DU fights back, Borgström shines as the Pios defeat the Mavs 5-3

DENVER – The No. 3 ranked Denver Pioneers made it as hard as possible, but they were able to comeback from a 2-0 deficit and beat the No. 18 Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks 5-3 on Friday night.

“I thought we defended a lot better,” head coach Jim Montgomery said after the game. “Especially our transition defense, and that led to quick counters. Besides that, I thought our forwards were really determined to win foot races, puck battles and then had good execution in the offensive zone.”

It was the big-named players in Henrik Borgström, Dylan Gambrell and Will Butcher who shined in this one with all three of them registering a goal. But it was Borgström who stole the show tonight with a jaw-dropping snipe and he was also able to add an assist.

“The kid is special,” Montgomery said about Borgström after the game. “And when he wants to takeover a game he can do it. You don’t see that too often at this level.”

The first period had a kooky feel to it. The Pioneers got off to a hot start in the early stages of the game but once Evan Janssen took a boarding penalty, the tide turned. UNO and their third-ranked power play in the nation were able to strike first via a Justin Parizek one-timer off of a beautiful feed from Austin Ortega.

The Mavericks were able to strike again when the former Colorado Thunderbird, Ortega, put the Mavs up 2-0 off of a rebound. The rest of the period was the referee’s show in which they called five different penalties, forcing both teams to utilize their special teams a lot in the first period.

The Pioneers, like they’ve shown multiple times this season, looked like a completely different team in the second period. They were forcing turnovers in UNO’s defensive zone and started creating a ton of scoring chances. Those chances lead the Pios to four unanswered goals in the second period.

The first one came off of a beautiful feed by Tariq Hammond to find Tyson McLellan, with his dad Todd in attendance, at the backdoor to cut the lead in half. The second goal was an absolute beauty from Borgström when he got the puck in the slot and fired it into the top right corner. Dylan Gambrell was able to give the Pios lead with a gorgeous snipe. Liam Finlay made it 4-2 when he got a pass from Jannsen and only had to tap it in.

Will Butcher was able to make if five unanswered goals for the Pioneers when he ripped a slapshot from the point into the back of the net. Mason Morelli was able to cut the Pios lead to just two goals when he put one away from the bottom of the faceoff circle. The Mavs were unable to make any sort of comeback and 5-3 would be the final at Magness Arena.

THREE STARS:

First star: Henrik Borgström (Denver)
Second star: Liam Finlay (Denver)
Third star: Will Butcher (Denver)

BY THE NUMBERS:

Denver-Omaha
Shots : 43-29
PPG/PPA : 2/6-1/6
Faceoffs: 42-20

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME:

Henrik Borgström’s top shelf wrist shot in the second period which really got the Pioneers going.

WHAT’S NEXT:

The Pioneers will have game two against the Mavericks on Saturday night, puck drop is scheduled for 7:05pm MST.