Denver (25-8-1) vs. Miami (7-25-2)
NCHC quarterfinal series at Magness Arena
Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if necessary) at 7 p.m.
Season series: Denver leads, 4-0
Jan. 28: Denver 5, Miami 4, OT
Key stats: DU has 61 more goals (almost 2 per game more) than Miami, and it has allowed 61 fewer. … DU’s ninth-leading scorer, freshman defenseman Sean Behrens, has as many points – 27 – as Miami’s leading scorer, senior defenseman Derek Dashke.
What must DU do to win: The one close call the Pioneers had vs. the RedHawks came at Oxford, Ohio, and early power plays helped the hosts take a short-lived lead. So staying out of the sin bin is one imperative. The other is not letting up in the opening or ending minutes of periods. A 2-2 game quickly went to 4-2 when Red Savage scored in the final 15 seconds of the first period and the first 23 of the second. … If DU establishes leads and draws Miami into trading chances the series won’t last long.
What must Miami do to win: It will have to play lockdown defense in its D zone, keeping DU’s shooters to the outside. It can’t take penalties. It has to bottle up the Pioneers’ breakouts that fuel their transition game. And it needs the Ludvig Persson who shut out Minnesota Duluth two weekends ago with a 44-save gem to appear twice in three nights.
Projected outcome: It’s hard to see Denver losing a home best-of-3 series against a team it outscored a cumulative 20-8 over four games. Even if the Pioneers don’t have defensemen Antti Tuomisto and Behrens available (upper-body injuries), they have so much offense (led by Bobby Brink‘s NCAA-best 53 points and 20 goals apiece from Carter Savoie and Cameron Wright) they should win it and advance to the Frozen Face-off. Aside from the Jan. 28 hiccup, Magnus Chrona allowed just four goals in the other three games against Miami.
©First Line Editorial 2022
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