DENVER, Colo. –  Miami's season came to an end Saturday night with a hard-fought 5-1 loss at No. 3 Denver in NCHC quarterfinal action. The top-seeded Pioneers (27-8-1) won the best-of-three series two games to none and improved to 17-1-1 at home. DU will advance to next week's Frozen Faceoff, while Miami ends the year at 7-27-2.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• 9:16 1st (Denver 1-0) | Denver took the lead midway through the first period. Carter Savoie advanced through the Miami zone along the wall, making a pass to Cole Guttman. Guttman slid the puck across to Mike Benning, and Benning hit the back of the net to make it 1-0.
• 1:11 2nd (Denver 2-0) | The Pioneers struck again shortly after the first intermission. From behind Miami's goal, Carter Mazur found Massimo Rizzo in the middle for a quick shot and a 2-0 DU lead. Shai Buium also picked up an assist on the play.
• 4:36 2nd (Denver 3-0) | DU capitalized on a 5-on-3 power play to stretch the margin to 3-0. Jostling for position in the Miami zone, Bobby Brink dropped the puck back for Savoie, who returned it to Brink. Brink sent it across to Guttman for the finish.
• 11:05 3rd (Denver 4-0) | Denver grabbed another power play goal in the third period. A deep shot from Benning was picked up by Guttman in front of the Miami net. Guttman passed across to Mazur, with his tally giving the Pioneers a 4-0 cushion.
• 14:34 3rd (Miami 4-1) | The RedHawks answered back with a 4-on-4 goal to get on the board. Jack Clement sent the puck to Derek Daschke, who left it for PJ Fletcher to take it the entire length of the ice into the Denver zone. Fletcher laid it off for a trailing Daschke, who rocketed a shot past DU's Magnus Chrona.
• 15:47 3rd (Denver 5-1) | Denver earned the final goal of the game just over a minute later. A struggle in the corner of the Miami zone with touches from Sean Behrens and Ryan Barrow knocked the puck to Guttman in front of the net. Guttman was able to chip it up and over Ludvig Persson's glove to close out the scoring and pick up his fourth point of the contest.

GAME NOTES:

• Persson made 39 stops in net and finished the season with a team-record 1,027 saves.
• Matthew Barbolini had a game-high eight shots on goal; his previous career high was five at Minnesota Duluth in February 2021.
• Denver captured 38 faceoffs with Miami controlling 37; Matt Barry led the RedHawks, winning 13 draws.
• Daschke finishes his Miami career with 85 points, the eighth-highest total in the program's record book for points by a defenseman.

UP NEXT:
This concludes Miami's 2021-22 season.