Dec. 15, 2001
Box Score
The University of Denver earned its third Western Collegiate Hockey Association road sweep with a 5-2 victory at Minnesota State, Mankato, Saturday (Dec. 15). Led by sophomore Connor James (Calgary, Alberta) and junior Aaron MacKenzie (Terrace Bay, Ont.), the Pioneers improved to 14-2-0 overall and 11-1-0 in the WCHA. The sweep was a little revenge for Denver after the Mavericks swept the Pioneers in Denver near the end of last season, ultimately sending Denver to a sixth-place league finish and out of home-ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs.
Just 2:34 into the opening period, the Pioneers grabbed the first lead of the night. Skating with the man advantage, junior Matt Weber (Binghamton, N.Y.) notched his third power play goal of the season, assisted by freshman Luke Fulghum (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and MacKenzie. At 7:43, MSU-Mankato knotted the contest with a power play goal of its own, beating Denver sophomore Adam Berkhoel (Woodbury, Minn.) on a mad-scramble in front of the crease. James added to his point total at 13:52, on a great individual effort. At the Maverick blueline, James picked the pocket of a MSU defenseman, skated in all alone on net, made a great move to get Maverick goalie Jason Jensen out of position, and easily scored his ninth goal of the year. After 20 minutes of play, the Pioneers took a 2-1 lead into the locker room, outshooting Mankato, 12-9.
The Pioneers quickly extended their lead to two goals just 2:40 into the middle period. Senior Chris Paradise (St. Paul, Minn.) scooped up a rebound in front of Jensen and roofed a shot into the open portion of the net. James and senior Erik Adams (Thunder Bay, Ont.) picked up the assists. At the 16:15 mark, just 27 seconds after killing its fourth shorthanded situation, Denver pushed its lead to 4-1. Sophomore Lukas Dora (Lednice, Czech Republic) sent a slapshot on net from the top of the right faceoff circle. Junior Kevin Doell (Saskatoon, Sask.) redirected the puck past Jensen, giving the Pioneers a commanding three goal lead.
Minnesota State notched the first goal of the third period to pull to within 4-2, with 13:12 left to play. The Pioneers tightened up defensively and Berkhoel finished strong as that was all Denver would yield. With 1:27 left to play, sophomore Greg Keith (Delta, B.C.) sealed the victory with an empty-net marker. Berkhoel finished the night with a career-high 32 saves and remained perfect in WCHA play, improving to 7-1-0 overall and 6-0-0 in league action.
Denver (14-2-0, 11-1-0 WCHA) will take two weeks off for the Holiday's before returning to action in the Wells Fargo Denver Cup, Dec. 28 and 29. The Pioneers will host the 10th annual hockey showcase, featuring UMass-Lowell, Harvard and Bowling Green along with Denver. UMass-Lowell and Harvard will open the tournament Dec. 28 at 4:35 p.m. in Magness Arena, followed by the Pioneers against Bowling Green at 7:35 p.m. Dec. 29, the Wells Fargo Denver Cup will conclude with the Third-Place game at 4:05 p.m., followed by the Championship game at 7:05 p.m.
