Saturday night’s Denver game had a familiar feeling, and for that you can credit – or blame – No. 8 North Dakota.

The Fighting Hawks (6-3, 2-0 NCHC) again kept the No. 11 Pioneers in check, mainly by limiting space in scoring areas and blocking 20 shots, and emerged with a 4-1 victory to sweep the series at Grand Forks, N.D.

Ryan Barrow scored a second-period goal, and Magnus Chrona made 24 saves for DU. North Dakota (6-3, 2-0) got goals from four players, the backbreaker an excellent individual effort by Riese Gaber early in the third period. Zach Driscoll made 21 saves for the hosts.

The loss, which included ejections of Denver’s Carter Savoie and North Dakota’s Tyler Kleven, who scored a first-period goal, for hits to the head, followed what has become a familiar pattern.

• Denver chased the scoreboard. North Dakota scored twice before Barrow’s tally with 6:24 to go in the second. This was exactly what happened Friday night, and in the game before that at Boston College.
• And those single goals have been scored by fifth-year seniors – Barrow also struck at B.C., and Cameron Wright scored Friday.
• The loss marked DU’s fourth in a row on the road, where it is 1-4 this season.
• The defeat also marked the Pioneers’ fourth in a row to a ranked team.
• And it was the third game in a row that Denver’s offense, which scored 29 cumulative goals in its first five games, was held to just one goal.

Yes, Denver has a young team, and yes, Providence, Boston College and North Dakota on the road aren’t easy matchups. However, if the Pioneers want to avoid a repeat of last season (i.e. no NCAA Tournament berth), they’re going to have to find a way to both beat ranked teams and win on the road.

The NCHC has six ranked teams, and two that aren’t – Miami and Colorado College – gave ranked opponents all they could handle on Friday, with Miami knocking off No. 9 Omaha at Omaha.

It’s not going to be an easy road no matter how you slice it.

Where Denver goes from here will be determined by what they have learned during these past two weekend sweeps and if they’re willing to play a grittier game, particularly on the road.

The Pioneers have four home games coming up, the first pair against No. 10 Western Michigan, which split with No. 4 Minnesota Duluth, and then a pair with Miami. Those could give us a better of an idea of how this season might unfold.

Right now it’s anyone’s guess.

©First Line Editorial 2021