Whether it was home cooking or lesson learning, No. 14 Denver emerged from its offensive hibernation to knock off No. 9 Western Michigan, 5-3, and snap a four-game losing skid on Friday night.

Sophomore Carter Savoie had two goals among his three points, while freshman Carter Mazur added a goal and two assists for the Pioneers (5-4, 1-2 NCHC). Junior Magnus Chrona stopped 17 of 18 shots in the final two periods – and 19 overall.

Four of DU’s five wins have come in the friendly confines of Magness Arena. The five-goal surge came after netting a cumulative three in the three prior games.

Here are some observations from DU’s first victory against a ranked team this season.

Pioneers go for seconds

Owning a 12-4 shots on goal edge after one period but trailing 2-1, the Pioneers fully took control in the first 7:31 of the second with a three-goal outburst.

Savoie ended a three-game goal drought just 45 seconds when he buried a feed from center Cole Guttman while stationed in his office just below the right dot. Savoie, whose goal was his team-high seventh, often does his best work from his off wing, and this was exhibit A of that.

Massimo Rizzo then struck for his sixth of the season when he rifled a backhander into the net 2:24 in. Mazur made a nifty backhand pass between Western goalie Brandon Bussi (36 saves) and the goal post from below the goal line that found an all-alone Rizzo between the circles.

Mazur then got into the act on the power play at 7:31 when Sean Behrens‘ point shot ricocheted off the end boards to Mazur’s waiting stick to Bussi’s left.

Just like that the 2-1 deficit after allowing dreaded first- AND last-minute goals in the first was turned into a 4-2 lead.

“We’re learning how you have to score against good hockey teams,” DU coach David Carle said. “Sav did what he needs to do – he had two really good looks and put pucks in the net.”

After Josh Passolt‘s power-play goal pulled WMU (6-3, 1-2) to within one late in the second, Savoie answered on the man advantage halfway through the third after the Pioneers did a Harlem Globetrotters number on the Broncos. Moving the puck with continuous motion, Savoie found a shooting lane above the right circle and scored his eighth on a wrist shot from distance.

“We kept it more simple,” Savoie said. “You have to go back to your roots – put more pucks on net.”

Senior moment

Senior grad transfer Cam Wright set the table for Savoie, Mazur and Co. to break the game open when he answered an early seeing-eye goal by Western Michigan’s Michael Joyaux with a nice backhand goal 5:06 into the game.

Rizzo carried the puck down the left wing and found Wright open to the right of Brandon Bussi. Wright went to his backhand to tuck the puck around the sprawling net minder.

“It was huge,” Savoie said. “For him to get that back meant a lot to the group.”

Wright’s goal was the fourth in a row scored by a fifth-year senior, as he and Ryan Barrow alternated goals at Boston College and North Dakota.

Standing tall in net

One area Denver did have a size advantage was in net, where the 6-foot-5 Chrona made big stops when he needed to, particularly late in the second period and on WMU’s third-period power plays.

“When they had that push in the second period Magnus was really good,” Carle said. “Our goaltender was our best killer when we needed him to be.”

Chrona played so well in the second and third periods that his inauspicious start – two goals on four first-period shots, neither of which he had a lot of chance on. WMU’s second goal came when defenseman Kyle Mayhew missed a hip check on Drew Worrad that gave the senior a point-blank chance that rode the elevator to goals-ville.

“Magnus was excellent, especially in the second when we got running around a bit,” Carle added. “He got some big whistles for us.”

Note: The teams conclude the series Saturday at 6 p.m.

©First Line Editorial 2021