After some exciting semi-final games in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Frozen Faceoff on Friday, March 22, that saw both the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks and St. Cloud State University Huskies eliminated, it was time for the championship game. On Saturday, March 23, it was down to the University of Denver Pioneers and the University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks, who were making their first Frozen Faceoff appearance.
The Mavericks got on the board first over halfway into the opening period, and while the game was very back and forth, they had momentum through the end of the period. They carried the lead into the second, but then the Pioneers answered back early in the period with back-to-back goals to take the lead 2-1.
The Pioneers protected their lead through the second and into the third. They added two more goals late in the game to seal the deal and take the win 4-1. It was the Pioneers’ first Frozen Faceoff win in over five years. It was a back-and-forth game until the end, and that’s where we’ll start.
Pioneers & Mavericks Even Start
While the Pioneers were favored, the Mavericks got the early jump, and there was a lot of end-to-end action throughout the game. Neither team dominated until the very end; they kept with each other, and both teams had equal levels of disorganization at times. Even the Pioneers, the stronger team on paper, had times when they weren’t as composed as usual.
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In the postgame press conference, head coach David Carle discussed how they got past the Mavericks, “I thought we limited their chances pretty well, especially as the game went on. I thought we got better defensively as the game went on, and I thought we got better defensively as the weekend went on generally, and that’s been, I think, the story of our second half. We have shown and each year the guys talk about it a real high commitment to team first and that really does start in our own end and a lot of things that we do and it doesn’t hinder offense.”
As the game went on, the Pioneers did just that. They tightened up their defense and became more forceful with the offense, and they were rewarded. The Mavericks played strong and kept up but couldn’t come back in the end.
Pioneers & Maverick’s Goaltending Solid
One of the stories this weekend was the goaltending for every team; even the teams on the losing end had strong goaltending. Both Simon Latkoczy for the Mavericks and Matt Davis for the Pioneers made big saves at different times throughout the game to keep their teams in the game or protect their leads.
In the final minutes, when the Mavericks attempted to tie the game and keep themselves in it, Davis stepped up for the Pioneers and kept everything out. His defense also worked hard in front of him, and he eluded to that in the postgame press conference: “It feels great. It says a lot about our group this year and how far we’ve come. They battle, and they battle hard, and it’s fun to play behind.”
Pioneers Webster Shines Through Weekend
The Pioneers’ overall team effort was offensive and defensive, but one player stood out throughout the weekend: senior forward McKade Webster. In the Pioneers’ first game against the Huskies, he scored a goal and had three shots on net. In the championship game, he stepped up even further and had seven shots on goal plus two of their four goals.
He earned the award for most outstanding player of the tournament and will be relied on heavily when they head to the NCAA Regional next weekend. When asked about his scoring during the postgame press conference, he answered, “I’m not really too sure. Just getting the puck to the net, just keeping the game simple, I mean just playoff hockey, so to try and take your game to the next level as much as you can.”
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It was the Pioneers’ first time scoring in the tournament in the past few seasons, and Webster commented, “Well, it just feels good to help the team in any way possible it doesn’t matter if it’s the goals or anything. I mean, there’s a lot of guys in that room that did a lot to get us to this point and win that trophy, so whatever it is to get the team to this point, it always feels good.”
Pioneers & Mavericks Have Games Ahead
The Pioneers and Mavericks will move on to the NCAA Regional Tournaments this coming weekend and will have a chance to continue their seasons. The Mavericks didn’t get the win they wanted, but they’ll have to put that behind them quickly and start preparing for the next step in their season. The same can be said for the Pioneers, as they’ll have very little time to celebrate this win before the hard work of practice begins.
The Mavericks Jack Randl summed it up best for both his team and the Pioneers when asked about the week ahead, “Yeah, coach said in the lockerroom we still got hockey to play, and it’s really exciting; that’s the ultimate, kind of the ultimate goal is to get to the tournament, the national tournament and compete for that national championship. So, we’re gonna learn from this weekend and get better throughout the week in practice and just really excited to get to the Regional and see what we can do.”
It’s unclear at this point what regionals each team will be in and who they will play, but that will be announced today on ESPNU at 6:30 ET. It will be interesting to see where these teams end up and who they’ll face in their first round.
