The DU Pioneers picked the worst time to play their least productive hockey of the season.
With its season on the line in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, top-seeded University of Denver was shut out for the second game in a row, falling 2-0 to fourth-seeded Cornell on Thursday night in the Manchester Regional.
The loss ends DU’s national title defense two wins short of the Frozen Four, with the Pios finishing their season on a 121-minute, two-second scoreless streak. Their last goal came near the end of a 7-2 win over Miami (Ohio) in the NCHC playoffs. A 1-0 loss to rival Colorado College followed in the NCHC semifinals, which likely pushed them out to the regional in Manchester, New Hampshire, as the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“We were still playing our game, so that’s just the way it goes sometimes,” sophomore forward Carter Mazur told reporters after the game. “We ran into two hot goaltenders at the time, so that’s another reason, but we still need to find ways to put the puck in the back of the net and we didn’t do that.”
Goaltender Magnus Chrona (25 saves) did his best to keep the Pios in the game, making a number of difficult stops over the final two periods, including on a penalty shot in the third. But two first-period goals from the Big Red were the difference.
The two teams were actually even on shots on goal at 27-all, but Cornell’s Ian Shane came up with some dazzling saves to keep the Pios off the scoreboard.
“They’re a really good team,” Mazur said. “They pressured us pretty well and we really couldn’t adjust to that until the second period. They were just a really physical team, and I felt like we started to match that in the second and third and their goalie also stood on his head and played a really good game.”
DU finishes the campaign 30-10-0 having won the Penrose Cup as NCHC regular-season champions — the program’s 15th regular-season conference title. The Pios entered the NCAA Tournament with the nation’s sixth highest scoring offense at 3.85 goals per game, but went cold when they could least afford it.
As a result, DU’s quest to surpass Michigan for most men’s hockey national titles (both have nine) will have to wait another year.
“Winning championships is not easy, and our group last year found a way to do that,” DU head coach David Carle said. “Obviously all these players who are graduating were a part of that. They’ll walk together forever as champions with last year’s group.
“When we recruit student-athletes to Denver, we talk a lot about playing in this tournament, playing in big moments, getting to Frozen Fours and hanging banners. We fell short of that goal this season, but those seniors were a part of a group that did that a year ago
“Adding to the legacy of the tradition that is Denver hockey is not an easy thing to do, but they are one of a group of nine that have done it.”
Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.
This story has been corrected to reflect that the Pioneers won 30 games, not 39, in the 2022-23 season. The Post regrets this error.
