Preview: Miami at Denver

Miami snapped its 15-game winless streak two weeks ago.

Next on the RedHawks’ checklist is ending an 0-6-2 skid away from Cady Arena.

And Denver has been somewhat vulernable lately, winning just two of its last six.

BoB takes a look at the upcoming series between these teams:

WHO: Miami RedHawks (10-16-4) at No. 7 Denver Pioneers (16-7-4).

WHERE: Magness Arena (3,642), Denver, Colo.

WHEN: Both games – 9:07 p.m.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Denver leads, 14-11-3.

TV: Saturday – Altitude Network (DirecTV Ch. 681).

MIAMI RADIO: Both nights – WKBV-AM (1490), Richmond, Ind.

DENVER RADIO: Both nights – KKFN-FM (104.3), Denver, Colo.

NOTES: Denver has struggled to find the net recently, resulting in a 2-3-2 stretch during the meat grinder portion of its NCHC slate.

The Pioneers have been held to eight goals in their last six games after scoring at nearly a three-and-a-half goal clip the first half of the season.

Liam Findlay hasn’t had any problem producing offensive for DU, as he leads the team with 27 points, including a Pioneers-best 15 assists.

A freshman, Emilio Pettersen, is tops in assists with 17 to go along with six goals for 23 points.

Jarid Lukosevicius and Cole Guttman are both in double-digits in goals with 13 and eight, respectively, and Brett Stapley has been another key contributor up front for the Pioneers with five goals and 12 helpers.

Denver’s defense corps moves the puck well and is solid in its own end.

Ian Mitchell has 13 assists as well as three goals to pace the blueliners, and Slava Demin has scored four times and chipped in nine assists.

Michael Davies is also in double digits in points with 11, and senior Lester Lancaster has four tallies.

The Pioneers have battled injury problems in net this season, but Denver has still been solid in net and it appears both of its starters are finally healthy.

Devin Cooley has the better overall numbers this far, with a 1.93 goals-against average and a save percentage of .934. Filip Larsson’s GAA is 2.43 and his save percentage is .918.

DU hasn’t been particularly impressive on special teams, with a 16.0 percent rate on the power play and a penalty kill clip of 80.4. But the Pioneers are disciplined, as opponents have just 103 man-advantage opportunities in 2018-19.

Miami has matchup well against Denver in recent years, earning a tie and a win vs. the Pioneers last season and tying them twice in Magness Arena when DU was No. 1 in early 2016-17.

Recently, the RedHawks have struggled to score and prevent opponents from doing so. They have scored two goals or fewer in eight of their last nine games, including three shutouts, and in 11 of 12 contests Miami has surrendered at least three markers.

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About John Lachmann (@rednblackhawks)

I've been writing about hockey since the late 1990s. First it was the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and the Cincinnati Cyclones for the Cincinnati Post, and most recently with WCPO and the Blog of Brotherhood online.

Posted on February 22, 2019, in 2018-19, Denver Pioneers and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.

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