Denver’s last line of defense often has made the difference between a lengthy stay in the NCAA Tournament and an early exit, or even reaching the tourney.
Consider a bit of recent DU history:
- In 2019, Filip Larsson went on a postseason heater, posting shutouts in both NCAA Regional games, to carry the Pioneers into the Frozen Four.
- In 2017, Tanner Jaillet won the Mike Richter Award as the nation’s top goaltender, and DU scaled the NCAA mountain one season after reaching the Frozen Four. The Pios allowed just three goals at Chicago. And Jaillet had split time at times during his career with another goalie in Evan Cowley who easily could have started for many Division I programs.
- In 2005, Peter Mannino was selected the final weekend’s most outstanding player … as DU completed a back-to-back title run by holding Colorado College and North Dakota to a combined three goals.
- In 2004, Adam Berkhoel garnered top player honors as DU won the first of its three titles this century. He had a shutout of North Dakota in the Regional final and a shutout of Maine in the final – both by 1-0 margins.
So goaltending is a very good predictor of the Pioneers’ postseason success. With that in mind we’ll begin our 2021-22 season preview series by examining how Denver’s last line of defense stacks up entering the campaign.
MORE PREVIEWS
Who’s back
Magnus Chrona: The junior was a popular target for keyboard warriors’ wrath last season, particularly about rebound control, but his overall numbers were decent (2.47 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage). The kicker was his 7-11-0 record. The offensively challenged Pioneers needed the 6-foot-6 Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick (whose rights since have been traded to the San Jose Sharks) to steal some games, and he didn’t do that consistently. Though how many goalies do? He told me at one point last season that he felt fine and didn’t feel as though he was “off”. Expectations were high after he went 16-6-4 with 2.15 and .920 numbers as a freshman.
Jack Caruso: He appeared in one game as a freshman and stopped everything he saw. He’s resilient and competes hard in practice.
Who’s new
Matthew Davis: The 20-year-old has been in the DU prospect pipeline for nearly three years, having committed to the program on Jan. 18, 2019. He spent last season in the USHL and posted a 20-9-2 record but with a 3.34 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage for a playoff team in Green Bay. He was dominant during his two previous junior seasons with Spruce Grove of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, twice fashioning GAA’s under 2.50 and save percentages north of .900. He won a combined 70 games during those two campaigns. He stopped all eight shots he saw in DU’s exhibition victory against Lindenwood.
Who’s gone
Corbin Kaczperski: The Yale transfer was OK once he became eligible midway through the Omaha bubble, going 3-2-1 with 2.60 and .868 numbers. His play seemed to fade as the season wore on.
The bottom line
This is Chrona’s net but Davis should contribute when called upon. The Pioneers likely need Chrona to have his best season yet or at the very least perform as he did as a freshman if they want to play into April.
©First Line Editorial 2021
We ‘keyboard warriors’ know what we saw…
Chrona struggled not only with rebound control, but on giving up softies, some of them from long range that he should be the first to tell you he should have stopped. Those softies sapped team confidence and often forced DU to play from behind. He had long stretches early and mid season last year with a unacceptable saves percentage under .900, until he settled down later into the season and managed to finish above .900.
He’s a very talented goalie, and we’ve seen excellence from him before in his freshman year. DU needs him to be at least .910 and hopefully, .920-.930 to have a good shot at the big prize this year.