Nov. 2, 2002
Box Score
MADISON, Wis. - Senior Greg Barber (Kelowna, B.C.) scored two goals to lead the Pioneers to a 5-3 win and two-game sweep over the Wisconsin Badgers tonight in Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) action.
Barber's goal at 9:30 proved to be the game winner for Denver, who improved to 7-1-0 overall and 2-0-0 in the WCHA. Senior Wade Dubielewicz (Invermere, B.C.) earned the win in relief of junior Adam Berkhoel (Woodbury, Minn.). Dubielewicz made seven saves for his fourth win this season and turned away a late third period power-play opportunity for Wisconsin. Senior Matt Weber's (Binghamton, N.Y.) empty-net goal at 19:56 sealed the win for Denver.
Sophomore Luke Fulghum's (Colorado Springs, Colo.) power-play goal at 11:05 in the first period gave the Pioneers a 1-0 lead. Fulghum accepted a great pass from teammate Jeff Drummond (So., Leduc, Alberta) and blasted home the one-timer off the inside right post for his second goal of the season.
Denver's Greg Barber (Kelowna, B.C.) then increased the Pioneers lead to 2-0 after his second goal of the season beat Wisconsin goaltender Bernd Bruckler. Assisting on the play was senior Kevin Doell (Saskatoon, Sask.) and junior Connor James (Calgary, Alberta). Doell's 10 assists lead the Pioneers.
Wisconsin's Rene Bourque prevented a potential early Denver rout when his unassisted goal beat Berkhoel. The Denver goalie got his right pad on the big blast from Bourque, but the puck trickled into the net to cut the score to 2-1 in favor of the visiting Pioneers.
The Badgers tied the game at 2-2 when Ryan MacMurchy tipped in a rebound as Berkhoel was trying to cover a shot from Mark Jackson. Wisconsin then took its first lead of the game when A.J. Degenhardt scored at 16:24. Degenhardt took advantage of an errant pass by Denver's Berkhoel.
Doell ripped home a power-play goal at 6:45 to tie the game at 3-3. Junior Ryan Caldwell (Deloraine, Manitoba) and Drummond earned assists on the huge game-tying goal.
Denver's six-game winning streak against the Badgers is the longest in series history. The Pioneers have also swept Wisconsin in Madison the past two years and are 6-0-2 in the Kohl Center. The No. 2 Pioneers return home to Magness Arena on Nov. 8-9 for a two-game series against Minnesota-Duluth. Puck drop for Friday's game is set for 7:35 p.m. MT.
GAME #8 - vs. Wisconsin at Madison, Wis. (Kohl Center)
1 2 3 -- F
#2 Denver Pioneers (7-1-0, 2-0-0) 2 0 3 -- 5
Wisconsin Badgers (4-4-0, 0-2-0) 1 2 0 -- 3
SCORING SUMMARY:
FIRST PERIOD
1. DEN, Luke Fulghum 2 (Jeff Drummond 4, Gabe Gauthier 4) PPG, 11:05;
2. DEN, Greg Barber 2 (Kevin Doell 10, Connor James 4) PPG, 15:00;
3. UW, Rene Bourque 5 (unassisted) 17:08
SECOND PERIOD
4. UW, Ryan MacMurchy 3 (Mark Jackson 2, Bourque 3) PPG, 8:20;
5. UW, A.J. Degenhardt 2 (Jake Heisler 1, Adam Burish 1) 16:24 THIRD PERIOD
6. DEN, Doell 4 (Ryan Caldwell 5, Drummond 5) PPG, 6:45;
7. DEN, Barber 3 (Brett Skinner 2, Matt Weber 3) 9:30;
8. DEN, Weber 3 (unassisted) ENG, 19:56
SHOTS: Denver 14-12-12--38, Wisconsin 5-3-7--15; SAVES: Berkhoel (DEN) 4-1-x--5, Dubielewicz (DEN) x-x-7--7; Bruckler (UW) 12-12-9--33. POWER PLAY: Denver 3-6, Wisconsin 1-5 . Referee: Robin Anderson. Assistants: Dan Carey and Pat McMahon.
