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2016–17 Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey season

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2016–17 Denver Pioneers
men's ice hockey season
NCAA Division I champion
NCHC champion
2017 NCAA Tournament, champion
Conference1st NCHC
Home iceMagness Arena
Rankings
#1USA Today[1]
#1USCHO.com[2]
Record
Overall33–7–4
Conference18–3–3–2
Home16–3–2
Road12–3–2
Neutral5–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachJim Montgomery
Captain(s)Will Butcher
Alternate captain(s)Matt VanVoorhis
Matt Marcinew
Evan Janssen
Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey seasons
« 2015–16 2017–18 »

The 2016–17 Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey team represented University of Denver in intercollegiate college ice hockey during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The head coach was Jim Montgomery and the team captain was Will Butcher. The team won the 2017 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament. The team's leading scorer was Troy Terry.

Season

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Denver entered its fourth year under Jim Montgomery looking to continue several trends. The Pioneers had increased their wins and winning percentage over each of the previous two seasons and had yet to miss appearing in the NCAA tournament with Montgomery behind the bench.[3] After a semifinal finish in the 2016 championship DU was projected to be a contender for the 2017 title and was ranked 3rd in the preseason.[4] Denver opened their season as the host for the Ice Breaker Tournament and fell flat on their face, losing both games and finishing last in the four-team tournament.

After that inauspicious beginning the Pioneers collected themselves and played host to #2 Boston University, winning both games. Denver finished out the month with four more wins against weaker teams and moved all the way up to #2 in the nation before their big series in North Dakota against the Fighting Hawks. The Pioneers battled the defending national champions to a 1–1 draw in the first game before losing in the 3–on–3 overtime session (which only gave UND a single point in the NCHC standings) then won a 3–2 defensive struggle in the second game. For their efforts Denver rose to #1 in the country but after tying the lowly Miami RedHawks twice they slipped below conference rival Minnesota–Duluth. Denver held the #2 ranking through a pair of wins against long-time rival Colorado College before meeting UMD for their final weekend before the winter break. In the first game Denver rode a tremendous second period to a 4–3 win but could only manage a single goal in the rematch and lost 1–3, leaving the top two teams ranked exactly where they were before the series.

The Pioneers did not play in a holiday tournament but instead went to Rhode Island for a series against the 2015 champion Providence Friars. Denver got more than it could handle from the Friars, getting a bloody nose from their unranked opponent. The Pioneers returned home for a weekend before hitting the road for two consecutive weeks, splitting both series before returning to Colorado to face #18 Omaha. Despite some of their recent struggles Denver was still ranked #3 in the country and showed just how goo they could be by winning every remaining game on their schedule. DU entered its final weekend with the NCHC championship already won and after sweeping Omaha on the road they had the #1 ranking sewn up as well as the best record in the nation.[5]

Denver opened the NCHC Tournament at home against 8-win Colorado College and easily handles the Tigers, winning the two matches by a total score of 8–1 and outshooting their in-state rival 77–39. The Pioneers headed to Minnesota for the semifinal and played North Dakota in front of partisan Fighting Hawk crowd.[6] Despite several close calls Denver was unable to score on UND and the Hawks lone goal served as the game-winner. While the highly anticipated rematch against Minnesota–Duluth never happened, Denver did redeem themselves the next night with a 3–1 win over #8 Western Michigan. Even with their slip up in the semifinal, Denver retained the #1 ranking and went to Cincinnati as the #1 overall seed.

The pioneers opened the 2017 Tournament against WCHA champion Michigan Tech and dominated the Huskies, scoring the first five goals of the game and riding the outburst to a relatively easy 5–2 win. In the Midwest Final Denver met Penn State who, despite being in their first tournament, had won their opening game 10–3. Denver again got an early start, going up 2–0 before the Lions tied the game early in the second period. The DU offense roared a second time in the middle frame with three more goals while Troy Terry finished off his hat trick with an empty net goal in the third.

In the Frozen Four semifinal in Chicago, Denver opened against a surprising Notre Dame squad who were looking for their third consecutive upset but the buzzsaw that was the DU offense cut down the Fighting Irish with the first five goals of the game. Notre Dame was only able to manage 16 shots in the contest and scored a power play goal on their only opportunity of the night.[7] The Pioneers made the championship game and were finally able to play the rubber match against Minnesota–Duluth in front of 19,783 fans. The two teams fought a close first period but neither could manage to score. just under five minutes into the second Jarid Lukosevicius opened the scoring with his 14th of the season and added a second goal 16 seconds later. Duluth cut the lead in half with an Alex Iafallo power play marker a short while later but Lukosevicius completed his hat trick before the end of the period and Denver took a 3–1 lead into the final frame. The Pioneers weathered a furious onslaught by the Bulldogs, with Tanner Jaillet facing 17 shots in the third. Riley Tufte cut the lead to one with just over five minutes remaining but UMD was unable to even the score and Denver skated to its 8th national title.[8] Lukosevicius' hat trick was the first in a title game since 1993 scored by his coach, Jim Montgomery.

Just before the championship game, team captain Will Butcher was announced as the winner of the 2017 Hobey Baker Award[9] joining a slew of other awards by Denver players including the Mike Richter Award (Tanner Jaillet), NCHC Player of the Year (Butcher), NCHC Rookie of the Year (Henrik Borgström), NCHC Goaltender of the Year (Jaillet), NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year (Butcher) and the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Jarid Lukosevicius. Additionally Butcher was named to the All-American First Team while Jaillet made the second team. Both players made the NCHC First Team, Henrik Borgström and Dylan Gambrell each made the conference Second Team while Borgström and Michael Davies both made the All-NCHC Rookie Team.

Standings

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Conference record Overall record
GP W L T SOW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#1 Denver 24 18 3 3 2 59 82 42 44 33 7 4 152 80
#2 Minnesota–Duluth* 24 15 5 4 3 52 83 56 42 28 7 7 140 95
#10 Western Michigan 24 13 9 2 1 42 79 75 40 22 13 5 113 114
#9 North Dakota 24 11 12 1 1 35 69 63 40 21 16 3 127 104
St. Cloud State 24 10 13 1 0 31 64 69 36 16 19 1 105 109
Omaha 24 9 13 2 0 29 74 89 39 17 17 5 122 128
Miami 24 5 14 5 3 23 57 80 36 9 20 7 91 113
Colorado College 24 4 16 4 1 17 43 77 36 8 24 4 70 120
Championship: March 18, 2017
† indicates conference regular season champion; * indicates conference tournament champion
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 6, 2017

Schedule

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 1 7:05 pm Mount Royal* #3 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado (Exhibition) Jaillet W 4–1  3,206
Regular Season
Ice Breaker Tournament
October 7 7:35 pm vs. Ohio State* #3 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado (IceBreaker) Jaillet L 2–3  3,984 0–1–0 (0–0–0)
October 8 7:05 pm vs. #5 Boston College* #3 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado (IceBreaker) Cowley L 1–3  4,286 0–2–0 (0–0–0)
October 14 7:35 pm vs. #2 Boston University* #10 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Altitude Jaillet W 4–3  4,686 1–2–0 (0–0–0)
October 15 7:05 pm vs. #2 Boston University* #10 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Altitude2 Jaillet W 3–1  4,876 2–2–0 (0–0–0)
October 21 5:05 pm at Michigan State* #6 Munn Ice ArenaEast Lansing, Michigan Jaillet W 2–1  5,419 3–2–0 (0–0–0)
October 22 3:05 pm at Michigan State* #6 Munn Ice ArenaEast Lansing, Michigan Jaillet W 3–1  3,003 4–2–0 (0–0–0)
October 28 7:35 pm at vs. Western Michigan #3 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Jaillet W 3–1  3,689 5–2–0 (1–0–0)
October 29 7:05 pm at vs. Western Michigan #3 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Jaillet W 4–2  3,945 6–2–0 (2–0–0)
November 11 6:37 pm at #6 North Dakota #2 Ralph Engelstad ArenaGrand Forks, North Dakota MidcoSN Jaillet T 1–1 3x3 OTL 11,865 6–2–1 (2–0–1)
November 12 6:05 pm at #6 North Dakota #2 Ralph Engelstad ArenaGrand Forks, North Dakota MidcoSN Jaillet W 3–2  11,910 7–2–1 (3–0–1)
November 18 7:35 pm vs. Miami #1 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Jaillet T 1–1 SO (1-0 DU) 5,924 7–2–2 (3–0–2–1)
November 19 7:06 pm vs. Miami #1 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Jaillet T 2–2 SO (1-0 DU) 6,026 7–2–3 (3–0–3–2)
November 25 7:35 pm at Air Force* #2 Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado Jaillet W 4–3 OT 2,742 8–2–3 (3–0–3–2)
November 26 7:05 pm vs. Wisconsin* #2 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Jaillet W 6–5  6,026 9–2–3 (3–0–3–2)
December 2 7:37 pm at Colorado College #2 World ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado Jaillet W 3–1  6,642 10–2–3 (4–0–3–2)
December 3 7:05 pm vs. Colorado College #2 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Cowley W 3–1  5,510 11–2–3 (5–0–3–2)
December 9 7:05 pm vs. #1 Minnesota–Duluth #2 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado ASN Jaillet W 4–3  5,870 12–2–3 (6–0–3–2)
December 10 7:05 pm vs. #1 Minnesota–Duluth #2 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Jaillet L 1–3  6,186 12–3–3 (6–1–3–2)
December 30 5:05 pm at Providence* #2 Schneider ArenaProvidence, Rhode Island Jaillet T 2–2 OT 2,372 12–3–4 (6–1–3–2)
December 31 3:05 pm at Providence* #2 Schneider ArenaProvidence, Rhode Island Jaillet L 1–3  1,976 12–4–4 (6–1–3–2)
January 6 7:35 pm vs. Arizona State* #3 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Altitude Jaillet W 5–1  5,458 13–4–4 (6–1–3–2)
January 7 7:05 pm vs. Arizona State* #3 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Cowley W 6–1  5,980 14–4–4 (6–1–3–2)
January 13 4:35 pm at #14 Western Michigan #1 Lawson ArenaKalamazoo, Michigan Jaillet L 0–3  3,125 14–5–4 (6–2–3–2)
January 14 5:05 pm at #14 Western Michigan #1 Lawson ArenaKalamazoo, Michigan Jaillet W 7–2  3,466 15–5–4 (7–2–3–2)
January 20 6:37 pm at St. Cloud State #2 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Cowley L 2–3 OT 4,357 15–6–4 (7–3–3–2)
January 21 6:07 pm at St. Cloud State #2 Herb Brooks National Hockey CenterSt. Cloud, Minnesota Jaillet W 3–1  4,645 16–6–4 (8–3–3–2)
January 27 7:35 pm vs. #18 Omaha #3 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado CBS Jaillet W 5–3  5,159 17–6–4 (9–3–3–2)
January 28 7:05 pm vs. #18 Omaha #3 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Jaillet† W 5–0  5,602 18–6–4 (10–3–3–2)
February 3 7:35 pm vs. Colorado College #2 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Jaillet W 2–1  6,336 19–6–4 (11–3–3–2)
February 4 6:00 pm at Colorado College #2 World ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado Jaillet W 5–1  7,054 20–6–4 (12–3–3–2)
February 17 5:35 pm at Miami #2 Goggin Ice CenterOxford, Ohio Jaillet W 5–2  2,402 21–6–4 (13–3–3–2)
February 18 6:05 pm at Miami #2 Goggin Ice CenterOxford, Ohio ASN Jaillet W 5–2  2,764 22–6–4 (14–3–3–2)
February 24 8:05 pm vs. #18 St. Cloud State #1 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado CBS Jaillet W 4–3 OT 6,102 23–6–4 (15–3–3–2)
February 25 7:05 pm vs. #18 St. Cloud State #1 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado Jaillet W 7–2  6,227 24–6–4 (16–3–3–2)
March 3 6:37 pm vs. #14 Omaha #1 Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska CBS Jaillet W 4–2  5,683 25–6–4 (17–3–3–2)
March 4 6:07 pm vs. #14 Omaha #1 Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska Cowley W 3–0  6,306 26–6–4 (18–3–3–2)
NCHC Tournament
March 10 7:35 pm vs. Colorado College* #1 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado (NCHC Quarterfinal) Jaillet W 4–1  4,994 27–6–4 (18–3–3–2)
March 11 7:05 pm vs. Colorado College* #1 Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado (NCHC Quarterfinal) Cowley W 4–0  5,899 28–6–4 (18–3–3–2)
March 17 6:30 pm vs. #11 North Dakota* #1 Target CenterMinneapolis, Minnesota (NCHC Semifinal) CBS Jaillet L 0–1  8,168 28–7–4 (18–3–3–2)
March 18 2:37 pm vs. #8 Western Michigan* #1 Target CenterMinneapolis, Minnesota (NCHC Third Place) Cowley W 3–1  10,297 29–7–4 (18–3–3–2)
NCAA Division I Tournament
March 24 11:00 pm vs. #19 Michigan Tech* #1 U.S. Bank ArenaCincinnati, Ohio (Midwest Regional semifinal) ESPNews Jaillet W 5–2  3,917 30–7–4 (18–3–3–2)
March 25 4:00 pm vs. #11 Penn State* #1 U.S. Bank ArenaCincinnati, Ohio (Midwest Regional Final) ESPNU Jaillet W 6–3  3,364 31–7–4 (18–3–3–2)
April 6 7:30 pm vs. #12 Notre Dame* #1 United CenterChicago, Illinois (National semifinal) ESPN2 Jaillet W 6–1  19,626 32–7–4 (18–3–3–2)
April 8 6:00 pm vs. #3 Minnesota–Duluth* #1 United CenterChicago, Illinois (National championship) ESPN Jaillet W 3–2  19,783 33–7–4 (18–3–3–2)
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Mountain Time.
Source:[10]

[10]

† Jailley and Cowley both played in the game and shared the shut out though neither officially receives credit for it.

Roster and scoring statistics

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No. Name Year Position Hometown S/P/C Games Goals Assists Points PIM
19 Troy Terry Sophomore RW Denver, CO Colorado 35 22 23 45 22
5 Henrik Borgström Freshman C Helsinki, FIN Finland 37 22 21 43 16
7 Dylan Gambrell Sophomore C Bonney Lake, WA Washington (state) 38 13 29 42 21
4 Will Butcher Senior D Sun Prairie, WI Wisconsin 43 7 30 37 27
14 Jarid Lukosevicius Sophomore RW Squamish, BC British Columbia 43 16 16 32 31
26 Evan Janssen Senior LW Green Bay, WI Wisconsin 42 7 19 26 34
23 Matt Marcinew Senior F Calgary, AB Alberta 44 10 12 22 36
24 Colin Staub Sophomore F Colorado Springs, CO Colorado 44 10 10 20 6
13 Liam Finlay Freshman RW Kelowna, BC British Columbia 38 8 11 19 12
22 Logan O'Connor Sophomore RW Missouri City, TX Texas 44 7 11 18 10
21 Michael Davies Freshman D Kirkwood, MO Missouri 44 3 14 17 20
18 Emil Romig Senior W Vienna, AUT Austria 36 9 6 15 6
28 Adam Plant Junior D Penticton, BC British Columbia 43 3 10 13 45
9 Tyson McLellan Freshman C San Jose, CA California 43 5 7 12 20
15 Evan Ritt Senior C Lakewood, CO Colorado 41 2 10 12 25
3 Tariq Hammond Junior D Calgary, AB Alberta 44 3 6 9 49
25 Blake Hillman Sophomore D Elk River, MN Minnesota 43 1 7 8 18
10 Kevin Conley Freshman F Wausau, WI Wisconsin 28 3 4 7 12
6 Matt VanVoorhis Senior D Edina, MN Minnesota 44 1 3 4 10
2 Erich Fear Freshman D Winnetka, IL Illinois 6 0 1 1 6
31 Evan Cowley Senior G Evergreen, CO Colorado 11 0 1 1 0
27 Sean Mostrom Sophomore D Wayzata, MN Minnesota 1 0 0 0 2
30 Greg Ogard Senior G Wilmette, IL Illinois 2 0 0 0 0
29 Brad Hawkinson Junior C Aurora, CO Colorado 2 0 0 0 0
17 Rudy Junda Junior LW Denver, CO Colorado 9 0 0 0 4
36 Tanner Jaillet Junior G Parksville, BC British Columbia 36 0 0 0 0
Total 152 251 403 432

[11]

Goaltending Statistics

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No. Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
36 Tanner Jaillet 38 2222 28 5 4 68 893 0 .929 1.84
31 Evan Cowley 11 425 5 2 0 8 168 2 .955 1.13
30 Greg Ogard 2 7 0 0 0 0 4 0 1.000 0.00
open net 24 4
Total 44 2668 33 7 4 80 1065 3 .930 1.80

(MW1) Denver vs. (W1) Minnesota–Duluth

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April 8[12] Denver 3 – 2 Minnesota–Duluth United Center


Scoring summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st None
2nd DEN Jarid Lukosevicius (14) Davies and Hillman 24:44 1–0 DU
DEN Jarid Lukosevicius (15) Terry and Davies 5:00 2–0 DU
UMD Alex Iafallo (21) – PP Anderson and Pionk 27:16 2–1 DU
DEN Jarid Lukosevicius (16) – GW Gambrell and Terry 32:23 3–1 DU
3rd UMD Riley Tufte (9) Peterson and Kotyk 54:39 3–2 DU
Penalty summary
Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM
1st UMD Dan Molenaar Elbowing 17:32 2:00
2nd DEN Matt Marcinew Hooking 6:44 2:00
UMD Willie Rascob Indirect contact to the head; Elbowing 7:34 2:00

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Final USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  2. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll - April 10, 2018". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  3. ^ "College Denver Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  4. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll - September 26, 2016". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  5. ^ "Men's Division I Hockey Standings: 2016-2017". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  6. ^ "North Dakota vs. Denver Highlights - 3/17/17". NCHC.tv. March 17, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  7. ^ "Thursday, April 6, 2017 Notre Dame (NDM) vs Denver (DEN)". College Hockey Stats.net. April 6, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  8. ^ "Last Year's Loss Propels Denver to Its Eighth N.C.A.A. Title". NYTimes.com. April 9, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  9. ^ "Denver's Will Butcher wins 2017 Hobey Baker Award". NCAA.com. April 7, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Denver Men's Hockey 2016-2017 Schedule and Results". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  11. ^ "Denver Pioneers (Men) 2016-2017 Team Statistics". College Hockey Stats.net. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  12. ^ "Denver 3, Minnesota Duluth 2". USCHO.com. April 8, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
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