Do you believe in time travel?

If you were at Magness Arena on Friday night you might. That’s because No. 1 Denver and No. 6 Boston College played a game with the pace and intensity of at least a midseason game and, at best, a postseason game.

The Pioneers (5-0) won, 3-0, but the dagger was sophomore Cole Guttman‘s power-play goal 3:21 into the second period just 38 seconds into a 5-minute man-advantage. DU clinched it with empty-net goals by senior Tyson McLellan and sophomore Brett Stapley in the final 22 seconds.

““That was a fast game,” Denver captain Ian Mitchell said. “It was really fun to be a part of. They’re a skilled team and so are we. It was up and down the ice all night. That’s the kind of games we want to play.”

The story of this game, however, was defense and goaltending, and fans were treated to a smorgasbord of the latter thanks to a pair of freshmen and potential future NHL rivals – DU’s Magnus Chrona (picked in the fifth round in 2018 by Tampa Bay) and BC’s Spencer Knight (take in the first round in June by Florida).

“The pace is always high but this one had a lot of transitions, they kept coming at us,” Chrona said. “There were a lot of good shots and chances to score. It was a really good test for us.”

Chrona had a bit less work (23 saves to Knight’s 28), but the DU netminder was under siege at times in the third period, when the guests fired 10 shots on goal.

“He was fantastic for sure, he had some 10-bellers,” Mitchell said.

Chrona’s shutout was his second in five games. He has a third game in which he allowed just one goal.

“I thought a lot of pucks stuck to him. He got a lot of whistles for us,” DU coach David Carle said.

Special teams edge

In tightly fought contests, the winner of the special teams battle much more often than not will also win the war. Friday was no different.

In addition to Guttman’s power-play goal, the Pioneers continued their sterling penalty killing, running their streak of successes to 19 in a row to start the season.

Guttman’s goal came shortly after BC senior defenseman Luke McInnis steamrolled Jake Durflinger, drawing a major penalty for cross checking and a game misconduct.

The top unit of Guttman and linemates Bobby Brink and Emilio Pettersen, as well as Ryan Barrow and Ian Mitchell went to work. Mitchell initiated the play after receiving a pass in the slot’s high point from Pettersen, who was stationed near left wall.

“I saw a lane and Ryan had a really good screen,” Mitchell described. “Gutter converged on net really well and put it in.”

The goal was Guttman’s second game-winner of the season.

Added Carle, “Spencer Knight, unbelievable night by him. He’s a hell of a goaltender. The one we get in is a shot, a screen a rebound and it barely crossed.”

That’s how it stood for the next 36:17 minutes of game time, until McLellan ended all doubts after the Eagles’ extra-attacker flurry.

First impressions

Pioneers fans got their first look at five newcomers, and the reviews had to be largely positive.

• Chrona was all he was advertised to be – “Big and boring,” according to Carle. And he means that in a good way. Chrona consistently was in position for saves, and keep in mind he was facing a team with 10 NHL draft picks dressed among its skaters.
• Brink consistently displayed the ability to stickhandle through traffic and place the puck on teammates’ tape. His playmaking ability is superlative. I also think his purported skating woes are overblown. Brink hung just fine in a fast-paced game.
• Forward Hank Crone is another heady player who rarely was out of position. He moved the puck to open spots consistently and excelled at puck retrieval and operating along the boards. He and Brink also played on the power play.
• Forward Brett Edwards  was spotted on the fourth line and made the right play time after time. He skates well for a thicker player (5-foot-11, 198).
• Defenseman Justin Lee brings an edge. A real edge. A fearless and ferocious competitor, he clearly understands job No. 1 of a blue liner is separating opponents from the puck.

Up next

The rematch is at 7:07 p.m. Saturday at Magness Arena

©First Line Editorial 2019