Jordan Kawaguchi‘s goal 1:17 into three-on-three overtime lifted No. 1 North Dakota to a compelling 4-3 victory over No. 4 Denver on Friday night at the NCHC pod at Omaha, Neb.

The strike capped a back-and-forth game that saw the Pioneers (0-2) receive two power-play goals from freshman wing Carter Savoie and an even-strength tally by Brett Edwards.

“The pace was really good throughout the night, both ways,” DU coach David Carle said.

Magnus Chrona made 31 saves for Denver, which was outshot 35-22.

Here are three observations from the game:

Opportunity knocks

Denver was in a charitable mood, and give the Fighting Hawks (2-0) credit for making the most of the chances they received. Their first goal, from freshman Jake Sanderson, a first-round draft choice of the Ottawa Senators in October, came when DU’s penalty killers got caught on the ice for 1:13. That  made it 1-1.

Their second came when Sanderson’s D partner Ethan Frisch wired one from the right point after receiving a pass from the lower left corner from Sanderson. North Dakota was in the midst of changing behind the play and only had three attackers in the zone when that occurred. That made it 2-2.

Giveaways led to the Fighting Hawks taking their first and final leads.

The first came when Bobby Brink backhanded a pass from deep in the DU zone into the slot and Jasper Weatherby collected it and beat Chrona with a backhand with 4:26 to play in regulation. Then in overtime, Brett Stapley tried a no-look pass – backhanded – from behind the North Dakota net that led to the Fighting Hawks gaining possession and Kawaguchi ending it.

“We’re trying to harden our game,” Carle said. “At moments, big moments, we played the puck on our backhand in the middle of the rink.”

Or as senior assistant captain Ryan Barrow summarized. “We’re shooting ourselves in the foot.”

The Saints marched in

Weatherby’s goal could have meant a second consecutive loss in the final minutes of regulation, but Savoie and his St. Albert Saints tag-team partner Mike Benning rewrote that script. Benning carried the puck into the offensive zone and curled before finding Savoie barreling down main street, where he fired it past Adam Scheel (19 saves) with 2:52 to play. Barrow drew the penalty when Savoie passed to him steaming through the slot. Savoie also struck early – during another power-play goal midway through the first off assists from Brink and Benning.

The freshman sniper’s clutch play isn’t unexpected, said Barrow, who played on a line with Savoie. “He’s super fun to play with. I’m not surprised one bit.”

So what happens next?

There are 10 games in the pod and 26 overall in NCHC play, so an 0-2 record isn’t the end of the world. Still, Denver has had chances to win games against the No. 3 and No. 1 teams and had victories snatched away twice. It has to be particularly concerning because the Pioneers went 0-3-1 vs. both North Dakota and (Wednesday’s opponent) Minnesota Duluth last season. Friday’s loss might have happened sooner had Chrona not been sharp for much of the game. Not only was DU outshot by a wide margin, but North Dakota dominated in the face-off circle (37-11) – a bad omen for a team that relies on puck possession. It didn’t help that top-line center Cole Guttman did not play.

The last word

The Pioneers get a chance to right the ship on Saturday night against St. Cloud State. “That’s the nice thing about the pod,” Barrow said. “There are a lot of games quick. It will be nice to turn the page and get back at it.”

©First Line Editorial 2020