Defending champs Denver stunned by Colorado College in Game 1 of NCHC quarterfinal series

Denver knows it has no one to blame but itself.

In Game 1 of a quarterfinal series in the NCHC tournament, the Pioneers were left to rely on the luck of the awkward way pucks bounce this time of year and it was underdog rival Colorado College who came into Magness Arena and scored three third period goals to win by a final of 3-1 on Friday night in the Mile High City.

After the Tigers evened things up on a 5-on-3 power play, sophomore defenseman Brady Cleveland had his shot hit the stick of a DU player, breaking it in two, and the puck somehow floated past everyone and into the back of the net with just under four minutes remaining.

Noah Laba scored an empty netter in the final minute and sent Pioneers fans packing.

“Disappointing, certainly,” DU coach David Carle said afterward. “They execute their 5-on-3 goal to a high level and then they were in a shot lane, (the puck) hits a stick and goes over everything and in the net. That’s hockey sometimes.”

After a dominant opening period in which DU had a 14-3 advantage in shots on goal, including getting 12 before CC got one, the Pios had nothing to show for it and scored their only goal past the midway point of the second period when senior Jack Devine, now tied for first nationally in points, scored on a second effort to beat the always-tough Kaidan Mbereko, who stopped 33 shots on the night.

But even that came after the Tigers controlled the puck and put the pressure back on the Pioneers in the second period.

“You can’t get wrapped up in the scoreboard,” Carle said. “We know they have a good goalie. It was that way last weekend. Of course, you’d always like to get a lead, build a lead, what have you. The game (was) in our control. Unfortunately, we take some penalties in the third period to go to the 5-on-3 and the rest is history. Credit to them, they stuck with it. Their goalie played well in the first and they were able to stay in the hockey game and put themselves in a position to win it.”

While CC scored a crucial power play goal to tie the game up, DU didn’t have such luck with its power play unit that came into the weekend second in the nation. It was always going to be a battle against a Tigers penalty kill that ranks top 10 in the country and that battle was won convincingly by CC, who killed off all four penalties and only allowed five shots total in those eight penalty minutes.

“I think speed up the ice was an issue,” Carle said. “Execution up the ice was an issue. A little bit disconnected up the ice and in (the zone), (we had) a couple looks but not enough.”

A week after sweeping their in-state rivals, the defending national champion Pioneers are now in a must-win situation Saturday to avoid a similar fate. Only this time DU’s hopes of winning another NCHC championship are on the line.

“Turn the page, get our bodies and minds right to try and get back here on Sunday,” Carle said. “There’s no sense in feeling sorry for ourselves. We knew there was the potential that this could go three games and it’s our job and in our hands now to try and get it there.”