You chaps have a good team, big team, should win HEA, and probably should have won tonight with DU marching to the box. Cooley is the $hi-t, tomorrow should be fun.
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I'm not actually a PC fan - I'm from HE country, but I live out here in Denver now. Attending DU games, I keep waiting for Cooley to turn into a pumpkin, but maybe I should give him more credit that I have been. He's certainly playing with a lot of confidence and he's been terrific the last three games against elite competition (118 saves, 5 goals against - four coming in essentially one of the nine periods)...
Still, I give a lot of the credit to DU's defense - which I think is as gifted and mobile as any unit in the country. When Comrie plays, as he did last night, they ice six guys who can skate and move pucks at a very high level and any remotely loose puck turns into a DU break out. The team is so responsible and plays great team D - they really kept PC out of the slot/net front and limited second chances. They've been doing it all year...
Cooley played parts of two seasons in three different junior leagues - mostly as a back-up. In 19 USHL games he posted an .873 SPCT. In 14 turns in the BCHL he stopped pucks at an .887 rate. His best junior stretch came in the NAHL when he posted a .909 SPCT backing up UNH starter Mike Robinson. As you know, Cooley walked on expecting to back up Dayton Rasmussen (arguably the top 2017 goalie recruit) and Filip Larson (the 2018 USHL goalie of the year) - but Rasmussen left school and Larson was injured (though he dressed last night for what I believe is the first time all season?) and the rest is history. Amazing history, in a number of ways. Big time props to Cooley for running with it they way he has (.933 / 2.09)...
I thought PC played a really nice game - and as a follower of HE they certainly appear to be the clear class of the league to me. They controlled play for long stretches and had some real good looks. It seemed it wasn't their night with missed nets, pucks rolling off sticks and some other misfortune around the offensive goal.
They need to do a better job finishing - but also getting pucks to the net front and following rebounds for dirty second chances. But Denver has always done a great job preventing those chances - so easier said than done.
The two teams are very similar - the first half of the game seemed to be a competition in who could out responsible the other (which was interesting, but not all that exciting). The second half opened up a bit. I think the only difference between the two teams is DU has a few more slippery forwards, while PCs best (at least tonight) are more pro-style. O'Brien was great fun to watch - and the most slippery Friarlast night - he's awesome. Dugan wasn't very noticeable last night, which probably changes tonight. As a UNH fan, interesting to see O'Neill in person - I like his game, but he's certainly not what UNH is missing in terms of legitimate big time offense...
DU PK also locked down the PC PP - which will have to be better tonight. Just one goal very late in a PP for the Friars. I hate NCHC officiating, they call EVERYTHING and inject themselves into the games constantly. So many DU games turn into special teams contests - so many ticky-tack calls, especially the call on Pettersen last night. It's gotta be hard for non-conference teams to adjust. Seems frustrating enough for the home team...
Average penalty minutes in a DU game this season - 26. A Providence game - 12. For example...
