{"id":102977,"date":"2020-01-17T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2020-01-17T14:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwproxy.uscho.com\/?p=102977"},"modified":"2020-08-24T10:59:05","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T15:59:05","slug":"uscho-game-of-the-week-surging-denver-travels-to-play-omaha-in-key-nchc-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwproxy.uscho.com\/2020\/01\/17\/uscho-game-of-the-week-surging-denver-travels-to-play-omaha-in-key-nchc-series\/","title":{"rendered":"USCHO GAME OF THE WEEK: Surging Denver travels to play Omaha in key NCHC series"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Brett<\/a>
Brett Stapley has compiled four goals and 17 points in 21 games for Denver during the 2019-20 season (photo: Bradley K. Olson).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you want to see an example of two teams that have been on divergent paths of late, Denver and Omaha are good examples.<\/p>\n

Despite last weekend’s win that snapped North Dakota’s 13-game home win streak, Omaha has gone 5-9-3 since opening the season 4-1-0. Omaha is also currently seventh in the NCHC with a 3-6-1 record.<\/p>\n

Denver, however, after going through a losing streak in November, has won its last six games and climbed back into the hunt for the Penrose Cup, awarded to the NCHC regular-season champion, and also moved into a more secure position for home ice in the first round of the NCHC playoffs.<\/p>\n

Last weekend was a big one for the Pioneers, who hosted St. Cloud State. Denver was coming off a hard-fought sweep of No. 9 Massachusetts and needed to avoid the letdown. Denver swept the Huskies, winning 6-3 and 5-3, though both games were closer than they might appear.<\/p>\n

“For us, it was playing to our identity and trying to play fast, take our puck-pressure game to them,” said Denver coach David Carle. “I think both nights, if you look at it, we started fast. We got ahead in both games, and that’s something that’s been a challenge for us. If you look at our stats, we’ve let the first goal in more times than we scored the first goal. We wanted to have good starts and just try to play to our identity from the first puck drop.<\/p>\n

“Coming off an emotional weekend against UMass, we feel like that was really important for us, just turn the page and move on from the weekend before and get to playing good hockey.”<\/p>\n

On Friday, the Pioneers built a 3-1 lead in the second, but a late second-period power-play goal put St. Cloud in the hunt. The game turned dramatically in the third. With St. Cloud on a power play and pressing, Denver captain Ian Mitchell broke the puck out of the zone and raced up the ice, scoring on a partial breakaway to put Denver back up by two.<\/p>\n

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This is Ian Mitchell at his best. #PioneerTogether<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/4ARdBCEA4q<\/a><\/p>\n

— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) January 11, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n