A booster shot is on the way for Denver.

But it’s not what you think for the Pioneers, whose series vs. Colorado College last weekend was postponed and whose series vs. North Dakota this weekend was pushed back to Sunday and Monday due to a combination of positive COVID-19 tests, contact tracing and quarantining of members within the program.

This shot of good news is the return of sophomore forward Bobby Brink, fresh off a gold medal with Team USA at the World Junior Championships.

And the Pioneers will get an improved version of Brink, a 2019 Philadelphia Flyers draft pick who had three points in three games before exiting the NCHC pod at Omaha to join up with his U.S. teammates. Team USA (and Providence College) coach Nate Leaman placed plenty of trust in Brink, and Brink responded by posting six points, including two goals, in seven games. He was a key cog in the U.S. lineup throughout the tournament.

“It helped my confidence a lot,” Brink said this week. “You can play in a high-end tournament like that and not only fit in but make a bit of an impact. I’m going to try to do the same thing for Denver.”

Leaman didn’t hesitate to play Brink in any situation, including both special teams. The forward showed a well rounded, and at times edgy, game.

“I wanted to do anything I could to help,” Brink said. “I did whatever I was asked – five-on-five, penalty kill, power play. From the start of our camp they told me they wanted me to make life hard on the other team.”

That is something DU could use a bit more of, particularly on the PK, where it sits at 77.5 percent. A leaky kill has cost it a couple of wins (see below).

Rather than jump back into the NCHC fray immediately after the WJC, Brink and his Pioneers teammates got an extra week off.

“We started practicing on Wednesday,” he said. “The guys feel well rested.”

As for the matchup against the No. 2 Fighting Hawks, whom DU has split two games with thus far: “You know what you’re going to get with them,” Brink said. “They’re a great team, but we know we’re just as good.”

You can bet on Brink being in the middle of any noise the Pioneers make in desolate Magness Arena on Sunday and Monday.

The finishing move

One of the issues in Denver’s uneven 4-7-1 start has been its play during the third period. In six of its seven losses, DU has either led or been tied and lost. This was particularly acute at the start of the pod when it happened during the first three games and four times in the first six.

• Game 1: Minnesota Duluth scored two power-play goals in 48 seconds, the last with 6:08 to go, to pull out a 2-1 win on Dec. 2.
• Game 2: Up 2-1 in the third, North Dakota struck twice to take the lead. Denver tied it on a PPG with 2:52 to go but lost in overtime on Dec. 4.
• Game 3: DU went up 2-1, but St. Cloud State scored the next three goals, the last with 8:19 to go in a 4-3 Huskies win on Dec. 5.
• Game 6: UMD took a 2-1 lead late in the second, then got two more in the first 6:58 of the third, including a PPG, to win, 4-1, on Dec. 12.
• Game 8: In DU’s most disappointing showing thus far, it trailed Miami 1-0 entering the third, then watched a 1-win team (at the time) score twice in the final 13 minutes to salt away a 3-0 win on Dec. 17.
• Game 10: Tied 1-1 going into the third, St. Cloud scores twice in the last 10 minutes, including a PPG, in a 3-1 win on Dec. 20.

The question going forward is have the lessons of a December to forget been learned? One early return is promising.

One of the many things to like when the Pioneers were last seen was how they slammed the door shut on Colorado College, scoring three times in the first 7:29 of the third period to stretch a 3-1 lead to the 6-1 outcome. That came one night after a 4-3 loss in which Denver chased the scoreboard all game.

In two other wins, DU triumphed on Carter Savoie power-play goals with less than three minutes remaining. Its other win came in a game in which it dominated Miami on Dec. 12 and scored the game’s final five goals.

Filling the scoresheet

Speaking of Savoie, not only was he the national rookie of the month in December, but he leads the Pioneers with 13 points and eight goals. Think for a moment where DU might be without his late-game heroics, particularly on the power play.

But the forward is just the tip of the iceberg in what appears to be deeply talented freshman class. Consider the newcomers have the most points (32) and goals (13) of any class on Denver’s roster. Savoie has been aided by defenseman Mike Benning (8 points, 1 goal), center McKade Webster (7, 3), defensemen Antti Tuomisto (4 assists) and Reid Irwin (2 goals) and center Connor Caponi (1 and 1).

The junior class, largely on the strength of 17 combined points and four goals apiece by centers Cole Guttman (10) and Brett Stapley (7) is next with 10 goals and 23 points. The seniors have chipped in 19 points and five goals, as do the largely Brink-less sophomores.

The welcome mat

Depth is crucial during any season, but this one in particular, and thus the Pioneers have brought in two forwards – Jack Works and Carter King – who had been scheduled to be part of next fall’s class.

Works, who rang up team records of 92 points and 43 goals in 58 games for Okotoks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League last season joined DU for the second quarter when the AJHL paused operations in late November. He had four goals in his first three games.

King, who had 33 points in 58 games for Surrey of the British Columbia Hockey League last season, found himself in a similar situation. The BCHL has had the start of its season pushed back twice, from early December to Jan. 8 and now to February, with no guarantees of that happening.

Both are 2001 birth years so it’s debatable how much playing in a vastly shortened junior season would help their development at this point. Now, DU’s staff can see what they’re capable of firsthand, get them into the Pioneers’ elite training program under the guidance of Matt Shaw, and potentially have them available should injuries strike down the stretch.

©First Line Editorial 2021