Jan. 4, 2002
Box Score
Behind junior goaltender Wade Dubielewicz's (Invermere, B.C.) 30 saves, the University of Denver hockey team, currently ranked No. 2 in the nation, shut out visting Wisconsin, 3-0, in front of a sellout crowd of 6,112 at Magness Arena, Friday (Jan. 4). Dubielewicz stopped all shots by the Badgers en route to his first shutout of the season and the fourth of his career.
Both teams skated to a scoreless tie after the opening 20 minutes of play before the Pioneers posted the game's first tally mid-way through the second period. Skating with a man-advantage, junior Kevin Doell (Saskatoon, Sask.) redirected a point shot by junior Greg Barber (Kelowna, B.C.). Initially, it appeared as though Wisconsin goalie Scott Kabotoff made a great save, but the puck trickled over the goal line, giving Denver a 1-0 lead.
Just 1:59 into the third period, sophomore Connor James (Calgary, Alb.) gave Denver a two-goal cushion. Senior defenseman Bryan Vines (Oakville, Ont.) began the play from his defensive zone, chipping the puck forward to senior Chris Paradise (St. Paul, Minn.). Paradise hit James streaking into the Badger zone on the left side. James broke in on a two-on-one with a teammate, got in close on the UW goalie and simply roofed a perfect, soft shot into the far top corner. Kabotoff never reacted on the shot. Paradise sealed the win with his goal at 13:39 of the final stanza, assisted by James and senior Jesse Cook (Englewood, Colo.).
Denver (17-2-0, 12-1-0 WCHA) outshot Wisconsin 40-30 in the game and scored the contests lone power play marker. The Pioneers finished 1-for-7 with the extra attacker, while keeping the Badgers scoreless in three opportunities. After picking up a 2-1 victory last week in the championship game of the Wells Fargo Denver Cup, Dubielewicz was again on top of his game, stopping five Badger breakaways and numerous point-blank shots in the shutout win and improves to 9-1-0 overall, 6-1-0 in WCHA play.
Denver and Wisconsin will conclude the two-game WCHA series with a 7:05 p.m. game Saturday (Jan. 5) at Magness Arena. The game will be televised locally on Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain and can be heard on the radio on KKFN AM 950 "The Fan".
