Denver caught North Dakota twice, but it couldn’t overcome the No. 2 Fighting Hawks in a 5-2 NCHC loss at Grand Forks, N.D., on Saturday night.

The defeat was the third in a row for DU (7-12-1), which slipped to sixth place in the league. North Dakota (15-4-1) took command of first place and seems primed to capture its second Penrose Cup in a row.

Freshman Carter Savoie scored his team-leading 11th goal, and senior Jake Durflinger scored his second for Denver. Magnus Chrona made 16 saves.

Jasper Weatherby had two goals and an assist, and Peter Thome made 18 saves for North Dakota.

Here are three observations from Saturday’s game:

Chasing the scoreboard

Denver had about as good of a start as one could ask for on the road against one of the top teams in the country.

The Pioneers controlled play for long stretches and built a 13-5 shots on goal edge. One of the North Dakota shots, however, was Weatherby’s redirection of a Mark Senden shot at 4:58 into the game.

DU countered with Durflinger’s goal 2:44 later. Antti Tuomisto fired a perfect stretch pass from the corner to Chrona’s right to Durflinger, who had just finished serving time in the penalty box, at the hosts’ blue line. The senior made a nice forehand-backhand move to beat Thome stick side and even things.

“I liked the start of our game, I thought we had some urgency,” Denver coach David Carle said. “They got going as it went on.

“We took three penalties in the first period, even in a period we’re playing well. We were never able to get the lead.”

Shane Pinto re-established North Dakota’s lead at 7:43 of the second period. The goal was his third in two games – same as Weatherby – and 14th overall. But Savoie tied it 3:58 later.

“I liked our response after the first two goals,” Carle said. “Our puck pressure and turning pucks up were really good. Gaining a lead would have changed the complexion of the game. As with so many times this year, it’s what if’s.”

Special teams struggles

North Dakota went ahead for good with 4:05 to play in the second when Collin Adams fired a puck toward the slot that hit a skate of defenseman Griffin Mendel, stationed to Chrona’s right, and went in.

That was the Fighting Hawks’ second power-play strike of the weekend and came on their ninth power play between the two games.

Power play No. 10 came as a result of checking from behind penalty on Savoie that earned him the rest of the night off.

Denver killed off the ensuing five-minute major, but immediately afterward Weatherby scored again with 8:32 to go in the third off a rebound of Judd Caulfield‘s shot from the right circle. Chrona made the initial save off his right leg pad, but the rebound went right Weatherby as he drove the net, and that was that. Caulfield added an empty-net tally.

Denver’s once powerful power play went 0-for-10 in the series.

Locking down

The Pioneers had some chances in the third period, getting three of their four power plays, including a 5-on-3 for a minute and a half. But the Fighting Hawks clogged the shooting lanes and held DU to just two shots on goal in the final 20 minutes.

“(Getting more pucks to the net) are things we talk about. North Dakota does a really good job collapsing five guys,” Carle said. “They protect the net front well.

“There was not a lot of ice either way. It seems like that’s been our games here the last few years.”

The numbers bear that out – Denver had 41 total shots, and North Dakota generated just 38.

“The first period we had some flow and some rhythm,” Carle said. “In the second it seemed like that went away. We got flustered in the third. We couldn’t capitalize on the opportunities.”

Note: Denver is scheduled to be off next weekend then will play host to Colorado College on Feb. 26-27. Win both of those games and they will retain the Gold Pan. Two games vs. the Tigers that were postponed last month may yet be made up. … Captain Kohen Olischefski was suspended by the NCHC for Saturday’s game after his collision with North Dakota goaltender Adam Scheel and the ensuing mayhem at the end of Friday’s game. … Center Brett Stapley missed his sixth game in a row due to an undisclosed injury. Carle categorized his injury as “week to week”. … Left wing Hank Crone, who had goals in three consecutive games before this weekend, did not travel with the team due to what was termed an “internal decision”.

©First Line Editorial 2021