If you tuned in late or tuned out early, you missed an interesting third period in No. 4 Denver’s 4-1 NCHC victory over Miami at Oxford, Ohio, on Saturday.

Dylan Gambrell scored 35 seconds into the third (his third goal in two games) to give the Pioneers a 3-0 lead just after a carryover power play expired in a game DU (12-6-4, 6-4-2-1 NCHC) held a 33-7 shots-on-goal edge in at one point.

The RedHawks (9-9-2, 4-5-1 NCHC) pulled goalie Ryan Larkin with roughly 14 minutes left in the game – yes, 14 minutes – and proceeded to outshoot the Pioneers 20-5 in the final period. The only dent, however, was Kiefer Sherwood‘s goal midway through that stretch to pull Miami to 3-1. That was as close as it would get.

Henrik Borgstrom, who assisted on Gambrell’s goal and an earlier power-play strike by Jarid Lukosevicius, left no doubt about the outcome when he finally found the empty net with 37 seconds left.

“Give Miami credit, they pulled the goalie and made it interesting there, a little bit hectic,” Denver coach Jim Montgomery said. “But it was good for us to get that kind of practice. We haven’t had those situations very often.”

The Pioneers scored 50 seconds into the game when Lukosevicius fired one home from his off wing. He took a feed from Gambrell on the left dot and blasted one past Larkin (29 saves). Lukosevicius finished a beautiful cross-slot feed from Borgstrom on a power play with 6:18 to go in the first to make it 2-0.

“There was no gray area in our purpose. We played with great pace,” Montgomery said. “We challenged them with we were 95 percent good last night and we were denied. Tonight let’s refused be denied. Our ST weren’t denied, our net front presence wasn’t denied.”

The Pioneers went 1 for 5 on the power play and killed off all three RedHawks penalties. Tanner Jaillet stopped 24 of 25 shots on his goal.

The effort, combined with Friday’s and last Saturday’s against Air Force, left the coach in an optimistic mood about the direction the Pioneers are heading.

“It’s the best three games in a row we’ve played all year and we’re only 2-1,” he said. “If we keep building this way, it’s the first time I can say (this season) I’m excited about where we can go.”

Taking root

Senior defenseman Adam Plant played his second game in a row after missing most of the past month because of an upper body injury, and the results were encouraging. He went plus-2, second only to Gambrell’s plus-3, and was a steady presence all game.

“Once you get Adam Plant back in your lineup, everyone’s minutes adjust,” Montgomery said. “Everyone can play with more pace. Guys like (Blake) Hillman, (Ian) Mitchell and (Michael) Davies don’t have to pace themselves throughout the game, they can go all out.”

Denver’s three stars

1. Dylan Gambrell. The junior continued his torrid play of late, getting a goal and two assists. He also was a team-high plus-3.
2. Jarid Lukosevicius. Obviously he’s heard Rudy Junda‘s footsteps and decided it was time to step up, getting his third and fourth goals in the past four games, including what proved to be the winner.
3. Henrik Borgstrom. Like Gambrell, he has goals in consecutive games and had three points on Saturday.

Up next

The Pioneers are off next weekend before playing host to No. 18 Omaha on Jan. 19-20. Both games face off at 7:05 p.m. at Magness Arena.