Nov. 10, 2001
Box Score
Behind 22 saves from sophomore goaltender Adam Berkhoel (Woodbury, Minn.), the University of Denver hockey team completed a sweep of WCHA foe Michigan Tech, 3-1. The Pioneers move to 8-0-0 overall (6-0-0 in the WCHA), the best start in school history.
Michigan Tech opened the scoring at 4:29 of the first period. As Denver senior James Armstrong (International Falls, Minn.) came out of the penalty box after serving two-minutes for hooking, MTU's Jon Pittis redirected a shot in front of the crease over Berkhoel's right shoulder. It was officially an even-strength goal. After the Huskies killed their first penalty, the Pioneers finally broke through the MTU defense at 12:16. Taking a pass from junior Matt Weber (Binghamton, N.Y.), junior Greg Barber (Kelowna, British Columbia) backhanded a shot on net that beat Tech goalie Brian Rogers. Despite outshooting Michigan Tech 15-9 in the first 20-minutes of play, the Huskies did a much better job of clearing the crease in front of Rogers and limited Denver's rebound opportunities, keeping the score tied at 1-1.
With 13:25 remaining in the second period and skating with a 5-on-3 power play, freshman Jon Foster (Suffern, N.Y.) notched his fourth goal of the season to give the Pioneers a 2-1 advantage. Taking a pass from Weber at the far faceoff circle, Foster ripped a one-timer that beat Rogers five-hole. Shots on goal in the middle stanza were even at six apiece, but it was Denver notching the lone goal to take a 2-1 lead into the second break.
On Denver's fifth power play chance, junior Aaron MacKenzie (Terrace Bay, Ontario) wristed what appeared to be a soft shot on goal. MTU defenseman Greg Amadio was in front of the net in good position. However, with his stick behind the net, Amadio attempted to simply glove the puck and toss it out of harms way. The puck bounced off Amadio's glove and trickled high over Rogers glove and into the net, giving Denver a 3-1 lead at 9:57. The Pioneers held on to earn the victory, holding Michigan Tech scoreless through the final 55:31 of the contest.
Denver will take a week off before getting back into action Nov. 24-25 in New Hampshire at UNH's Thanksgiving Tournament. Denver will open the tournament with Vermont on Nov. 24 at 1 p.m., MT, before taking on host New Hampshire Nov. 25 at 4 p.m., MT.
