Dec. 2, 2005
Box Score
COLORADO SPRINGS - Junior Glenn Fisher (Edmonton, Alberta) stopped 18 shots and Ryan Dingle (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) tallied two goals to lead the No. 15 Denver Pioneers to a 4-2 win over No. 2 Colorado College before 7,613 fans tonight at World Arena.
Co-captain Gabe Gauthier (Buena Park, Calif.) scored the game-winning goal on the power play and co-captain Matt Carle (Anchorage, Alaska) tallied a career-high four assists as DU improves to 7-6-2 overall and 4-3-2 in the WCHA. CC falls to 12-4-1, 6-2-1. DU battled back from a 2-0 deficit to record its four consecutive win over its in-state rivals.
"We didn't play that well the first half of the game," head coach George Gwozdecky said. "Glenn Fisher gave us a great effort and we battled back. We got it going on the power play."
Gauthier's power-play blast from the top of the right circle beat a defenseless Matt Zaba (25 saves) top shelf stick-side at 5:43 of the third stanza. Dingle started DU's comeback at 12:18 of the second period when he tapped in a rebound off a Paul Stastny (St. Louis, Mo.) shot on the power play. Carle earned the second assist on the play with a beautiful cross-ice pass to Stastny. DU took advantage of a 4 minute penalty on CC's Aaron Slattengren near the end of the second period. The penalty wiped out a CC power play and Ryan Helgason (Woodbury, Minn.) tied it for DU with a 4-on-4 goal at 18:53. The goal was Helgason's fourth in the last five games.
DU held CC to just five shots in the third period and Dingle iced the win with an empty net goal with 31 seconds remaining. The two-goal was the second for Dingle this season.
CC led 1-0 after the first period. Chad Rau one-timed a cross-ice pass from Joey Crabb after Tom May (Eagan, Minn.) turned the puck over in DU's zone. DU failed to capitalize on a 5-on-3 advantage for 1 minute, 29 seconds and CC won the shot battle, 7-6, in the period.
Jack Hillen staked CC to a 2-0 lead with a power-play goal at 6:05 of the second stanza. Hillen launched a wrist shot from the top of the left circle that beat Fisher high to the stick side.
Fisher (3-3-2) earned his first win in three tries against the Tigers. The junior has allowed three goals in his last two outings. DU outshot CC, 29-20, and went 2-for-9 on the power play. Stastny added two assists in the win and DU held the nation's leading scorer Brett Sterling pointless. CC finished 1-for-7 on the power play.
The Pioneers played without junior defenseman Adrian Veideman (Sicamous, British Columbia), who underwent successful shoulder surgery last night at Porter Hospital. Veideman separated his left shoulder last week at UMass and developed a staph infection early this week. DU hopes Veideman can return in time for the Wells Fargo Denver Cup on Dec. 30-31.
DU and CC play game two of the series tomorrow night at Magness Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. MT.
