DENVER — The Minnesota Duluth offense went nowhere in Game 1 of a NCHC quarterfinal playoff series at Denver, and if they don’t win tomorrow, the only place the Bulldogs will be going is home.
The second-seeded Pioneers held the seventh-seeded Bulldogs at arm’s length all evening Friday in a 4-0 shutout at Magness Arena to take the lead in the best-of-three series.
UMD generated a measly 17 shots on goal, equaling their second-worst total of the year. The Bulldogs were credited with just one shot on goal and three attempts in the second period. In a matchup of UMD’s league-best power play (by percentage) and Denver’s league-worst penalty kill, the Bulldogs went 0-for-4, but not everything trended against the statistics. UMD’s league-worst faceoff winning percentage of .427 carried over into the postseason, as the Bulldogs lost 28 of 44 draws.
There weren’t many shots for either side in the first period, with the count at 6-5 Pioneers after 20 minutes, but the Pioneers made the most of one on the rush. Lucas Olvestad passed off to McKade Webster, who toe-dragged into the slot and fired past UMD goaltender Matthew Thiessen to open the scoring with 7:02 remaining in the frame.
UMD had just one shot on goal in the second period, but the Pioneers’ Jack Devine had two shots in the goal during the same span. His first goal of the game, with 6:04 left in the second period, was the product of a lengthy scramble in front of Thiessen from which the Bulldogs could not clear the puck. Late in the period, Devine delivered a crushing blow on the rush, as he outflanked UMD’s Aaron Pionk down the right side and broke in on net, flipping the puck over Thiessen to make it 3-0 just before the second intermission.
UMD held a 10-6 edge in shots on goal in the third, but didn’t get anything past Pioneers goaltender Matt Davis, who earned the shutout. UMD coach Scott Sandelin pulled his goaltender for the extra attacker with nearly six minutes remaining in the third period but the gamble came to nothing except a last-minute empty-netter for DU’s Connor Caponi.
Thiessen made 20 saves for UMD (12-19-5).
Game 2 is Saturday at 7 p.m. CDT in Denver as the Bulldogs need to win to extend the series and their season to a third game.
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