Drummond's Early Christmas Gift Saves Pioneers

Dec. 18, 2004

DULUTH, Minn. - Jeff Drummond's second game-winning goal of the season 15 seconds into overtime put the cap on a furious Denver rally late in the game and helped the Pioneers to their sixth win in seven games with a 5-4 victory Saturday night in front of 5,053 fans at the DECC. The Pioneers improve to 11-5-1 overall on the season, 8-3-1 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). Minnesota Duluth drops to 8-9-3, 6-7-1.

Denver got the scoring going in the first period when sophomore Ryan Helgason (Woodbury, Minn.) took a pass from Adrian Veideman (Sicamous, B.C.) and wristed a shot from the left circle that beat Bulldog goaltender Josh Johnson glove-side. Johnson was late in reacting to Helgason's shot and the puck was in the back of the net before he got his glove around. It was 16th time in 20 games that Minnesota-Duluth has surrendered the first goal of the game.

For the second consecutive night, the second period was not good for the Pioneers. Minnesota-Duluth outshot the Pioneers 14-5 in the stanza and scored three goals, including Luke Stauffacher's second tally of the series with just 29 seconds remaining. Despite having two power play opportunities, UMD kept the puck in the Pioneer zone for much of the period and capitalized on several scoring chances against goaltender Peter Mannino (Farmington Hills, Mich.).

The Pioneers came out determined in the third period and took advantage of an early UMD penalty to cut into the lead. After an interference call on Bulldog defenseman Travis Gawryletz, sophomore Matt Carle (Anchorage, Alaska) got Denver back in the game with a slap shot from the left point that found its way through the Bulldog defense. But the Pioneers weren't done.

Just over four minutes later, the Pioneers scored two goals in a 28 second span to take an improbable lead. Sophomore Mike Handza (Glenshaw, Pa.) tied the game up with his fifth goal of the season at 6:54 and just under 30 seconds later, senior Luke Fulghum (Colorado Springs, Colo.) scored his third goal of the series when he put a rebound in off a shot from Ryan Dingle (Steamboat Springs, Colo.). But UMD's Evan Schwabe tied the game with 3:53 left, setting up Drummond's heroics.

Denver's penalty kill was again stellar as the Pioneers held UMD without a goal in seven chances. The Pioneers won on Saturday night for the eighth consecutive time and finished the month of December with a 3-0-1 record.

The Pioneers are now on holiday break until Saturday, Jan. 1 when they host the Wells Fargo Denver Cup in Magness Arena. Following a Colgate/Northeastern matchup at 4:05 p.m., Denver will play host to Air Force at 7:05 p.m.

Game Summary
First Period
1. DU - Ryan Helgason 2 (Adrian Veideman 6) 13:04
Second Period
2. UMD - Marco Peluso 12 (Evan Schwabe 15) 3:27
3. UMD - Steve Czech 3 (Jay Rosehill 3, Tim Stapleton 10) 9:49
4. UMD - Luke Stauffacher 4 (Brett Hammond 8) 19:31
Third Period
5. DU - Matt Carle 6 (Luke Fulghum 6, Brett Skinner 15) PP 2:47
6. DU - Mike Handza 3 (Helgason 2, Veideman 7) 6:54
8. DU - Fulghum 9 (Ryan Dingle 6, Skinner 16) 7:22
9. UMD - Evan Schwabe 15 (Bryan McGregor 4, Todd Smith 5) 16:07
Overtime
10. DU - Jeff Drummond 8 (Skinner 16, Kevin Ulanski 9) 0:15
Scoring		1-2-3-OT--F
#7 Denver	1-0-3-1--5
Minnesota Duluth	0-3-1-0--4
Shots on Goal: DU (16-5-15-2--38), UMD (9-14-15-0--38);
Saves: DU - Mannino (9-11-14-0--34), UMD - Johnson (15-5-1--21), Reichmuth (0-0-11-1--12);
Penalties: DU 8-16, UMD 7-14;
Power Plays: DU 1-6, UMD 0-7.
Referee: Derek Shepherd. Assistants: Joe Romano, Brad Shepherd. Attendance: 5,053.

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