DENVER The No. 1 University of Minnesota Gophers (7-0-4, 6-0-3 WCHA) received a pair of goals and an assist from freshman Jordan Schroeder and a goal and two helpers from captain Ryan Stoa to earn a 5-2 win over the No. 10 University of Denver Pioneers (6-5-1, 4-4-1 WCHA) tonight before 5,849 fans at Magness Arena.

 

Tyler Bozak (Regina, Saskatchewan) and Brian Gifford (Moorhead, Minn.) had a goal apiece for the Pioneers.

 

“I’m concerned about some of the things happening with our team. There certainly is a different sense within the locker room,” Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said. “We haven’t been the same team over the last three games that we were a couple weeks ago.”

 

Schroeder was the lone goal-scorer in the opening period, recording his fifth tally of the season at 12:26. Schroeder’s blast from the right faceoff dot beat DU netminder Marc Cheverie (Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia) high to the far side.

 

The Gophers sandwiched a pair of goals around a DU tally in the second period to take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.

 

Jay Barriball took advantage of a Pioneer miscue and deposited a backhand past Cheverie (17 saves) at 5:46. Bozak then struck for the Pioneers at 8:32, ripping a slap shot past Minnesota netminder Alex Kangas (25 saves) from the right faceoff circle.

 

Schroeder answered back for the Gophers by tallying his second goal of the game off a Stoa feed with 1:19 left in the stanza.

 

Minnesota extended its lead to 5-1 in the third period with goals from Mike Carman and Stoa at 7:42 and 12:04, respectively, while Gifford notched his first goal of the season at 12:21 to round out the scoring.

 

DU sophomore netminder Lars Paulgaard (Vettre, Norway) replaced Cheverie after Minnesota’s fifth goal, stopping one shot in 7:56 of action.

 

The teams will finish up their weekend set tomorrow night at Magness Arena, with puck drop set for 7:07 p.m.

 

Notes: The Pioneers are now 5-2-1 against ranked opponents and 6-2-1 at Magness Arena this season...DU was 4-0-1 against the Gophers last season, while the teams split their only two meetings during the 2006-07 campaign (which also came when Minnesota was the No. 1 team in the nation)...Bozak’s goal was his eighth in six career games against the Gophers...Prior to the game, a moment of silence was observed for long-time WCHA Off-Ice Official Jim White...White passed away earlier this season after more than 30 years of service to hockey.