Plenty of things came together for No. 18 Denver on Sunday night, and the result was a convincing 4-1 victory over No. 2 North Dakota at Magness Arena.

Sophomore goaltender Magnus Chrona was superlative in net, stopping 28 shots, including 22 in the final two periods. Four players scored goals for the Pioneers (5-7-1), who play host to the Fighting Hawks again Monday night.

Here are three observations from the victory, which came after an unplanned weekend off:

Not the usual suspects

The goal output marked only the third time in 13 games that DU has tallied four or more times.

What was encouraging was where they came from – forwards Ryan Barrow and Jake Durflinger and defensemen Reid Irwin and Justin Lee.

Barrow was rewarded at the end of a grueling shift when he threw the puck at Adam Scheel from the lower right circle with 6:12 to play in the first period. Just 2:57 later, Irwin struck for the third time in two games when he jumped in from the left point to follow Bobby Brink‘s right-to-left move into Scheel’s kitchen.

North Dakota, as one would expect from another championship-caliber team, came with a huge push in the second period, but Durflinger and Lee scored their first goals of the season four minutes apart midway through the frame to add some breathing room for DU.

Like wall

The Durflinger and Lee goals aided and abetted a sterling performance by Chrona, who was locked in from the get go, on his angles, and controlling rebounds well.

“Magnus was our best player tonight,” DU coach David Carle said. “He stood tall and was a rock in the second.”

The 28 saves were the fourth most Chrona has had to make in a game this season, but more significantly, it marked the first time Denver won a game in which he’d faced that many shots. It was the Swede’s third victory of the season. This level of play from Chrona is essential for Denver to climb back into the NCHC race and the national discussion.

House of Pain

Typically, North Dakota has been the team inflicting punishment on foes, but for long stretches Sunday Denver turned the tables. And Durflinger and linemates Connor Caponi and Brett Edwards were the Pioneers’ ringleaders.

Durflinger has made friends all over the league (wink, wink) with his in-your-face modus operandi and jovial greetings, and Edwards is a solidly built winger, who rolls up his sleeves and can fire the puck like a cannonball. But the freshman center Caponi has spent much of his nascent NCAA career reminding foes that hockey isn’t just a contact sport, it can be a collision sport.

Unfazed by the tale of the tape, Caponi will hit anything that moves.

“Their line was physical all night,” Carle said. “They built energy, played the right way.”

The physicality extends to the Pioneers’ shutdown defense pairing of Griffin Mendel and Lee, with the latter particularly relishing contact as well. It was nice to see the sophomore, whose game has grown as much as anyone’s this season, get rewarded with a goal.

Denver’s legion of NHL draft picks will have plenty of nights in the spotlight, but on this one, a lunch pail gang led the charge in taking down an NCAA heavyweight.

©First Line Editorial 2021