If you don’t score on a five-on-three, you don’t deserve to win. Maybe never in the history of college hockey has that adage proved truer than it did this weekend at Magness Arena. In game one, #1 Denver (2-2-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) had a minute-plus two-man advantage against #2 Michigan (6-0-0, 0-0-0 Big 10) with the opportunity to pull back to within a goal, and in game two, the Pioneers had two separate five-on-three opportunities that each lasted nearly a full two minutes. Denver scored on none of them, and they lost both games, 4-1 on Friday and 4-3 on Saturday. Coincidence? Perhaps. Unacceptable? Absolutely.
A night ago, basking in the glow of the banner-raising celebration, it was easy to brush aside what ailed the Pioneers en route to a 4-1, home-opening loss. But, in game two, with an opportunity to salvage a huge home split against a fellow national contender with important early NPI implications? It’s becoming clear what ails these Pioneers so far – the power play.
It’s hard to blame a team’s power play for a loss when it scores twice, but even when the power play giveth, the power play taketh away…and after Sam Harris scored the Pios’ second power play goal of the night (Kristian Epperson scored the other on the game’s first goal) that pulled the Pioneers back to within a goal, Denver’s extra-man unit went cold, despite four more opportunities, all of which made up the two five-on-threes…