Senior captain Carter King matched a career best four points after the Denver Pioneers recognized their tenth National Championship
Senior captain Carter King matched a career best four points after the Denver Pioneers recognized their tenth National Championship
Carter King scored a pair of goals and tallied two assists to match a career-high four points in the Denver Pioneers' 5-2 win over Northeastern on Saturday night. The senior captain now has four goals and seven points through the first four games of the season.
However, prior to the game, King and his teammates formally recognized the program's NCAA-record 10th National Championship. Denver raised their championship banner in front of nearly 7,100 patrons in attendance, the largest crowd in Magness Arena history.
Among those in attendance in the seats, defenseman Sean Behrens and forward McKade Webster returned to take part in the festivites.
"It was great. We did get a little emotional, just reflecting on it," said Denver head coach David Carle. "To have Sean Behrens and McKade Webster there was special, and it was really cool, but obviously a lot of pride for the guys who hung the banner, but just for the program. Josh said it right with all of his words about honoring the history and university. We couldn't do it just by ourselves and there were a lot of people who helped put a banner like that up, so really fortunate."
However, once the puck dropped, it was all business.
The Pioneers outshot the Huskies 10-5 in the first period and took a one-goal lead on King's first tally of the night. The marker came just 15 seconds into Denver's power play with under three minutes left in the frame.
Junior forward Aidan Thompson rifled a blast from the right-wing circle. Northeastern goaltender Cameron Whitehead turned aside the initial shot, but King cleaned up the rebound in front.
Denver took a three-goal lead near the midway point of the second period. Eric Pohlkamp registered his first in a Pioneers sweater on a blast above the right-wing circle.
Sophomore forward Sam Harris scored on a tap-in play in front of the net. The goal marked Harris' team-leading fourth of the season and second power-play goal for the Pioneers on Saturday.
"The two power-play goals, love the attack mentality that we had," said Carle. "It was quick off of the faceoff, we're attacking the paint. Obviously, a great play by King to Harris and the other one ends in a goal-mouth scramble as well in the first [period]."
Northeastern got one back on Cam Lund's second tally of the season. The goal came on a shot from the low slot to beat Matt Davis, who turned aside 27-of-29 overall.
However, King restored Denver's lead just 12 seconds into the third period. The tally marked the captain's first multi-goal effort of the season and the third of his career with the Pioneers.
Northeastern's Dylan Hryckowian closed the gap at nearly the eight-minute mark of the third period. However, Denver sophomore defenseman Boston Buckberger put the game out of reach with an empty-net goal.
"We stuck together. I was really proud of our group and just keeping that good mindset throughout the whole game," King said. "It's games like that, that you're going to learn from, and you got to work together as a team to get through some tough times. Offensively, power play, we got it done, and we're able to hold them off there at the end."
With the win, the Pioneers improved to 17-5-0 all-time against Northeastern, having won the last nine straight games.
Denver will host the Wisconsin at Magness Arena for a two-game set starting Friday, October 25. The Pioneers have a storied history with the Badgers, owning a record of 64-76-13 all-time. However, Denver has won the last four matchups.
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