Zeev Buium scores hat trick as No. 1 DU beats No. 9 North Dakota 5-2

BIG FORKS, ND Second defender Zeev Buium scored the first hat trick by a Denver Pioneers hockey defenseman in 20 years in a 5-2 victory against the No. 9 North Dakota Fighting Hawks at Ralph Engelstad Arena on Friday night.

Buium scored twice in the first period and completed the game with three goals into an empty net with two seconds left. It was only the twelfth hat trick by a DU D-men in program history and the first since Ryan Caldwell on February 14, 2004 against the State of Minnesota. The last Pioneer blueliner to accomplish the feat on the road was Ian DeCorby at St. Cloud State on December 29, 1990.

“It feels good,” Taurus said. “I obviously had to thank my teammates for setting me up and all I had to do was put the puck in the back of the net.”

The Pioneers remained undefeated after their first NCHC game of the campaign, extending their school record and season-opening winning streak to 11 straight games. The Fighting Hawks (5-5-0, 2-1-0 NCHC) dropped their first conference outing of the year after beating Minnesota Duluth last weekend.

Denver and North Dakota wrap up their two-game series Saturday at 5:00 PM MT in Grand Forks. The game will air regionally in Colorado on Altitude and will also be available on NCHC.tv.

Senior Jack Devine had three assists while fellow strikers Aidan Thompson And Sam Harris both had a goal and an assist to extend their respective career point streaks. Thompson has points in all 11 games this year, while Harris now has points in each of the last eight games he has played.

Kent Anderson, James Reeder And Samu Salminen all had assists, with Reeder and Salminen also extending personal long streaks of points.

Goalkeeper Matt Davis made 22 saves in the win as the Pioneers defeated the Fighting Hawks 39-24 overall.

“Really proud of our guys,” he said Richard and Kitzia Goodman hockey head coach David Carl. “To limit them to 24 shots and to go into the third period up by two and only give up four shots and have to kill a penalty in that period, I thought we showed a lot of maturity and growth here tonight to close out the match and secure the win and manage it well. We worked all night.”

Both of North Dakota's goals came unassisted as Dane Montgomery and Ben Strinden tallied DU turnovers.

The Pios led 2-1 after the first period following Buium's goals, and they took a 4-2 lead into the second intermission after Harris scored at 3:07 of the middle frame and Thompson buried his eighth marker of the season with 2:55. left for the break. Thompson's count was especially a momentum shifter for DU, as it came 52 seconds after Strinden scored a breakaway marker to cut UND's deficit to 3-1.

Denver's 11-game season-opening streak is the longest in program history and the Pioneers have now won 20 straight games dating back to March 9 against Colorado College, which sets a school record for the longest school record in multiple seasons in the 75-year-old league the team. years of existence.

NEXT: The Pioneers and Fighting Hawks face off again on Saturday at 5:00 PM MT at Ralph Engelstad Arena in a game broadcast on Altitude and NCHC.tv. The teams meet on February 14 and 15 in Denver.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Zeev Buium scored three times, his first goals of the season and now has 13 points this year. It was his second career multi-goal game (March 22, 2024 vs. St. Cloud State, NCHC Semifinals) and the second by a DU defenseman this season, joining Eric Pohlkamp on November 1 at Yale.
• Buium's three goals were the first by a Denver player since March 10, 2023 Jack Devine scored four times against Miami.
• Aidan Thompson had a goal and an assist and extended his career-long and season-opening points streak to 11 games (8g/11a).
• Sam Harris had a goal and assist to push his personal best streak to eight games (8g/5a) and now has points in nine of the ten games he has played this year.
• Samu Salminen had a helper and now has a career-best four-game assist/point streak (0g/4a).
• Freshman James Reeder now has points in each of the last seven games (2g/5a).
• DU fired 18 shots on goal in the first period, the second most in a stanza this season, after just 19 shots in the opening period on Oct. 6 in Alaska Anchorage.
• Denver scored on the power play for the eighth straight game, its longest streak since also appearing in eight straight games last season, from Dec. 8, 2023, through January. 20, 2024.

PURPOSE SUMMARY
1st Period

5:57 DU (1-0) Zeev Buium took a drop pass from Jack Devine and fired a wrist shot into the rope about 30 seconds after a UND power play ended.
9:34 UND (1-1) Dane Montgomery intercepted the puck in Denver's zone and found the back of the net with a wrist shot.
13:00 DU (2-1) PPG, Zeev Buium fired a one-time shot off a pass from Jack Devine that went from a UND player at the front of the cage.

2nd Period

3:07 DU (3-1) Samu Salminen dug the puck into the corner and sent it to the front of the net where Sam Harris bury a shot.
16:13 UND (3-2) Ben Strinden scored on a breakaway after a Pioneer player lost a lead at the blue line.
5:05 PM DU (4-2) Aidan Thompson got a cross pass from Jack Devine and fired a snap shot that landed just under the goalkeeper's glove.

3rd Period

7:58 PM DU (5-2) NL, Zeev Buium completed the hat trick into an open net

QUOTABLES
Richard and Kitzia Goodman hockey head coach David Carl
About the early penalties: “Not an ideal way to start. Taking four penalties on the road is not ideal. All stick penalties if I remember them correctly. I think some of our guys didn't like the penalties, but we can do it. ” You don't put the game in the hands of the referees. You make it a challenge for yourself, especially when your penalty-killing attackers get into the box, but I thought we went through it.”

About the tough matchup with No. 10 North Dakota: “Proud of the group. This was a big test and there was a lot of talk about, 'Oh, they're 10-0, but they haven't played anyone yet. Can they do that on the road against North Dakota?' ?' We won the first one on Friday. You can't win without winning, and now our challenge is to turn the page and do it again tomorrow night.”

On Zeev Buium game: “His best performance of the season so far. Obviously he had the hat-trick, but we felt on the bench that he had the most control. He has managed the game with and without the puck and controlled his emotions. He is going out.” and play and defend hockey at a very high level. I thought he got a lot of pucks hitting his sticks, broke up plays, helped us get out of our zone quickly, and obviously he also contributed offensively with three goals. “

Second defender Zeev Buium
About playing North Dakota: “We always enjoy coming here and playing in this building. It's an exciting game and we were all up for the challenge.”

In defence, young but also experienced: “We got guys like Kent Anderson And Cal Ashcroft who have taken a big step. The fact that we are second-years and the four of us won the award certainly helps.”

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