Nov. 24, 2001

Box Score

The University of Denver hockey team extending its win streak to nine games and improved to 9-0-0 on the season with a 4-1 victory over Vermont in the first game of the Dodge Dealers on New England Conference Classic, hosted by the University of New Hampshire.

After taking a two-week break for final exams, the Pioneers opened the game a little rusty. If not for the outstanding goaltending of junior Wade Dubielewicz (Invermere, British Columbia), Denver could have found itself trailing. Instead, with 12 saves, Dubielewicz was vital in keeping the game scoreless through the first 20 minutes of play. Vermont outshot the Pioneers 12-7. The Pioneers killed two penalties, while the Catamounts were forced to kill just one.

Early in the second period, Denver finally broke the scoreless tie. Just 19-seconds into the middle stanza, junior Kevin Doell (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) notched his fourth goal of the season on a nice feed from junior Greg Barber (Kelowna, British Columbia). Senior Jesse Cook (Engelwood, Colo.), from the point, found Barber behind the net. Barber held the puck just long enough for Doell to break for the net and hit him with a perfect pass that Doell buried. Denver extended that lead at 7:04 when junior Jason Grahame (Denver, Colo.) put a wrist shot on net. The initial shot was stopped by Vermont's goalie Shawn Consahfter, but sophomore Greg Keith (Delta, British Columbia) poked the puck over the line. The assist was Grahame's first-career point. Senior David Neale (Victoria, British Columbia) also picked up an assist on the play. The Catamounts' cut the Denver lead to one when Ryan Miller, on a great individual effort, beat a Denver defenseman and then back-handed the puck low under Dubielewicz's pads. Just 36 seconds later, however, the Pioneers extended their lead to a two-goal advantage on another strange bounce. Sophomore Max Bull (Faribault, Minn.) sent a shot on net that Conshafter turned aside. The puck went behind the net and came out to the corner of the crease. Freshman Jon Foster (Suffern, N.Y.) fell down at the side of the net trying to play the puck, but still managed to get his stick on it and sent it in front. Conshafter appeared to have the puck in his glove but lost control as it just trickled over the line. Denver outshot the Catamounts 20-9 in the second stanza and took a 3-1 advantage into the second intermission.

The Pioneers sealed the victory with an empty net goal from Barber with just 1:40 left to play. An aggressive move from Vermont head coach Mike Gilligan backfired as he decided to pull his goalie with more than two minutes left to play. Sophomore Lukas Dora (Lednice, Czech Republic) found Barber along the right side. Barber gained the blueline and shot the puck into the unmanned net. Dubielewicz played a great game and improved to 5-0-0 on the season, finishing with 31 saves en route to the 4-1 victory.

Denver (9-0-0) will close out the New Hampshire tournament with a game against the host Wildcats-currently ranked No. 6 in the country-tomorrow (Nov. 25). The puck is slated to drop at 4 p.m., MT, at UNH's Towse Rink