DENVER, Colo. (UND Athltics)– No. 4 ranked Denver scored a pair of goals in 14 seconds in the middle frame to turn a 2-2 tie into a 4-2 lead and defeat North Dakota, 5-3, on Friday night from Magness Arena in Denver, ColoUND (12-12-4, 6-9-2 NCHC) fired 37 shots towards the Denver cage, but goaltender Magnus Chrona was strong in the pipes to help the Pioneers grab their third straight win over the Fighting Hawks this season.
North Dakota looked to build some momentum in the early moments, killing off a minor without allowing a shot just 16 seconds into the contest; however, Aidan Thompson struck just moments after the power play ended to give the hosts a 1-0 lead at the 2:52 mark of the opening frame.
Following the strong start for the Pios, it was UND who started to get better as the period wore on. Just past the seven minute mark of the stanza, Jackson Blake stripped his defender of the puck and fed Carson Albrecht for the goal on a 2-on-0 play to even the game at 1-1.
The contest looked to be heading to the intermission tied at 1-1, but Mazur snapped home a shot from the slot to give Denver the 2-1 advantage with 2:12 to play in the first.
Goals were aplenty in the second period, with the teams combining for a trio of tallies in a span of 30 seconds. Ethan Frisch tied the game momentarily with a blast on the power play, but DU responded with a pair of goals in 14 seconds to give the Pios a 4-2 lead and force a goaltender change for UND.
North Dakota answered back late in the frame, as Judd Caulfield deflected home a shot from Tyler Kleven for another strike on the man advantage for the nation’s top power play to cut the lead to 4-3 after 40 minutes of play.
The Fighting Hawks had plenty of chances in the third period, including hitting the post a pair of times, but Mazur extended the lead with his second goal of the game to close out the 5-3 win and give the Pioneers the opener.
The series finale will be tomorrow night at 7 p.m. from Magness Arena on NCHC.tv and the Home of Economy Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
- Gavin Hain and Tyler Kleven returned to the lineup after missing Saturday’s game at Miami
- North Dakota finished with a 37-23 shot advantage
- Jackson Blake notched a two-point game, his 10th contest with multiple points of the season ‘
- Carson Albrecht scored his third goal of the season and now has a career-long point streak of three
- UND went 2-for-8 on the power play, but was 0-for-3 in the third period
- DU was 0-for-5 with the man advantage with just four shots on goal
- Drew DeRidder was pulled after 25 minutes, allowing four goals on 11 shots
- Jakob Hellsten played strong in relief, stopping 11-of-12
- UND drops to 1-11-3 this season when scoring fewer than four goals
- Friday marks only the fifth game this season without a lead
- Denver finished with a 42-40 advantage in the dot, with Louis Jamernik V leading UND at 19-10
How It Happened
First Period
2:52 | DU – Aidan Thompson gets the Pioneers on the board on the game’s first shot
7:30 | UND – Jackson Blake strips his defender of the puck and feeds Carson Albrecht to tie the game at 1-1
17:48 | DU – Carter Mazur restores the DU lead with a shot from the slot to make it 2-1
Second Period
4:53 | UND – Ethan Frisch wires home a great pass from Chris Jandric on the power play to tie it at 2-2
5:09 | DU – Denver gets it right back, as Sean Behrens roofs home a pass on the rush
5:23 | DU – Massimo Rizzo makes it two goals in 14 seconds for Denver and a 4-2 advantage
10:37 | UND – Judd Caulfield deflects a Tyler Kleven shot on the power play to pull within 4-3
Third Period
4:53 | DU – Mazur scores his second of the night early in the third to increase the lead to 5-3
For more information on North Dakota hockey, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmhockey.
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | 2/10/2023 11:53:00 PM | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com