No. 5 Denver (21-10-5) vs. No. 4 Minnesota Duluth (23-11-2)

NCHC semifinal at Saint Paul, Minn.

Friday, 6:38 p.m. (or 30 minutes after the completion of the Colorado College-St. Cloud State game)

TV / radio: CBS Sports Network / 1600 AM

Series: Denver leads 126-79-12; the teams split four regular-season games

More DU-UMD: A numerical comparison of the teams can be found here

Overview

This is my favorite Denver matchup to watch every season, and if it seems as though these teams meet in the postseason every year, too, that’s not far off. This is the third season in a row and fourth time since 2014 that’s happened. These teams apply pressure in all zones, and rare is the game when one team or the other is out of it. Both skate extremely well, transition the puck well and both are well coached. … It’s also a matchup that has favored Denver recently as the Pioneers are 17-5-2 against UMD in the past five years. Fifteen of those games have been decided by one or fewer goals and four more were two-goal games that included an empty-netter. I wouldn’t expect this to be anything but close. The Bulldogs have the NCHC’s goalie of the year in sophomore Hunter Shepard (23-11-2, 1.95 GAA, .914 save %), while the Pioneers have proven they have two very good options in net in Devin Cooley (10-6-2, 1.89 GAA, .933) and Filip Larsson (11-4-3, 2.14 GAA, .927), an NCHC all-rookie team pick.

Four keys for Denver

1. Keep an eye of UMD’s D – The Bulldogs have a bit of everything on their blue line, but sophomores Scott Perunovich (27 points) and Mikey Anderson (23) bring very good offensive ability. Perunovich is a two-time NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year. DU’s forwards will want to make sure these two aren’t running wild in the Pioneers’ zone because they can – and often do – initiate much of UMD’s offense.
2. Stay out of the box – If there is one big statistical advantage in this matchup it is on the power play. UMD connects almost a quarter of the time, while the power play has been a struggle for the Pioneers in the second half of the season.
3. Get the puck to Luko – When Jarid Lukosevicius gets it going, good things tend to happen for the Pioneers. They’re 10-0-2 when the senior scores, and he has done that a lot against UMD. Nine of his 60 career goals have come in 15 games against the Bulldogs.
4. Box out – The Pioneers did a great job not allowing second chances or even a lot of quality chances to North Dakota last weekend. This is a faster, more talented opponent, so that will be doubly important tonight.

One more thing: When Denver beat UMD this season, it was by a shutout both times. When it lost, both games were seven-goal affairs. So how do you think the Pioneers would like this one to go down? In both wins Cooley was in the net. He also was in net for a 4-3 overtime loss at home, a game that demonstrated just how dangerous UMD is when it gains momentum. Larsson took a 5-2 loss at Duluth last month, but the freshman was lights out against North Dakota, and conventional wisdom might dictate staying with him. But Cooley has had the Bulldogs’ number, and coach David Carle played the matchup last weekend and it paid dividends. There is no bad option for DU in net, but it will be telling who gets the call.

©First Line Editorial 2017-19