Box Score DENVER -- Minnesota State, Mankato scored four unanswered goals in the third period to defeat the 11th-ranked University of Denver hockey team 6-3 and earn a key Western Collegiate Hockey Association sweep Saturday night at Magness Arena in Denver. With the sweep, the Mavericks (17-10-1, 11-8-1 WCHA) and Pioneers (14-11-3, 9-9-2 WCHA) flip-flop their places in the WCHA standings, with MSU now in fifth place and Denver sixth.
Mankato got on board first when Jesse Rooney took a turnover in the neutral zone and skated untouched on sophomore goaltender Wade Dubielewicz (Invermere, British Columbia) with the Pioneers on the power play. Rooney placed the puck between DubielewiczÂ' legs to post a shorthanded goal 8 minutes, 50 seconds into the game.
Less than 5 minutes later, the Pioneers got the equalizer when the Mavericks were called for a delayed penalty. With an extra Denver skater on the ice in place of Dubielewicz, the Pioneers moved the puck around their offensive zone and their patience paid off when junior defenseman Jesse Cook (Englewood, Colo.) fed a streaking Kelly Popadynetz (Calgary, Alberta) in front of the goal. The traffic in front of the net caused a deflection of the pass off of an MSU defenderÂ's leg, giving the Pioneers a 1-1 tie and Cook his first goal of the season with 6:56 to play in the first.
Mankato went up 2-1 on the power play just 1:37 into the second period when Nate Mauer slapped a rebound of an Andy Hedlund shot under DubielewiczÂ' stick side, but the Pioneers quickly tied the score at 2-2 when sophomore center Kevin Doell (Saskatoon, Saskatchwan) took a long pass from Dubielewicz, skated through the MSU defense and flicked the puck under the stick side of Maverick netminder Eric Pateman at the 3:07 mark of the second.
With just 44 seconds left in the second and the Pioneers on their sixth power play of the night, Denver forged ahead 3-2 by dominating control of the puck in its offensive zone. Junior center Chris Paradise (St. Paul, Minn.) capitalized for the Pioneers when he launched a slapshot from the blueline that made it through traffic and found the back of the net.
MSU tied the game at 3-3 midway through the third period when Mauer flicked in a rebound of a Jerry Cunningham slapper for his second goal of the game. The Mavericks then scored the game-winning goal less than 2 minutes later when Ben Christopherson scored on a rebound over DubielewiczÂ' stick side. MSU put the game away with 1:57 to go by converting on a textbook 2-on-1 breakaway. Cole Bassett was credited with his eighth goal of the season, and Mankato added an empty-netter with 15 seconds left to provide the final margin.
The Pioneers hit the road this coming weekend to play the first of their final three road games of the regular season. Denver makes the quick jaunt down I-25 next Saturday, Feb. 10 to face archrival Colorado College. The puck drops on the fourth and final meeting of the season at 7:05 p.m. at the Colorado Springs World Arena.
