Top-ranked Denver started this season in a similar fashion to last season, by raising a trophy.

One night after defeating No. 11 Notre Dame, 5-2, the Pioneers (2-0) knocked off Maine, 3-1, to claim the Ice Breaker Tournament championship Saturday at Magness Arena. While it obviously pales in comparison to an NCAA title, it was an important step for a young team.

Carter Mazur broke the game open with two goals in 2:23 late in the first period, Mike Benning got DU on the board with a top-shelf snip early in the game, and No. 2 goaltender Matt Davis made 24 saves for the victory.

In reality, the Black Bears (1-1) gave the Pioneers plenty of trouble, arguably more than the Fighting Irish did one night earlier. The game kicked off a string of five consecutive games against Hockey East schools. Up next is a trip to 2021 champ UMass followed by a visit from perennial Tournament entrant Providence.

“It’s nice when you can get two wins on a weekend to start the season, it helps everyone’s confidence,” DU captain Justin Lee said. “It’s just a start though. I think it’s huge (for the young guys).”

Denver had to battle through at times

The Black Bears, who traveled more than 2,200 miles on Wednesday to Colorado for their games vs. DU and Air Force, which tied Notre Dame, 5-5, on Saturday, showed plenty of jump early, and at one point midway through the first period the shots on goal were even at 6. However, the Pioneers took control once Maine started taking penalties.

There were ebbs and flows to the game, but the Pioneers endured them well enough.

“Our best play in the game was probably the last 12 (minutes) of the first,” coach David Carle said. “I thought we really took it to them with our speed. In the second we got more on our heels in our own end. The power play wasn’t moving with the same speed and urgency it was in the first.

“I liked how we responded in the third. The first 10-12 of the third were really good. It’s just one of those games where there were some spurts that were really good and some that were average.”

Davis nearly pitches a shutout

Davis learned he’d get the start when the team convened for meetings on Saturday morning. He settled in well after Maine’s early surge.

“I got a lot of pucks from the outside, got to feel it a lot, that definitely built my confidence throughout the game,” he said. “They were a gritty team. They like to throw pucks to the net, so I just had to be ready.”

Denver held Maine without a shot on goal for the final 10 minutes or so of the first period, but the visitors doubled their output (to 12) in the second and finished with 25 to DU’s 36.

Davis had to be sharp on a couple of Black Bears short-handed breakaways, and his ability to handle the puck added a dimension to the Pioneers attack.

“Early on he was tested. There might have been some jitters there, but after the first 8 to 10 minutes he settled in nicely,” Carle said. “To me he was a real difference in the second period when we got hemmed in a little bit, he was there to shut to the door for us.

“In the third he started getting out of his net more to play pucks and make our breakouts easier, and we limited them to single-digit shots in the third. I wish he could have got the shutout tonight because I thought he earned it. All in all a really good performance.”

Donovan Villeneuve-Houle tipped a shot by David Breazeale past Davis with just 39 seconds to play.

Denver’s skill was on full display in the first period

Mazur’s first goal came on the power play. Stationed to the right of Black Bears goaltender Victor Ostman, he finished a tic-tac-toe play to make it 2-0 with 2:54 to play. Defenseman Sean Behrens’ pass from the left circle found Casey Dornbach below the right circle, Dornbach crossed it back to Mazur on the back door.

Mazur struck again with 31 seconds left. Dornbach, who had two goals against Notre Dame, had the puck below the left circle when he found Mazur flying into the circle. His pass hit Mazur on the tape, and the sophomore ripped a one-timer from the dot to the far post.

“For the first one I was in the right spot at the right time, just a little backdoor tap from Dornbach,” he said. “The second one was a good pass from Dornbach again and just pulled it under the D’s stick and went far side.”

Benning started the snipe show when he snapped off a shot from above the left circle. Massimo Rizzo, stationed at the right board made a seeing-eye pass to find the junior defenseman with room to shoot.

Mazur, who also scored Friday vs. Notre Dame, was selected the tournament’s most outstanding player. Davis made the all-tournament team.

Three stars

1. Carter Mazur. Two games, three goals, and two game-winners. The sophomore assistant captain could be headed toward a special season.
2. Matt Davis. There was no drop-off in net as the sophomore made 24 saves.
3. Mike Benning. The defenseman scored a beautiful goal and was involved all over the ice all game.

Notes: Second line center McKade Webster exited the game during the first period and did not return to the bench for either the second or third periods. No update was available on his status. … The Pioneers inserted forward Tyler Haskins and defenseman Lucas Olvestad into the lineup, giving both freshmen their first official NCAA games.

©First Line Editorial 2022