by Nevan Costello, Special to USCHO
LOVELAND, Colo. — Denver took control early and never let Cornell back into the game, beating the Big Red 5-0 on Friday night in the NCAA regional semifinals.
Jake Fisher and Kieran Cebrian scored in the first period, Sam Harris and Clarke Caswell added goals later, and Johnny Hicks stopped all 24 shots he faced as the Pioneers advanced in front of a heavily pro-Denver crowd.
Jake Fisher, who was drafted in the fourth round by the Colorado Avalanche, spoke after the game about playing so close to campus and having the crowd behind Denver.
“Having the regional here was awesome. The building was great tonight.”
Denver finished with a 30-24 edge in shots and dictated play from the opening faceoff.
The Pioneers came out flying and put immediate pressure on Cornell goaltender Alexis Cournoyer, who kept the game scoreless through the early push. Denver earned the game’s first power play at 3:45 of the opening period after a hooking call on Hoyt Stanley, and Fisher nearly converted on a rush through the middle before Cournoyer made the stop.
Fisher broke through at 6:08, finishing a play started by Cale Ashcroft to give Denver a 1-0 lead. Hagen Burrows also picked up an assist.
Denver doubled the lead at 15:33 when Kieran Cebrian redirected Eric Jamieson’s shot through traffic off an offensive-zone faceoff. The first period belonged to the Pioneers, who outshot Cornell 14-7 and generated a steady stream of odd-man rushes and dangerous looks.
Cornell pushed back early in the second and got its only power play at 3:55 after a slashing penalty on Rieger Lorenz, but Denver’s penalty kill held up and Hicks made the stops he needed to preserve the shutout.
The Big Red showed more life in the middle frame, playing with more urgency and physicality while creating better chances than in the opening period. But Denver regained full control late in the second.
At 15:31, Clarke Caswell found Sam Harris in the high slot, and Harris beat Cournoyer to make it 3-0. Cornell then had to kill off a late boarding penalty on Luke Ashton at 19:50, and Denver carried its three-goal lead into the second intermission.
The Pioneers added another at 5:06 of the third when Caswell tipped in a shot from Ashcroft, with Harris also earning an assist. That gave both Caswell and Ashcroft two-point nights.
James Reeder closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal at 16:12, with Lorenz collecting the assist.
Neither team scored on the power play. Denver finished 0 for 2, while Cornell went 0 for 1.
Hicks finished with the shutout, while Cournoyer made 25 saves for Cornell.
Senior captain Ryan Walsh reflected after the game on the youth of the program and how proud he was of the group.
“Really proud of the group that we had, 14 new guys, 12 freshmen, 3 new coaches and a new head coach. The guys showed up everyday with a smile on their face.”