Emotions ran high Saturday night at Magness Arena, and Denver’s raising of its ninth NCAA banner was only the start of it.

The No. 4 Pioneers edged  the No. 9 Friars, 3-2, on Jack Devine’s goal 1:16 into overtime, capping a wild night that saw 16 minor penalties called, three of which figured in the scoring. That gave DU (4-2) a sweep of a series that had a playoff-like feel.

“I really liked our ability to play the hockey game,” Denver coach David Carle said. “It was a really competitive game, a playoff type game, and to go down and respond in the second, to give up a late one to tie it and respond in overtime was awesome.

“There was a lot of adversity in the game, we lost a couple of people. I thought we showed a lot of heart to be able to stay together. It’s a really good building block for what the team can become.”

An extra layer of emotion manifest after a scary incident involving DU grad transfer Casey Dornbach midway through the third period. With the Pioneers on a power play, the winger was hit in the upper chest-neck area with a shot and struggled to get to the bench. Once there, he appeared in great duress, at one point slumping over before being helped down the tunnel by medical personnel.

“(It was) scary for sure,” Carle said. “Right now he’s at the hospital. All signs now are that it’s positive for him. He went there for precautionary reasons. He was alert when he went to the hospital.”

The Pioneers also lost center Carter King, who absorbed a big hit in the first period and did not return for the second.

“Two big losses, guys who had good games on Friday night,” Carle said. “It was a chance for other guys to step up against a top-five, top-eight team in the country.”

Weathering a penalty storm

Linemates Carter Mazur and Massimo Rizzo were two of those players, as was fellow sophomore Devine, who ended the game early in the three-on-three bonus session after taking a nice pass from freshman Rieger Lorenz, who was near the left wing boards.

“It was a really nice play by Rieger to find me in the slot, and I was lucky to shoot it,” Devine said. “It really felt good (because) last year against those guys we blew a 4-1 lead in the third. Definitely there were a lot of emotions from blowing that game last year.”

Providence had tied it on – what else? – a power play with 2:56 to go in regulation. Defenseman Taige Harding got a rebound just outside the right dot and beat Magnus Chrona, who had moved left to right after a previous shot.

The aggression from both sides was obvious from the start, and the penalty totals reflected it. In some ways, Saturday’s not-so-sweet 16 were an extension of the 10 penalties called Friday. It’s pretty clear there is no love lost between the teams.

“I feel like we took the bad things (from getting swept at Massachusetts) and turned them into two wins,” said Mazur, who had plenty do do with that.

One of DU’s problems in first period was too many shots coming from the outside, and too few of them overall. Six of Providence’s 11 shots on Chrona (29 saves) came from inside and below the face-off dots. Just two of DU’s five fell into that category. By game’s end both teams had 17 chances from inside the “home plate” (between the dots to the high slot).

Top line’s dynamic duo comes through for Denver

The Pioneers found an extra gear minutes after the Friars took the game’s first lead with 4:09 to play on – you guessed it – a power play. The Pioneers couldn’t get a clean clear, and Providence turned the puck immediately into a prime scoring chance below the circles. Facing a 3-on-1, Chrona didn’t have much chance on Jaroslav Chmelar’s shot from the hash marks.

Denver, however, flipped the script and scored on a power play 1:26 later by correcting one of its flaws. Mazur knocked in a fourth-chance rebound on Svedeback’s blocker side after Rizzo’s shot from the right dot came to Casey Dornback in front of the blue paint. His shot hit Svedeback and caromed to Mazur.

The sophomore then drove the net from the right side and made a beautiful pass across the low slot to Rizzo, who had a tap-in, again on Svedebach’s back door with 55 seconds left. It was the only five-on-five goal of the game and only the second of 10 scored on the weekend.

“When it was one nothing you really want get that next one so they don’t go up two,” Mazur said. “That first one was huge. To end the period with another was massive for our momentum.”

Denver’s center depth will be tested further

Already without junior center McKade Webster, who was injured in Game 2 vs. Maine, and freshman Aidan Thompson, who has yet to play, King’s loss coupled with Dornbach’s depletes the Pioneers further.

King, who started the game on the top power-play unit and also killed penalties, took a high hit early in the first period. He did not return for the second period. He had a goal and an assist in the first five games.

Dornbach, who had the primary assist on Mazur’s goal, and has a team-high eight points, also is a power-play fixture.

Notes: Each team dressed 10 NHL draft picks, including nearly 13 feet of goaltender.The latter pair – DU’s 6-foot-5 Chrona and Providence’s 6-4 Flip Svedeback (22 saves) – put on a clinic for much of the game. Svedeback is a Boston Bruins pick, while Chrona’s rights were acquired by the San Jose Sharks a little over a year ago from the Tampa Bay Lightning. … Senior defenseman Lane Krenzen was in the lineup for the first time this season.

©First Line Editorial 2022