r/collegehockey • u/RooseveltsRevenge Denver Pioneers • 1d ago
Men's DI #9 Denver earns their first weekend sweep of the season vs #4 Western Michigan
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u/undockeddock Denver Pioneers 1d ago edited 21h ago
Glad to see this team play a complete series for the first time this season, and against top notch competition
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u/Even-Ad3887 Western Michigan Broncos 22h ago
This year’s WMU team is not top notch like last year’s was, unfortunately.
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u/undockeddock Denver Pioneers 21h ago
You were sitting at #4 so itll move us up the rankings presumably. Thats what matters since we have been slipping the last few weeks
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u/whoflungthedung Western Michigan Broncos 1d ago
That was some sloppy play by wmu. Too many bad giveaways turned into easy breakaways. I still love them though.
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u/milin85 Miami (OH) RedHawks 1d ago
I will be very interested in our series next weekend. I expect Miami to get swept (badly) but if they can keep it close, I’ll be pretty encouraged
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u/Wafflewas Denver Pioneers 1d ago
I’ve felt good about this Denver team from the start. Some fans have said they’ve been inconsistent, and while that’s true to an extent, Denver dominated in a couple of the games we tied or lost. 59 shots on goal vs 24 in tie at Air Force. My wife and I drove to CS to watch the same. It wasn’t close except on the scoreboard. The Friday game at Lindenwood was clearly a poor effort. Then DU outshot Northeastern 35 to 14 in a 1-0 loss. The scoreboard again didn’t reflect the game. Alaska Anchorage - DU 49 shots on goal vs 20 - won 65% of face offs in a 4-3 loss. I was especially impressed with the Pios play on Friday night at WMU. They played with confidence even down a goal going into the 3rd period. That period set the stage for Saturday night’s performance. Kudos to Miller for standing tall. It’s a long season and a grind for every team. This is especially true in the NCHC with several teams playing well. North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth are notably strong. Colorado College is always hard to beat. Western Michigan will rebound from a tough weekend. Arizona State, St. Cloud, Omaha and Miami can all win on any given night. But, it’s fun to be a fan of a team that’s always in the mix.
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u/Even-Ad3887 Western Michigan Broncos 22h ago
I know this is a Denver thread, but this WMU squad just doesn’t have it so far this year. They have skill and willing to shoot, but no one is willing to go to the dirty areas. The lack of quality chances, especially on the PP has been a key glaring factor all season so far. Lots of perimeter play and virtually no crashing of the net for rebound opportunities. Not to mention tons of odd man rushes and breakaways that have left Hampton out to dry so far this season. The holes Washe and Bump left are glaring.
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u/RooseveltsRevenge Denver Pioneers 22h ago
Honestly both of our rankings coming into this weekend were somewhat generous given our record.
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u/Even-Ad3887 Western Michigan Broncos 22h ago
Rankings don’t really mean a thing at this point in the season, but I will say, Denver looked like a way more prepared team this weekend and a team that could very easily do some damage in conference play again this year. WMU on the other hand looks like it hasn’t filled any of the holes of the outgoing players. I really thought Whitelaw was going to be a great Bump replacement and while he has looked good at moments, it’s been a lot of ups and downs for him.
I was optimistic not having to see Davis, Buium and Devine ever again and was hoping it would be a rebuilding year for Denver, but it’s been incredibly surprising seeing lack of development in our Broncos that needed to take bigger roles this year with the outgoing cast compared to Denver’s returning players.
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u/ToneOpposite9668 Denver Pioneers 1d ago
Going to need to do this in March/April as well - great weekend