Practice may make perfect, but so does patience. And that is what No. 11 Denver needed on Friday night to pull out a hard-fought 4-1 victory over Air Force at Cadet Arena in Colorado Springs.

Sophomore defenseman Mike Benning scored two goals, one on a nice individual effort late in the second period that gave the Pioneers (3-0) the lead for good and another on the power play late in the third. Carter Savoie also struck on the power play in the first period and Connor Caponi scored on a rebound in the third.

Magnus Chrona stopped 19 shots in what was a goaltender’s duel for much of the game. Air Force’s senior Alex Schilling made 42 saves, many of the highlight reel variety.

“I thought both goalies were very good,” Denver coach David Carle said. “Schilling, it seemed like the only way we were going to beat him was on the power play. Both of them were one timers.

“We got him moving. The other two are net-front goals where we showed some hunger for those goals. We certainly had chances off the rush and the right guys, Savoie, (Bobby) Brink, (Carter) Mazur. … He was seeing the puck really well tonight. It was hard to beat him.”

Here are three observations of DU’s third win in a row to start the regular season.

Push comes to shove

The Falcons, playing in front of a home crowd and a charged up group of Cadets for the first time in a year and a half, came out guns ablazing, taking the body whenever they could and trying to pressure Denver into turnovers. The Pioneers remained composed and moved the puck well.

“They pushed us in every way we thought they would,” Carle said. “They pushed us in different ways than we have been pushed this year.

“It definitely did not feel like a 4-1 hockey game. Credit our power play for icing the game at the end. There were two power-play goals, two net-front goals. Air Force makes you work for it. They were detailed tonight, their puck pressure was good and they were physical.”

Benning’s second goal came with 2:25 to play from the top of the left circle, where he one timed Shai Buium’s pass from the high slot. The strike was his third of the season.

“I knew they’d come out hard,” Benning said. “The student section was bumping all night. They didn’t stop. They’re a hard-working team. Our skill needed to work harder than them. It was a grind.

“They’re obviously physical. Fans love that. They weren’t going to let up on that. We came out a little light in the first period and picked it up after that.”

Study in contrasts

Perhaps nothing illustrated the contrast between the teams than their first-period power-play goals. After a clean first 12 minutes, the Falcons took the first penalty when forward Blake Bride tripped Buium with 8:17 to play near the left boards.

Denver’s top power-play unit took 57 seconds to cash in. Savoie got his second of the season when he took a cross-ice pass from Cole Guttman and one timed an off-wing shot from the right dot past Schilling at 7:20.

Air Force, which continued keep up its pressure, drew the next two penalties, both coming in the final 3:39 of the period. The first Falcons power play was relatively lackluster as the Pioneers kept them outside and broke up several passes to facilitate clears.

Air Force flipped the script on Denver’s second penalty, an interference call on Antti Tuomisto with 1 minute to play. The Falcons maintained zone time and eventually got a series of shots on Chrona from in close. Freshman Clayton Cosentino located some open real estate on the back door and the puck found him on a third or fourth chance with .8 of a second left.

Tie ballgame using two very different methods.

That was the only PPG the Pioneers allowed on four penalty kills, progress from last weekend’s six-goal nightmare vs. Arizona State.

Fourth line takes the lead

Carle repeatedly cited the play of the four players who took turns manning the fourth line after the game. Not only did Caponi score, but the group was on the ice for Benning’s second goal, which was an alert play after he took a drop pass from Ryan Barrow near the DU line.

“I came over and I actually saw my D partner and Edwards in the slot with their one-T’s open,” Benning said. “I saw the two guys go up there and my guy bit, so I dragged it around. I just wanted to stuff it in and create a scramble, and luckily it went five hole.”

That goal came at a crucial juncture, giving DU a 2-1 lead it wouldn’t relinquish with 58 seconds to go in the second period.

“I thought some guys responded really well, particularly (Jack) Works, Caponi, (Brett) Edwards and Barrow,” Carle said. “I thought they were excellent all night long, moving their feet, getting pucks behind the D, forechecking well. They gave the rest of our forward group a little bit of a blueprint for what we needed to do to have success.”

Notes

Junior defenseman Justin Lee, an assistant captain, missed his second consecutive game due to a lower body injury. … Edwards was making his season debut. … The teams conclude the series Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Magness Arena.

©First Line Editorial 2021