Thanks to the nature of the sport it’s pretty darn hard — but not unheard of — to make it a full hockey season with an undefeated record. No team pulled it off last season, though Cornell was the closest at 25-6-2. According to the NCAA record book, there are three undefeated teams in DI history: Cornell (29-0-0) in 1970, Iona (16-0-0) in 1967 and Clarkson (23-0-0) in 1956.
As NCAA ice hockey made its way through the month of November, our last undefeated team in the 2018-19 season took its first loss. That honor belonged to Denver, who fell to 5-1-1 after losing to No. 2 St. Cloud State on Nov. 9.
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David Carle Post-Game 🎥 #PioneerTogether pic.twitter.com/xI6tuyqpV4
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) November 10, 2018
Denver got on the board first halfway through the opening period, then exchanged goals with the Huskies to take a 2-1 lead into the second period. The Pioneers extended that lead to start the middle frame with Emilio Pettersen's power-play goal at just over one minute.
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But that would be the last time the Pioneers found the back of the net. St. Cloud State found its stride, however, scoring three unanswered goals throughout the rest of the second period to take the lead. A scoreless third frame sealed the Huskies with the home-ice win.
Denver had a 3-3 overtime tie against Alaska on Oct. 20 and then went on to win 5-2 against Western Michigan. Last weekend the Pioneers had a series against Western Michigan, just barely coming away with the sweep as Denver defeated the Broncos, 4-3 in overtime.
It's time for the Nice from the Ice!#playsoftheweek pic.twitter.com/7MPLb8hiQe
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) November 6, 2018
Denver finished second in the NCHC last season, but has had huge turnover in the team makeup — as well as coaching. After losing head coach Jim Montgomery to an NHL gig with the Dallas Stars, Denver is now guided by David Carle, 28, the youngest coach in college hockey.
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Callan Sheridan is a graduate of Saint Peter's University and has produced content for The Press Enterprise, the American Junior Golf Association and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Follow her on twitter at @calsh_13.
