Their stories intersect and in some ways overlap.

There are stylistic similarities, common heights and shared disappointments.

No. 7 Denver plays host to top-ranked Minnesota-Duluth this weekend in a series that is equal parts measuring stick and memory lane.

Yes, these are the past two NCAA Division I hockey champions, but that doesn’t have the luster it could, even though their meeting at the United Center in Chicago took place just 19 months ago.

The main theme of both programs – D-I dominance – hasn’t really changed even if the cast of characters has almost entirely. Denver has just six players remaining from that April 2017 meeting, while Duluth has only eight.

PODCAST

UMD beat writer Matt Wellens and I discuss the matchup, the programs’ success and the NCHC

2017, an unlikely turning point

When the Pioneers held off the Bulldogs for a 3-2 victory and their eighth national championship, it was a re-affirmation of DU’s program and a resounding stamp on the plan Jim Montgomery brought to town from the USHL, where he’d also made a habit of winning quickly and winning big.

For Duluth, it was a bitter letdown. Like the Pioneers, the Bulldogs had a senior-laden team full of NHL-caliber talent.

Denver graduated nine seniors, including Hobey Baker award-winning defenseman Will Butcher, while redshirted goaltender Packy Munson and forward Kevin Connelly transferred.

Duluth also lost 11 players – seven seniors, including high-scoring forwards Alex Iafallo (51 points) and Dominic Toninato; three early pro departures – defenseman Neal Pionk, forward Adam Johnson and goaltender Hunter Miska; and one transfer.

Because of the talent Denver returned last season, there was a strong sentiment the Pioneers could go back to back. Because of the talent departures, there was a strong sense Duluth was going to be in rebuilding mode.

So what happened? The Pioneers missed a third consecutive Frozen Four by a game, while the Bulldogs squeaked into the NCAA Tournament and rode a young team all the way to the championship. Neither development might be as surprising as it seems on the surface.

“Every team is completely different,” DU assistant coach Tavis MacMillan told me this week. “It’s too easy to say this should happen or that should happen. Even year to year we’ve seen it with our team.

“Duluth did an outstanding job at the right time. Their young defense really blossomed, and they have good coaches.”

Jarid Lukosevicius and DU fired 26 shots on UMD goalie Hunter Shepard in a 1-0 win in February 2017. Photo courtesy of Shannon Valerio and Denver Athletics

A season of contrasts

For all the talk about inconsistency around Denver last season, the Pioneers were remarkably consistent in their record. They went 6-2-2 in their first 10 games, which included taking three of four points at Notre Dame and sweeping Boston College and Boston University on the road. But it also included a home tie to Lake Superior State and consecutive third-period meltdowns at Western Michigan.

DU then went 4-2-2 in the run-up to the Christmas break, tying Colorado College twice, and losing to North Dakota and Dartmouth. It also swept a series at Duluth.

From then until February, it went 4-2-2 again, tying North Dakota twice and losing to both Merrimack and Miami. The question for many was how could a team this talented consistently beat some of the best teams in D-I and then lose to programs near the bottom of their respective conferences?

From then until the end of the season, DU went 4-2-2 for a third time, including a sweep of Duluth at Magness Arena but also including losses to CC and St. Cloud State.

While the Pioneers won six of eight postseason games, capturing the NCHC’s Frozen Face-off in the process, they lost their last one, an NCAA quarterfinal vs. Ohio State.

Duluth, meanwhile, had to break in a largely untested NCAA goalie and typically dressed five freshmen defensemen. There were some speed bumps during that proces. At Christmas, its record stood at 8-9-2 and it edged into the NCAAs with a 21-16-3 record (DU was 23-9-8) even though it lost an NCHC semifinal to the Pioneers, its fifth loss of the season to DU.

Of course you already know what happened next.

Tables turned

After its title, Duluth graduated six more seniors and saw forward Joey Anderson depart after his sophomore season to sign with the New Jersey Devils. But it entered this season seemingly prepared to build on last season’s championship – just as DU did at the start of last season, when Montgomery – who was contacted about a handful of NHL jobs and interviewed for at least one – and top forwards Henrik Borgström, Dylan Gambrell and Troy Terry decided to return.

And the Bulldogs have not disappointed, going 8-1-1 with only a loss and a tie against in-state rival Minnesota denting their record. Statistically, they’ve been dominant, outscoring teams by a 2:1 ratio and controlling games with their puck possession. Consider they held Colorado College to fewer than 20 shots both nights in a sweep of the Tigers last weekend. That’s been emblematic of their performance thus far.

Meanwhile, Pioneers fans’ nightmares came true in a matter of days this past offseason – in short order Borgström, Gambrell, Terry as well as defenseman Blake Hillman left for NHL deals. A month later Montgomery was the Dallas Stars’ coach, and shortly after that newly minted captain Logan O’Connor signed with the Colorado Avalanche after tearing up their prospects camp.

That came on the heels of the graduation of one of the best goaltenders in program history, Tanner Jaillet, and mainstay defensemen Tariq Hammond and Adam Plant. Two years, 22 players gone from the program.

The Pioneers restocked the shelves with an unquestionably talented group of freshmen. Cole Guttman and Emilio Pettersen have formed a potent top line with senior Jarid Lukosevicius, and second-line center Brett Stapley, another newcomer, has teamed with junior Liam Finlay to give DU a second reliable scoring unit. On defense, freshman Slava Demin, plays a regular shift and works on the second power play unit. All four are NHL draft picks.

The program also kept a good deal of continuity from the Montgomery regime by promoting David Carle and retaining MacMillan while adding veteran coach Dallas Ferguson, a MacMillan contemporary from their days in Alaska.

So here sit the Pioneers with 20 underclassmen (Duluth had 16 last season) and a 5-2-1 record, waiting to play … Minnesota Duluth. And hoping to follow the Bulldogs’ blueprint of a season ago.

Looking forward

The early season already has provided many “growth opportunities” for the Pioneers.

• They let Alaska hang around and had to stage a furious rally to tie a home game.
• The gave up a two-goal lead to Western Michigan in the third period, also at home, in less than 6 minutes before tying the game in the closing minutes and winning in overtime. While similar in some ways to last season’s losses at WMU, this time the Pioneers found a way to rally.
• In their first NCHC road test, DU jumped out to two-goal leads both nights at St. Cloud, only to watch the hosts score three times in a row in a pair of 4-3 losses. On Saturday, the Pioneers did rally to tie the score before the Huskies answered, but they also gave a team with a lethal power play 10 man-advantage opportunities. “St. Cloud is a very mature team; they don’t panic,” MacMillan said. “They were much like we were in 2017 and 2018.”

So the questions for DU, regardless of the outcome of this weekend’s games – which should be excellent given the teams’ collective and individual talent and similar styles – are: how much more learning is in store for the Pioneers, and can they apply it as well as their guests did a season ago to get into the tournament and give themselves a chance?

©First Line Editorial 2017-18