DU Pioneers riding a four-game win streak, face Western Michigan next

After a rough 0-2 start to the season, the DU Pioneers hockey club has been dominant, holding its opponents to only one goal apiece in three of the four next contests. The lone exception was against the powerhouse Boston University, a game DU held on to win with four goals to three. Denver heads into the weekend with a 4-2-0 record.

Last weekend, the Pioneers went on their first road trip, sweeping Michigan State with scores of 2-1 and 3-1. Friday featured a scoreless game until the third period when DU broke out with two goals, one at the 5:33 mark and another just over ten minutes later. Henrik Borgstrom was in on both goals, netting the first himself and helping Jarid Lukosevicius on the second. Borgstrom is now the team’s leading scorer with six points (3g, 3a). Troy Terry, who got the assist on Borgstrom’s goal, is right behind him with five points (3g, 2a). The Spartans’ lone goal was scored by Patrick Khodorenko with assists to Mason Appleton and Taro Hirose.

Saturday night was a much different affair. DU jumped out to 2-0 lead in the first on a pair of goals by Terry. Appleton punched back for Michigan four minutes into the third, but Matt Marcinew put things away with an empty net goal in the final minute of play.

This weekend, the boys are back home with a couple of games against Western Michigan. The Broncos come into Denver boasting a winning record at 3-0-1. Western Michigan is currently outscoring and outshooting its opponents and averaging nearly five goals and 32 shots per game. The team also has a solid set of special teams with a power play conversion rate at 30% and penalty killing at almost 88%.

In DU’s corner, though, is a history of success. Denver has dominated the Broncos for years as evidenced by the 11-4-1 all-time record and 6-1-1 home record. The Pioneers pocketed three wins and one overtime loss last season, scoring 16 goals to the Broncos’ seven in the process. While only averaging 2.5 goals per game, Denver has held its opponents to an average of only two goals. The power play needs some work as it’s converting at only a 12.5% rate, while the penalty kill is at 85%. Denver’s goaltending trumps Western Michigan at .918 to .901 save percentage.

Goaltending and defense will be the keys to the weekend for DU. If the team is able to shut down the Broncos’ scoring, the Pioneers could pick up another two games for the wins column.

Friday puck drop is at 7:30 pm MT; Saturday is 7:00 pm.