Some of the chatter around No. 4 Denver this season has been that maybe it doesn’t play defense as well as it has previously.
After all, the Pioneers were coming off a run in which they had allowed 18 goals in four games. Through 12 games they gave up up 3.1 goals per game, tied for 29th in Division I. Furthermore, Denver allowed three or more goals in eight of those. It’s a far cry from last season, when DU was one of D-I’s stingiest teams, allowing just 2.2 per game.
You wouldn’t have known that was an issue at Magness Arena on Friday night. The Pioneers routed Yale, 5-0, but at least as impressively held the Bulldogs to 13 shots on goal, including just one in the first period.
“Yes, defense was definitely (a point of emphasis), especially after last week and previous weeks. We want to get our goals against down,” captain McKade Webster said. “We did a lot of defensive work this week, and it paid off tonight.”
DU made a concerted effort to seal off the middle of the ice Friday, and Yale’s shot — and goal — totals were evidence of that. Yes, the Bulldogs came into their eighth game with 17 goals in their lineup. For comparison, DU’s top line had 18 (albeit in 12 games).
“We had the puck a lot, which makes it easier because you don’t have to defend a lot,” said coach David Carle, who picked up his 125th career victory. “We possessed pucks well, especially as the game went along. Our reloads were excellent. We created a. lot of turnovers by our forwards just working and getting back hard. That allows our D men to have better gaps, so it’s all connected.”
The top line added to its total in the person of Jack Devine, who struck twice and now has a team-high 12 goals after his fifth multi-goal game of the season. Webster added the line’s third goal during his career-high, three-point night. Freshmen Miko Matikka and Zeev Buium continued their personal hot streaks with goals as well.
DU Makes Other Strides
Denver’s first two goals were the type that will translate well when the calendar flips. Matikka and Devine scored going to the net.
Matikka scored for the sixth game in a row with 3:27 to go in the first. He followed his initial shot by crashing to Jack Stark’s left while Tristan Broz was at Stark’s doorstep. The freshman had an open net to deposit the rebound. Remarkably, Matikka’s goal marked just the fourth time this season Denver (8-3-1) has scored first.
“One of our keys is winning the battle of the net fronts, that’s our net and that’s their net, blocking out for Freddie then getting to their paint and trying to bury a greaser and take their eyes away,” Webster said.
He added his 12th on a beautiful power play sequence with center Massimo Rizzo. The latter found Devine with a nice cross-slot pass on Stark’s back door after DU had held the puck for roughly a minute.
“I think he’s finding good spots on the ice and he’s under-handling pucks,” Carle said. “Jack is not a guy who receives it on his forehand and does a stop once or twice. It’s on his stick, it’s off his stick. He’s deceptively fast, but he’s getting to the right areas. He scores a net-front goal off a faceoff tonight. He’s worked a lot at his game the last two years and continues to get bigger and stronger. Obviously, the results are there.”
Two and a half minutes later, Buium extended his points streak to seven games with a seeing-eye backhand from between the circles. At that point, DU had three goals on 17 shots and Yale had two shots.
Goal of the night courtesy of Zeev Buium. #GoPios pic.twitter.com/prbqJ9cELu
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) November 25, 2023
Steady Freddie Returns
Halyk returned to the form of his first three starts in place of injured junior Matt Davis. Halyk allowed just two goals in his first three games before the deluge of the past four games.
And he accomplished Friday’s feat despite getting about as much work as a Maytag repairman. He was on duty but didn’t field many calls. It’s never an easy situation for a goalie because it’s tough to establish a rhythm when he faces so few chances. Halyk preserved the shutout with a point-blank shot on the Bulldogs’ 10th shot late in the third period.
“I’m sure Freddie loves it. The less shots the better,” Webster. “It helps out when we have pressure on their guys, stop plays before they happen then transition to offense right away. You saw that tonight. … It’s taking time and space away from guys, D stepping up, blocking out in front on defense, being crisp on our breakouts in our D zone. I think it all came together tonight, but there is still room for improvement.”
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Halyk gained his second shutout of his young career, and that can’t hurt.
“It’s great to get a great result for him,” Carle said. “He had a good week of practice and continues to work on his game. He’s been thrown into the fire here with the injury to Matty and he’s tried to balance being the guy with working on his game. This week, a good balance was struck.”
Notes
Carle’s 125th career victory tied him for fifth all-time in program history with the man he replaced, Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery. … Matikka captured his second consecutive NCHC Rookie of the Week honor after scoring in both games of the Omaha series. He had eight points (six goals) during his six-game points streak entering Friday’s game. … Denver went 1-for-6 on the power play and killed off all three of its penalties.
©First Line Editorial 2023
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