Pioneers Advance To NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game

“Proud of our team’s effort tonight, excited to get the win,” said Denver head coach David Carle following the game. “We have the utmost respect for St. Cloud, (head coach) Brett Larson and their staff, the season they had and the effort they put in to get to the Frozen Faceoff and how hard they played us tonight. It was an excellent game, really back-and-forth.”

The Pioneers outshot the Huskies 16-14 in the first period, during which the two teams combined for four goals. St. Cloud State took the lead just 1:40 into the game, but Denver responded with a goal from Buium less than seven minutes later. St. Cloud State scored again just over one minute after that, but Denver’s McKade Webster tied the game up with just over two minutes remaining in the period.

The second period was similar to the first, with Denver and St. Cloud State combining for four goals. The Huskies generated two goals on just six shot attempts, while Denver spent much of the middle stanza in the offensive zone. Denver tied the game at three early in the period with a power-play goal from Miko Matikka, but St. Cloud State regained the lead with a power-play goal of their own.

Tristan Lemyre was checked from behind into the endboards, and St. Cloud State’s Cooper Wylie was assessed a five-minute major penalty for the infraction. Despite spending most of the five minutes in the Huskies’ defensive zone, the Pioneers were unable to convert on the man advantage. However, Matikka added his second goal with under two minutes left in the frame to tie the game up at 4-4.

“We’ve been in a lot of high scoring games this year,” said Carle. “We’ve not been in one like that, that happens sequentially where we kept getting scored on it and losing the lead and didn’t have the lead all night long until the end of the game. I think it was a great challenge for us as we learn how to win these types of games.

“We’ve talked a lot about our youth and how we want to grow and be a different team now than we were to start. I don’t know if we win that game in October or November, but I think they’ve shown a lot of growth and maturity and confidence and belief in themselves that they were able to go and execute and not be deterred by being down a goal four straight times. That’s not an easy thing to over to overcome.”

The third period saw fewer scoring opportunities, with both teams tightening up defensively. Denver outshot the Huskies 22-9 over the final 40 minutes and 38-23 in regulation overall. However, the game was to be determined in five-on-five overtime, where Buium scored the game-winning goal.

With the win, Denver advances to its first Frozen Four championship game since 2018. The Pioneers will play Omaha, who knocked off the No. 1 seed North Dakota 6-3. Denver took three of four from the Mavericks during the regular season.

“I don’t know if there’s a hotter team in the country right now than Omaha right now, so we’re looking forward to that challenge and can’t wait to get to tomorrow night,” concluded Carle.

The championship game will take place on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. MT at the Xcel Energy Center.

Highlights

(Featured Image Credit: Jim Rosvold / USCHO)