One night after managing the chaos that playing No. 15 Western Michigan can be, No. 5 Denver lost 7-2 at Magness Arena on Saturday.

This loss was so unPioneer-like that one has to wonder if it was just one of those nights or a red flag.

Denver (18-8-2, 9-6-1 NCHC) led this game in the first minute, thanks to defenseman Shai Buium’s second goal in two games, but things declined rapidly.

The Broncos (16-9-1, 7-9-0) scored the next five goals — from five different players — during the next 20 minutes of game time and that was that. Dylan Wendt scored his 21st goal in the first period, tying him with DU’s Jack Devine and two others for the NCAA lead.

Tristan Broz tallied his 10th goal on a power-play early in the third, but WMU struck twice more, including Sam Colangelo’s second of the game.

It marked the third time this season the Pioneers have allowed seven goals. The first two were a loss at Magness to North Dakota and at Western Michigan on consecutive weekends in December.

What Happened To DU?

One night after a superlative 39-save performance, junior Matt Davis was pulled early in the second period after allowing five goals on 17 shots.

What was eye-opening about this series was how much WMU had the puck and, at times, how much faster the Broncos appeared. Those typically are hallmarks of Denver teams.

The Broncos helped themselves with a dominant night on the face-off dot. WMU won 48 of 68 draws, an incredible 71 percent. For two possession-based teams, that is a massive advantage.

It’s also worth noting, that Denver’s NCAA-best offense has now been held to two goals in three of its past four games (all losses) after not being held to fewer than three in the first 24 games.

The playoffs are coming, and scoring goals will be more difficult. Still, the Pioneers have the tools to generate more than the nine they have in the past four games.

So what’s next? A week off before a trip to Duluth to meet the struggling Bulldogs. There have been enough positives this season to think DU should be able to straighten this out but Duluth is never an easy out either.

©First Line Editorial 2024