Matt Glasser (Edmonton, Alberta) tallied his first career hat trick as No. 5/6 Denver completed its two-game sweep of No. 14 Minnesota State with a 5-2 win in WCHA action tonight at Alltel Center. The Pioneers improve to 13-5-1 overall and remain in first place in the WCHA with a 9-4-1 record. The Mavericks fall to 8-7-3 and 5-7-2 with their fourth consecutive loss.
Jesse Martin (Edmonton, Alberta) and Luke Salazar (Thornton, Colo.) also scored for the Pioneers, who have outscored their opponents 34-7 during their seven-game winning streak. DU also registered its first sweep in Mankato since Dec. 14-15, 2001.
“Our defensemen were tremendous, and obviously, Matt Glasser was a one-man show out there,” DU head coach George Gwozdecky said. “We have really improved after battling some adversity earlier this season. Our guys gave themselves a nice holiday present with this two-game road sweep.”
DU jumped to a 2-0 lead after a dominant first period. The Pioneers outshot the Mavericks 15-4 and Glasser and Martin both converted from the low slot.
Minnesota State cut the lead to 2-1 just 17 seconds into the second stanza on an Adam Mueller breakaway tally. The Mavericks tied the game at 2-2 with a Mike Louwerse power-play score at 8:06. However, Denver settled down and regained the lead on Glasser’s second backhanded goal of the game at 19:05.
DU rode the momentum of Glasser’s second period goal by tallying two goals in the third en route to the 5-2 win. Glasser completed his hat trick with a quick wrist shot at 1:12 and Salazar completed the scoring with his team-leading 11th goal at 7:41.
The Pioneers outshot the Mavericks, 33-23, but were held scoreless in nine power-play attempts. Minnesota State finished 1-for-5 with the man-advantage.
DU returns to action at the Wells Fargo Denver Cup on Jan. 2-3. Boston University, Holy Cross and RPI join DU in the four-team field.
Notes: DU has tallied the first goal in its last seven games and is 11-1 when scoring first. Jesse Martin has five goals in his last four games and 5-3--8 during his five-game point streak. Leading scorer Anthony Maiani (6-1925) increased his scoring streak to eight games with an assist. DU standout Tyler Bozak missed his first career game after suffering a knee injury in the second period of last night’s 3-2 win.
