Jan. 21, 2005
Box Score
ST. CLOUD, Minn. - Five different Pioneers scored and goaltender Glenn Fisher (Edmonton, Alberta) stopped 29 shots as the sixth-ranked Pioneers rolled past St. Cloud State 5-2 in WCHA action tonight at the National Hockey Center. Matt Carle (Anchorage, Alaska) led the way with one goal and two assists, while Jussi Halme (Nokia, Finland), Gabe Gauthier (Buena Park, Calif.) and Paul Stastny (St. Louis, Mo.) added one goal and one assist each as Denver improves to 15-6-1 overall and 10-4-1 in league play. St. Cloud State falls to 9-14-2, 5-12-0.
The Pioneers, playing on Olympic-sized ice for the first time since Nov. 12 (at Colorado College), started slowly but shook off the rust in the second and third periods to stay unbeaten at 4-0-1 in their last five road games. The Pioneers were held to a season-low 14 shots, but converted five for goals.
"We were a half a step slow on many aspects of our game tonight, but we got the lead and battled hard to keep it," head coach George Gwozdecky said. "St. Cloud played very well, but (Glenn) Fisher turned in a veteran performance in net for us."
The Pioneers were outplayed in the first period, but held a 2-1 lead after getting both goals from defensemen. Carle's ninth goal of the season whizzed past SCSU goaltender Tim Boron at 4:22 and Halme's second goal of the season ended the night for Boron more than two minutes later. Jason Montgomery took over for Boron and the Huskies cut the lead on to one goal on a one-timer from Justin Fletcher on the power play at 9:47.
Denver was held to four shots in the second stanza, but converted two to make the score 4-1. Ryan Helgason (Woodbury, Minn.) lit the lamp at 12:06 and Gauthier scored his 12th goal 47 seconds later. Fisher played a strong period in net and saved all 13 SCSU shots.
Stastny stung Montgomery top shelf on the power play at 2:42 of the third to make the score 5-1. The Huskies scored their second goal of the night with 41 seconds remaining. SCSU outshot the Pioneers, 31-14, but Fisher slammed the door with nine more saves in the third for his seventh win of the season. Both teams converted one power-play goal in the game.
Denver and St. Cloud State will conclude their two-game series tomorrow night. Puck drop is set for 6:07 p.m. MT. The game can be heard live on KKFN AM 950 "The Fan" with the pregame show beginning at 5:50 p.m. MT.
