Powered by senior captain Cole Guttman‘s two-goal, two-assist night, No. 3 Denver routed Miami, 5-1, on Saturday to sweep the teams’ NCHC quarterfinal series at Magness Arena.

Guttman, who scored during a second-period power play and ended the scoring with a late third-period short-handed goal, drew primary assists on defenseman Mike Benning‘s first-period goal and freshman forward Carter Mazur‘s third-period power-play strike. Massimo Rizzo also scored, Mazur added an assist, and Carter Savoie had a pair of helpers.

Junior Magnus Chrona stopped 23 of 24 Miami shots for Denver, which outshot the guests, 44-25.

The sweep earned the Pioneers (27-8-1) a fifth meeting with Minnesota Duluth, which knocked out St. Cloud State on Saturday. DU and UMD have split their four meetings this season, with each team winning once at home and once on the road. That NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinal will take place on Friday at St. Paul, Minn.

Miami, which got a third-period goal from captain Derek Daschke, ends its season with a 7-27-2 record.

©First Line Editorial 2022