There was plenty to like about Denver’s 6-4 exhibition victory against Alberta on Saturday night at Magness Arena, not the least of which was the play of the Pioneers’ freshmen forwards and some increased assertiveness by their upperclassmen.

And sophomore goaltender Devin Cooley, in the most extensive action of his college carer thus far, stopped 24 of 27 shots he faced through two periods, some of the highlight variety.

Veterans first

Senior forward Jarid Lukosevicius demonstrated an explosiveness carrying the puck (and keeping it). He drew two penalties in the first period and later scored on a 2 on 1 with linemate Emilio Pettersen to tie the score at 3 in the final minute of the second period.

Junior defenseman Michael Davies scored the first goal by firing away after the Pioneers’ top line (more on them in a minute) controlled the puck in the Golden Bears zone. Davies, who has primarily been cast in a shutdown role during his first two seasons at DU, might not have taken the shot or been in a position to previously.

“They were both very assertive with – and without – the puck, which was good to see,” DU coach David Carle said. “They bleed crimson and gold, they care so much about this program. Our whole leadership group and upperclassmen take it upon themselves to try to bring the freshman along.

“The byproduct of what you saw tonight is (the upperclassmen) helping them. Our seniors and juniors have done a great job.”

Junior defenseman Erich Fear broke up numerous plays with his stick, and when things got testy with the Pioneers’ neighbors to the north he was quick to step in. And senior transfer Les Lancaster played in all situations in all periods and fit in seamlessly.

Top line shines

Then there were the freshmen forwards, led by Lukosevicius’ tag team partners Cole Guttman and Pettersen, who scored goals Nos. 2 and 5, the latter of which was a highlight reel roof job early in the third period.

The trio was fast and controlled the puck just about every shift they were on the ice, generating eight of Denver’s 21 shots in the first two periods. They also served as the front side of DU’s top power-play unit for those two periods they were together.

“I thought my line was working hard, we were good on our forecheck,” Lukosevicius said. “Reading off each other really well.

“Emilio works his butt off, he (took) some pucks and Guttman’s always in the right place. I think they’re both really smart hockey players.”

In all, they had a hand in four goals and amassed eight points, three each by the freshmen.

Net gains

Cooley was sharp at times in the first two periods, including on a late first-period Alberta power play, when he made a sliding right to left pad save on the Golden Bears’ 11th shot. Alberta hit a pipe earlier in the period on its sixth shot.

Alberta’s first two goals came on rebounds and the third on a nice cross-slot feed while the Pioneers were killing the fourth of their four penalties in the frame.

Aside from that, he tracked the puck well through traffic and made a couple of acrobatic saves during the Golden Bears’ power-play-assisted 15-shot onslaught in the second.

“I thought Devin was really good,” Carle said. “I thought he was calm. He was big, he was patient. I was really happy with his play.

“The goals he did give up, we could have helped him out more by blocking out the net front. But he certainly made some incredible saves he had no business making.”

Added DU captain Colin Staub, “We should have been playing better in front of him. He really gave us a chance to win that game with how he was playing. He made some really big saves, particularly on the penalty kill.

“It was good to see him execute like that and be a No. 1 goaltender.”

Freshman Michael Corson played the third period, stopping 12 of 13 shots.

What’s my line?

How will the Pioneers counteract their lack of NCAA experience? If the exhibition is any indication, one method will be to pair veterans with freshmen.

Four of the five lines had at least one freshman on them, and the top line and third line had two each – Guttman and Pettersen with Lukosevicius, and newcomers Brendan Budy and Brett Stapley with senior Colin Staub.

“They worked, they competed, they made plays,” Carle said. “They played on their toes for the most part and they were aggressive. That’s all we can ask from them.

“That’s been the message the last four weeks. We’re implementing these systems and a lot of them fit they way you guys play. … At this point we’ve given them a lot; (we want) them to trust their instincts, go out and play hockey. I thought you saw that tonight.”

It could be argued strongly that those were the Pioneers’ two most noticeable lines through the first two periods.

“Our freshmen have picked up a lot over the past four weeks of our systems and how we want to play,” Staub said. “We threw a lot at them the last couple weeks and they were able to execute tonight and we got a win.”

Another interesting twist was junior Tyson McLellan starting on the right wing with fellow center Jaakko Heikkinen and freshman Tyler Ward. McLellan has been one of DU’s top face-off men the past two seasons and took 10 draws, while Heikkinen took a team-high 20, winning 13, and scored DU’s sixth goal off a pass on a rush from Jack  Doremus.

Next

The Pioneers open the regular season Friday at Air Force at 7:05 p.m.

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