BOSTON – Denver and Minnesota State will play for the college hockey championship on Saturday evening after winning their Frozen Four semifinal contests Thursday at the TD Garden.
Carter Savoie’s goal at the 14:53 mark of overtime sent Denver past Michigan in the first semifinal before five different goal scorers erased a 1-0 deficit for Minnesota State en route to a 5-1 victory over in-state rival Minnesota in the nightcap.
The first-ever Frozen Four at the TD Garden without two local teams didn’t lack drama or intriguing storylines, especially in the first game. Here are five things I took away from the two games on Thursday and a look ahead to Saturday’s final college hockey game of the season.
Denver’s balance keys victory
The Pioneers outshot Michigan 33-21 en route to the victory. The only period that the Wolverines had the better of the chances came in the extra session, but it was all for naught. While I thought the game could go Michigan’s way once the scoreboard remained close, there was no doubt that the better team won.
Denver’s top players connected on the overtime game winner when Hobey Baker Finalist Bobby Brink sent a centering feed out to Savoie. However, Denver’s depth and secondary scoring proved to be important during regulation. Brett Stapley and Cameron Wright scored their 17th and 22nd goals, respectively, in the first and third period.
Perhaps the reason DU was able to dominate territorially was its emphasis on having a third man high and creating layers to prevent Michigan’s transition game from getting revved up to full capacity. It was the Pioneers’ stingy defense and skilled players controlling the pace of the game that kept a lot of Michigan’s big guns off the score sheet.
Michigan’s big stars come up empty
While Michigan’s vaunted seven first-round picks are all good players, none of them came away with a point Thursday. First overall pick Owen Power certainly wasn’t at his best all game. A lot of the struggles of the youngsters in maize and blue was a result of how well Denver plays defensively and how hard they make it with their layers.
Power, Matt Beniers (Hingham, Mass.), Kent Johnson and Luke Hughes combined for a total of three shots. Two of those came off the stick of Hughes, a mobile defenseman who had a couple of legit chances while jumping into the rush.
Michigan is a program that will reload with more talent, but the roster that hits the ice for the start of the season in October will certainly not resemble what was out there against DU.
Power is certainly gone and there’s a high likelihood that Beniers, Hughes, Anderson and Johnny Beecher are, as well.
Mavericks stingy in victory
Minnesota State might have only had one real breakdown in its 5-1 victory over the Gophers. MSU allowed a two-on-zero rush in the first period when Matthew Knies made them pay for a 1-0 Minnesota lead.
Senior goaltender and Hobey Baker Award Hat Trick Finalist Dryden McKay was only forced to make 16 saves en route to his 38th victory of the season. Mankato did a great job of cycling pucks down low, being heavy, and preventing Minnesota from getting much in the way of offense. Like Michigan, many of Minnesota’s top guys were left in the dark on the game’s biggest stage.
Minnesota State’s experience, age, and heaviness were all factors in eliminating the Gophers, a more skilled and younger team. Defenseman Jake Livingstone exemplifies that as he can put up some points, as he did with an assist on the game-winning goal. But, he’s big, strong and defends well. He’s made big strides since his days in junior hockey and even just year-over-year in his two campaigns in Mankato.
Prospect notes
The best player in the two games might have been Denver freshman Carter Mazur, who had the puck a lot and used his speed to his advantage. A great skater, he played the game the right way and generated plenty of chances with his speed and hockey sense.
Beecher, the 30th overall pick by the Bruins in the 2019 NHL draft, had the best winning percentage on draws of anyone on the four teams Thursday night. The Elmira, N.Y., native and former Salisbury School star won 10 of 14 faceoffs. He’s big, skates well and can be a physical, bottom-six center at the pro level someday. There’s been a lot of talk about the Bruins and their draft woes. I’m not the first to say this, but I think it’s entirely fair to criticize the B’s for drafting Beecher where they did while also acknowledging he’s a pretty good player with a chance to play in the NHL, albeit as a depth player. If he can be a long term answer down the middle on either the third or fourth lines, the pick doesn’t look quite as bad as many people believe it is now.
While Minnesota State leading scorer Nathan Smith was held off the score sheet Thursday night, there were a few glimpses of why he was able to put up 50 points this season. His smooth skating stride allows him to create separation and generate chances on the rush. His hands are good and he got off three shots against Minnesota goaltender Justin Close.
There were only two draft-eligible prospects skating at the TD Garden Thursday night: Michigan left wing Mark Estapa and Denver right wing Jack Devine. Both are good hockey players, but Devine is likely to be drafted higher. While his knock-kneed skating is a concern, his hockey sense allows him to read plays and get to the spots he needs for the most part. He’ll get better over his time in a Pioneers jersey. Estapa has heavy boots, but he’s heavy on pucks and plays a hard game. He had an assist on Michigan’s tying goal in the third period.
He might not be much of a pro prospect, but one of the best and most consistent performers for Michigan was senior center Jimmy Lambert, a two-time alternate captain of the Wolverines. He scored a goal, but was around the puck as much as anyone.
Scoring by committee
When looking ahead to Saturday’s final, the one stat that really popped out at me was the balance in each team’s scoring charts. Both teams have a 50-point scorer in Brink for DU and Smith for MSU. However, the Mavericks and Pioneers have 11 and 10 players with 20 or more points, respectively.
While Michigan-Minnesota would have been the flashy matchup of super-skilled, big-name teams, the final as it is between DU and MSU is the marquee matchup to me. Both teams have a good combination of skill and grit. I think it will be a great game for all the spectators inside TD Garden on Saturday at 8 p.m.
