People were wondering if the Denver Pioneers were seeded too highly. Predicted by many to travel for the NCAA First Round, Denver received the No. 5 seed and a home date with North Carolina on Saturday night.
The Pioneers left no doubt on the field, looking every bit like a No. 5 seed in a 9-5 win over the visiting Tar Heels, marking the third straight season Denver has defeated UNC in the NCAA Tournament. In 2012, the Pioneers won a 16-14 shootout in the opening round before erasing a six-goal deficit in the quarterfinals last season on their way to a 12-11 win.
This year’s meeting wasn’t nearly as close.
North Carolina struggled to generate much offense, scoring a season-low five goals. The Tar Heels scored just one first-half goal. They scored twice in the first 4:21 of the second half to pull within 5-3, but Denver responded with five of the final seven goals to erase any doubt.
“It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t what we thought,” said Denver head coach Bill Tierney. “If you told me (before the game) that we were going to win by four, I would’ve said it would be 15-11 or something like that. I’m so proud of these guys. They didn’t want to go home.”
Penalties hurt UNC as the Tar Heels were whistled for 10 penalties for nine minutes. The Pioneers were only 1-for-9 on extra man opportunities, but the penalties still proved costly for UNC, limiting possessions while keeping the ball in its defensive zone for long stretches. An unsportsmanlike conduct call as time expired in the first half gave Denver possession to begin the second. A two-minute slash was also called in the fourth quarter which didn’t help the Tar Heels comeback hopes.
The teams traded goals to begin the game, but Denver went on a 4-0 run to end the first half and take a 5-1 lead into the locker room. Ryan LaPlante stopped 3-of-4 shots sent his way in the first half before being replaced by Jamie Faus who made three saves, allowing four goals.
It looked like the Tar Heels would get back into the game with goals from Chad Tutton and Joey Sankey early in the third quarter. North Carolina had chances to pull closer, but Denver’s Zach Miller scored the final two third-quarter goals on some pinpoint-accurate shots that beat Kieran Burke, who enjoyed a strong game with 11 saves.
Frankie Kelly gave UNC a spark at the faceoff “X,” winning 7-of-11 including a perfect 4-for-4 in the third quarter, to give the Tar Heels possessions. In the end, they couldn’t pull any closer than two. Denver’s lead reached 9-4 before Sankey scored with 3:36 remaining. A North Carolina faceoff win could have made things interesting, but Denver won the ensuing draw and spent most of the remaining time running out the clock.
Miller and Erik Adamson each scored two goals to lead the Denver offense while Jack Bobzien had a goal and three assists for a game-high four points. Tutton had three points for the Tar Heels (one goal, two assists) while Sankey scored twice and Pat Foster dished two assists.
The Pioneers have proved to be a model of consistency in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to their fourth straight quarterfinal. Denver will play unseeded Drexel next Sunday in Delaware looking to make its second straight Championship Weekend and third in the last four years. The Dragons defeated rival and fourth-seeded Penn on Sunday in their first-ever NCAA Tournament game.
