COLORADO SPRINGS All-America goaltender Richard Bachman stopped 40 shots and junior Andreas Vlassopoulos had a goal and an assist to lead top-ranked Colorado College to a 3-2 victory over No. 4 Denver before 7,661 fans in Sunday hockey action at World Arena.

 

Bachman stopped 84 of 88 shots in the series as CC improves to 5-0-3 overall and 3-0-1 in the WCHA. Tyler Bozak (Regina, Saskatchewan) and Tyler Ruegsegger (Lakewood, Colo.) tallied DU’s goals as the Pioneers fall to 4-2-1, 2-1-1.

 

“Give CC credit because they took advantage of our lapses tonight,” DU head coach George Gwozdecky said. “Richard Bachman was outstanding this weekend. We need to improve our mental approach, especially at the start of the game. We are working hard, but are not capitalizing on our chances as much as we need.”

 

The Tigers jumped to a 2-0 lead and led 3-1 until a late power-play goal in the final period by Ruegsegger. DU pulled Marc Cheverie (Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia) for the remaining 75 seconds, but couldn’t tally the equalizer.

 

CC struck first at 6:40 of the opening stanza on a power-play goal by fifth-year senior Scott McCulloch. Vlassopoulos made it 2-0 by beating Cheverie (17 saves) stick side with 42 seconds left in the period. DU’s best chance of solving Bachman in the period came at 11:23 when Patrick Wiercioch (Maple Ridge, British Columbia) hit the left post.

 

DU hit two pipes on an early power-play in the second, but Bozak finally put the Pioneers on the board at the 7-minute mark when he scooped up his own rebound from the low slot. Patrick Mullen (Pittsburgh, Pa.) earned the first of his two assists on the play. CC regained its two-goal lead when Ryan Lowery scored on a 3-on-1 advantage at 13:53.

 

The Pioneers outshot the Tigers, 42-20, but went 1-for-10 on the power play. DU finished the weekend just 1-for-19 with the man-advantage. CC went 1-for-7 on the power play.

 

DU hosts Minnesota Duluth (4-1-2, 1-1-1) in WCHA action on Nov. 7-8.

 

Notes: Bozak leads DU with 11 points, while Mullen has 10. Freshman Luke Salazar was held pointless for the first time this season. DU must sweep CC in the second half of the season to regain possession of the Gold Pan Trophy. DU is 0-2-1 in its last three games after starting the season 4-0. The Pioneers are tied for third in the WCHA with Alaska Anchorage.