Halfway through  the NCHC’s pod in Omaha, Neb., Old Mo has decided to stick around the Denver locker room.

The No. 9 Pioneers four players notch multi-point games during a 5-1 victory over Miami. The victory was Denver’s second in a row after three close losses and gave it some momentum heading into Saturday morning’s rematch against No. 3 Minnesota Duluth.

Here are three observations from Thursday’s win:

Regaining their balance

Through four games, DU’s offense often revolved around wing Carter Savoie. The freshman did his part again Thursday, scoring Denver’s first goal to tie the score late in the first period. That was his sixth tally in five games and made him the first Pioneer since Jon Foster in 2004-05 to score in his first five games.

Savoie had plenty of help, however. Linemates Ryan Barrow and Brett Stapley broke open the game with goals 15 seconds apart in the first two minutes of the second period.

Two other freshmen, defenseman Mike Benning and center McKade Webster struck in the third period. In addition, Cole Guttman added two assists, and Steven Jandric, Antti Tuomisto, Jack Doremus and Bo Hanson also had helpers.

That’s 10 skaters who dented the scoresheet, and that type of balanced offense will help the Pioneers win a lot of games.

Strong on the dot

One of the needs improvement categories more often than not in the pod had been face-offs. DU remedied that in a big way against the Redhawks.

Denver won 37 of 58 draws (64 percent) and was really dominant in the first two periods, winning 25 of 34. They also won 5 of 6 while shorthanded.

Stapley (80 percent), Jaakko Heikkinen (71 percent) and Guttman (59 percent) did much of the heavy lifting.

This stat is crucial for a puck possession team, and it’s really crucial on special teams.

New faces

Two players made their Pioneers debuts – freshman defenseman Reid Irwin and grad transfer goalie Corbin Kaczperski, who relieved starter Magnus Chrona with 5:45 remaining.

Chrona made 21 saves, while Miami counterpart Ben Kraws stopped 32 of 37 DU shots.

Next game: Denver will play Minnesota Duluth on Saturday at 11:05 a.m.

©First Line Editorial 2020