Dec. 30, 2006

Box Score

DENVER - The No. 10 Denver Pioneers rode the stellar goaltending of senior Glenn Fisher (Edmonton, Alberta) and used a big play from freshman Rhett Rakhshani (Huntington Beach, Calif.) to defeat UMass Lowell 2-1 and capture the 15th annual Wells Fargo Denver Cup. Fisher stopped 36 shots and Rakhshani set up the game-winning goal as the Pioneers remain unbeaten in their last six games (5-0-1) and improve to 14-6-2 overall. UMass Lowell falls to 3-11-5.

"It wasn't pretty, but we got the job done," DU head coach George Gwozdecky said. "Glenn has been terrific all season and he turned in another strong performance tonight. Rhett has a knack for making big plays and he delivered tonight. We're looking forward to a big series against Wisconsin next weekend."

Junior Tom May (Eagan, Minn.) staked DU to a 1-0 lead at 6:18 of the second period. May ripped a blast from the high slot past UMass Lowell goaltender Carter Hutton for his first goal of the season. The Pioneers held the 1-0 lead until Rakhshani's heroics in the third period. Rakhshani gloved an UMass Lowell clearing attempt at the River Hawks' blueline and ripped a twirling shot that produced a rebound for Geoff Paukovich (Englewood, Colo.) to push past Hutton for a 2-0 lead at 12:43.

UMass Lowell pulled Hutton and deflated Fisher's hopes of a shutout when Frank Stegnar scored at 19:55. UMass Lowell outshot DU 37-23 and went 0-4 on the power play. The Pioneers went 0-for-2 with the man-advantage.

The Pioneers earned their 12th Wells Fargo Denver Cup championship and placed four members on the All-Tournament team. Rakhshani earned MVP honors and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Brock Trotter (Brandon, Manitoba), Chris Butler (St. Louis, Mo.) and Paukovich. Mercyhurst goaltender Jordan Wakefield and UMass Lowell's Jeremy Dehner were also named to the six-member All-Tournament team.

DU returns to WCHA action Jan. 5-6 with a two-game home series against Wisconsin.

Notes: Brown captured third place of the Wells Fargo Denver Cup with a 3-2 overtime win over Mercyhurst earlier this evening. The Pioneers extended their regular-season sellout streak to 45 games with a crowd of 6,035. Glenn Fisher and Peter Mannino have held opponents to three goals or less in 18 of the last 19 games.