Malone and Cullen Lead St. Cloud State Past Denver

Dec. 14, 2002

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Ryan Malone scored the game-winner and sealed the game with an empty-net goal as St. Cloud State defeated the Denver Pioneers 6-4 tonight in Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) action in front of a sold-out crowd of 6,247 at the National Hockey Center.

Denver leaves St. Cloud with a 12-5-3 overall record and 5-4-3 in the WCHA. St. Cloud State improves to 7-7-2 overall and 5-5-2 in conference play.

Malone and teammate Jon Cullen each scored three goals and an assist, while Husky teammate Joe Motzko added four assists as St. Cloud State's top line accounted for 12 points. The Huskies took three conference points in the two-game series.

Malone's go-ahead goal at 14:48 came after a Pioneer turnover in the Denver zone. The senior from Pittsburgh broke away uncontested and slid a shot by Denver goaltender Adam Berkhoel (Jr., Woodbury, Minn.) for the game-winning goal. Malone's empty-net goal at 19:42 clinched the win and ended St. Cloud State's four-game winless streak.

Denver and St. Cloud State matched goals throughout the game until Malone's game-winner. Senior J.J. Hartmann (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and sophomore Jeff Drummond (Leduc, Alberta) each scored one goal and an assist for Denver, while sophomore Luke Fulghum (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added two assists.

Jason Montgomery earned his first career win in net for St. Cloud State by stopping 20 shots. Berkhoel suffered his third loss of the season, but played well enough to win for Denver. Two Husky goals went off Pioneer skates and were redirected into the net. Berkhoel made 16 saves in the losing effort.

Denver will take a 12-day holiday break before hosting the Denver Cup on Dec. 27-28. Clarkson, Miami (Ohio) and New Hampshire will join the Pioneers in the four-team field. Clarkson will play New Hampshire at 4:35 p.m. MT on Dec. 27, and Miami (Ohio) will face Denver at 7:35 p.m. MT. The winners will meet in the championship game on Dec. 28 at 7:05 p.m. MT, while the losers will meet in the third-place game at 4:05 p.m. MT.

GAME #20 - vs. St. Cloud State

at St. Cloud, Minn. (The National Hockey Center)

	                                     1-2-3--F
#7 Denver Pioneers (12-5-3, 5-4-3 WCHA)	2-1-1--4
St. Cloud State Huskies (7-7-2, 5-5-2 WCHA)	2-1-3--6

SCORING SUMMARY:

FIRST PERIOD
1.	DEN, Aaron MacKenzie 5 (Matt Weber 6, Jeff Drummond 8) 2:24;
2.	SCSU, Jon Cullen 7 (Joe Motzko 8, Matt Gens 7) 3:15;
3.	DEN, J.J. Hartmann 3 (Luke Fulghum 8, Brett Skinner 4) PPG, 4:53;
4.	SCSU, Ryan Malone 9 (Cullen 12, Motzko 9) 19:34
SECOND PERIOD
5.	SCSU, Cullen 8 (Motzko 10, Matt Hendricks 6) PPG, 12:57;
6.	DEN, Drummond 6 (Kevin Ulanski 12, Fulghum 9) PPG, 17:01;
THIRD PERIOD
7.	DEN, Gabe Gauthier 6 (Hartmann 4, Jon Foster 7) 3:04;
8.	SCSU, Cullen 9 (Motzko 11, LaMere 1) PPG, 9:24;
9.	SCSU, Malone 10 (LaMere 2) 14:48;
10.	SCSU, Malone 11 (unassisted) 19:42.

SHOTS: Denver 8-8-8--24, St. Cloud State 8-8-6--22.
SAVES: Adam Berkhoel (DEN) 6-7-3--16, Jason Montgomery (SCSU) 6-7-7--20.
POWER PLAY: Denver 2-6, St. Cloud State 2-6. Referee: Tom Goddard.
Assistants: J.B. Olson, Bill Vollbrecht.

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