No. 3 Denver (4-2-2, 0-2 NCHC) vs. No. 1 St. Cloud State (7-0-0, 2-0 NCHC)

Friday and Saturday at 7:05 p.m. MST at Magness Arena

Radio / TV: 104.3 FM / Altitude

Series: Denver leads 47-43-5 (DU swept at home last season and split in St. Cloud)

Overview

One would think there won’t be a shortage of offense as the teams combine for an average of nearly 9 goals per game, 4.71 by St. Cloud, which is No. 1 in Division I in scoring. DU is fourth (4.12 gpg). The difference thus far has been the Huskies’ play in their own zone. They limited Minnesota-Duluth to just three goals last weekend while Denver surrendered 13 at Western Michigan. The Pioneers have espoused a team defense concept under Jim Montgomery, and the guess is no one was spared reminders of how much work there is to do on that front. … According to the Denver Post, two DU freshmen goaltender Dayton Rasmussen and forward Jack Doremus have been suspended for Friday’s game, meaning another freshman, Devin Cooley, will back up Tanner Jaillet in goal. … DU senior captain Tariq Hammond continues his recovery from a second ankle surgery and is not expected to play this weekend.

Denver update

The Pioneers have been strong offensively – getting 6, 8, 10, 9 goals in their first four weekends. That is due in part because they are getting scoring from everywhere in their lineup – eight players have multiple goals, led by Henrik Borgstrom‘s NCAA-high nine and Troy Terry‘s five. And 19 players have points, led by Terry’s 16 (second in D-I), Borgstrom’s 12, Dylan Gambrell‘s 12 and Colin Staub‘s eight. Four of Jarid Lukosevicius‘ seven points have come in the past three games. … Freshman Ian Mitchell‘s six points lead the blue line. … Jaillet has uncharacteristically high numbers (.899 save percentage and 2.76 gaa), but breakdowns in front of his net are a contributing factor to that. … It will be interesting to see what the line combinations are Friday. Are the high scorers split up and joined by a defensive presence on each line? … A remarkable stat – DU generated 202 shots on goal in its first four games and 108 in its past four. It allowed 95 in the first four and 127 the past four. After allowing eight goals in the first four games, it’s given up 17 in the next four. … Borgstrom has goals on three of four Friday games already, and multi-goal games in two of those three. … DU has six multi-goal games already this season.

St. Cloud State update

The Huskies’ ascent to the top includes five victories over ranked teams – Minnesota State (4-0), Boston College (5-2, 3-1) and Duluth (5-3, 3-0). As stellar as their offense has been, the goaltending from junior Jeff Smith (4-0, 2.00 gaa, .930) and freshman David Hrenek (3-0, 1.65, .946) has been a difference maker.  Smith, who played well in the second half last season, has taken another step. … SCSU’s top three defensemen – junior Jimmy Schuldt (12 points), sophomore Jack Ahcan (8) and junior Will Borgen (6) – have combined for 26 points and Schuldt has five goals, tied with Jack Poehling for the team lead. Part of the problem with playing the Huskies is not only do they have 10 players with five or more points, but they have six with three or more goals. So the offense comes from everywhere. … Huskies forward Mikey Eyssimont (Littleton) was a youth hockey linemate of Gambrell’s with the Colorado Thunderbirds. Eyssimont has seven points in seven career games against DU.

How it could go down

This will be a supreme test of Denver’s defense and to a lesser extent Jaillet, who has had his moments this season. The Pioneers cannot take penalties – St. Cloud connects at a 32.4 percent clip and DU’s PK is a surprisingly low 72 percent. The good news is DU is one of the least penalized teams in D-I. … It might sound cliche, but after two third-period meltdowns in Kalamazoo, Denver will have to play well for 60 minutes in all three zones to beat St. Cloud. DU can do it, but replicating that on back-to-back nights is a tall task against the potent Huskies.

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Copyright First Line Editorial 2017