially ended the game with three goals in a stretch of 4:11 late in the period.
The key play in the sequence might have been coach Jim Montgomery‘s timeout call just before the barrage.
Defenseman Tariq Hammond had three points, including a finish of a nice backhand pass from Evan Janssen on a two-on-one. Hammond dug the puck out of his back skate and pushed it past Petersen with 5:53 to go in the period.
Dylan Gambrell scored the first of his two goals – both from near the goal line – 2:20 later. Evan Ritt finished the flurry with a shot that hit off the iron and in and out of the net.
The teams swapped goals in the latter half of the third period – Avalanche prospect Cam Morrison scored for the Irish before Gambrell banked a shot off Petersen’s calf – for the final outcome.
The Pioneers outshot the Irish, 42-17.
The only thing that could have been better was for Tanner Jaillet to get a shutout. Saturday would be a great time for him to get his first shutout of the season. There is a Pioneer precedent– 1969 Gerry Powers, 2004 Adam Berkhoel.