No. 1 Pioneers battle back to defeat No. 9 North Dakota 3-2

BIG FORKS, ND The No. 1 Denver Pioneers hockey team scored two goals in the second period and held off the No. 9 North Dakota Fighting Hawks the rest of the game Saturday night to win 3-2 and sweep the weekend series at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Denver (12-0-0, 2-0-0 NCHC) extended its school-record, season-opening win streak to 12 games and picked up its first sweep of North Dakota (5-6-0, 2-2-0 NCHC) since the campaign 2022-2023. The Pioneers won 5-2 in the series opener on Friday.

“This should give us a lot of confidence that we can draw on throughout the season,” he said Richard and Kitzia Goodman hockey head coach David Carl. “It's a really tough place to sweep. I thought North Dakota came out a lot more desperate than they did a night ago, definitely more of a playoff-type feel with the physicality, after the whistle stuff, the tight control, not much open ice for both teams and a game that could have gone either way. Our first one-goal game of the year, our first 3-2 game of the year, and we feel fortunate that we came out on the right side. Get out of here with six points.”

Junior forward Aidan Thompson, second defender Boston Buckberger and freshmen James Reeder all scored for the Pios. Senior goalkeeper Matt Davis finished with 21 saves on 23 shots in the win.

North Dakota had a 2-1 lead early in the second period on a short-handed goal by Dylan James, but Thompson buried a power play marker at the 11:36 frame and Buckberger was able to tap in a loose puck with 2:39 left before the break to give Denver its first and only lead of the evening.

Thompson now has points in each of this year's 12 games, the longest streak of opening points by a DU player in the past decade.

The Pioneers finished 3-for-4 on the penalty kill, including a key kill, while holding a one-goal lead with 9:34 left in the third period. DU went 1-for-2 on the power play.

Denver also blocked 18 shots on the season, with Kent Andersons block during that third period, PK was one of the biggest of the evening.

Sacha Boisvert opened the scoring for UND with a power play marker with 5:48 left in the opening period, but Reeder tied the score for Denver with an airborne tip off a feed from Samu Salminenhelping both players extend their career-long point streaks.

The Pioneers were outshot 23-22, with Fighting Hawks goaltender TJ Semptimphelter making 19 saves in the loss.

NEXT: Denver returns home next week for its first NCHC games at Magness Arena, while Arizona State makes its first visit as conference foe. Friday's game starts at 7:00 PM MT and Saturday's game starts at 6:00 PM MT and will air regionally on Altitude 2. Both outings will also air on NCHC.tv.

POSTGAME NOTES

• Denver picks up its first two-game sweep in Grand Forks since Nov. 11-12, 2022.
• DU is now 7-3-0 in the last 10 meetings vs. UND.
• The Pioneers have now won 21 straight games dating back to March 9 against Colorado College, one that fell short of tying the school record of 22 straight wins that capped the 1967-68 championship-winning campaign.
• DU's three goals scored were its fewest of the season, but the team continued its streak of conceding two or fewer goals in every game this year.
• The Pioneers' 18 blocked shots were a season high.
• Denver picked up its fourth comeback win of the season.
• Aidan Thompson scored to extend his career-long and season-opening points streak to 12 games (9g/11a).
• Sam Harris had an assist to take his personal best to nine games (8g/5a) and now has points in 10 of the 11 games he has played this year.
• Samu Salminen is now on a career-best, five-game assist/point streak (0g/5a).
• Freshman James Reeder now has points in each of the last eight games (3g/5a).
• Denver scored on the power play in the ninth straight game. The last time they accomplished this feat was from February 11 to March 11, 2023.
• Tory Pitner recorded his first collegiate point with an assist James Reeder's goal.
• DU had killed 14 straight penalties before Sacha Boisvert scored on the power play with 5:48 left in the first period.

PURPOSE SUMMARY
1st Period

14:12 AND (0-1) PPGSacha Boisvert scored on a one-time shot from the right circle off a Dylan James cross.
16:29 DU (1-1) James Reeder tipped Samu Salminen leading pass into the slot during a rush on the ice.

2nd Period

5:27 AND (1-2) SHGDylan Jame's shot went through Matt Davis' pads while the goaltender was screened by a Pioneer player.
11:36 DU (2-2) PPG, Aidan Thompson scored on a one-time shot after a pass from Jack Devine only 13 seconds into the man advantage.
17:21 DU (3-2) The Pioneers created a scoring opportunity after a rush up the ice, and Boston Buckberger tapped a loose puck into the low slot during the ensuing scramble.

3rd Period

No score

QUOTABLES
Richard and Kitzia Goodman hockey head coach David Carl
About fighting back in the game: “Really proud of our team for finding a way through the game. We get down 1-0, find a way to tie the score. Go down 2-1 and give up a shorty. Power play comes back and get one, and then to get the go-ahead at the end of the second period [Boston] Buckberger was great. What I'm probably most proud of is going two third periods (in North Dakota), being up 4-2 a night ago, up 3-2 tonight, and only giving up 10 shots in the two periods combined. Don't give up a goal, have to kill two penalties, one per period, one Friday and one Saturday, and kept them off the (score) sheet there too. I thought we had a lot of commitment to blocking shotsKent Andersons Block in the third period stands out, but we had a lot of guys putting their bodies on the line for the team.”

On the third-period reverse Denver goal that was overturned due to a UND coach's challenge: “I didn't think the crowd had much going on in the third, especially after we killed that penalty. To score the goal, you could see it took the air out of the building a little bit, and then they're all waiting for pins and needles I thought we went straight back to work and made life difficult for them, didn't give a lot of easy entries and came out in the third and only gave up six shots, and three came on the power play, so only three 5 -on-5 shots in the third total, including The 6-on-5 time, I think, is a real testament to the closeness of a game and the maturity that our group has now.”

About the penalty kill over the weekend: “The kill was good. They obviously changed things up from last night to tonight, and I thought that opened up some things. We made a mistake on one kill in the first period and it ended up in the back of our net, but to Ze sticking to one power play is a really good job by our penalty kill.”

On facing Arizona State as conference opponents for the first time: “I'm looking forward to returning to Magness Arena next weekend against Arizona State. A team that has played very well but has not been rewarded; has defeated Omaha and CC 2-on-1 in their last four games. A hungry team, a new NCHC member, we've obviously played against them a lot, but they're coming into our building for the first time in the NCHC. We expect a great competitive series and look forward to seeing our great fans back next Friday night in the Magness Arena.

CARDS: A limited number of tickets are available for Denver hockey's 75th anniversary in 2024-25. Click here to purchase and for more information.