Box Score

DENVER – No. 9/10 Denver bounced back from last night’s loss with an all-around effort in a 5-3 win over No. 12/14 North Dakota in front of a sellout crowd of 6,168 on Senior Night Saturday at Magness Arena.  

Chris Knowlton (Colorado Springs, Colo.) scored shorthanded and on the power play, and Nick Shore (Denver, Colo.), Jason Zucker (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Scott Mayfield (St. Louis, Mo.) each added a goal for Denver. Freshman Juho Olkinuora's (Helsinki, Finland) 27 saves gave the Pioneers a lift in net.

Denver improves to 19-11-4, 14-8-4 WCHA, and clinches home ice in the first round of the WCHA Playoffs for the ninth straight year. The Fighting Sioux fall to 18-12-3, 14-11-1 WCHA with the loss.

“I’m pleased by how we responded, we played harder,” DU head coach George Gwozdecky said. “Jussi played extremely well, he made two or three critical saves early on. Our penalty kill was outstanding, and certainly goaltending is a part of that. The game-turning goal was the effort by Chris Knowlton, which changed the momentum.”

After a scoreless first period, Nick Shore beat UND netminder Brad Eidsness (19 saves) top shelf to give Denver a 1-0 lead at 9:23 of the middle stanza. Drew Shore (Denver, Colo.) picked up the puck at the left faceoff dot and found his brother open on the back door.  Joey LaLeggia (Burnaby, British Columbia) also picked up an assist.

Carter Rowney tied the game at 1-1 at 12:24 of the second beating a sprawling Olkinuora glove side.

Knowlton regained the Denver lead with a shorthanded goal to make it 2-1 at 13:34. He stole the puck at the blueline, beat two North Dakota defenders through the neutral zone, and beat Eidsness high to the glove side.

Zucker made it 3-1 at 15:30 of the second with a power-play goal from the Shore brothers. Brock Nelson cut the lead to 3-2 with a Sioux goal just seven seconds later.   

Mayfield netted a power-play goal to make it 4-2 at 17:57. LaLeggia and Nick Shore recorded the assists.

Knowlton added a power-play goal at 17:35 of the third period for a 5-2 Denver lead and Nelson scored shorthanded 52 seconds later to make it 5-3.

Denver outshot North Dakota 36-30 and went 3-for-7 on the man-advantage. Denver’s penalty kill unit came up big, killing 3-of-3 UND power plays including two five-minute majors.  

The Pioneers close out the regular season at Nebraska Omaha on Friday-Saturday, March 2-3.

Tickets for the first round of the WCHA Playoffs are on sale now, starting as low as $18. Fans can order online at www.DenverPioneers.com/tickets, by calling 303-871-2336 or in person at the Ritchie Center Box Office. DU Season Ticket Holders can call the Season Ticket Holder Hotline at 303-871-GOAL (4625) to order their tickets.

Notes: DU is 12^th in the latest PairWise Rankings. The Pioneers remain third in the WCHA standings with 32 points. Nick Shore has recorded nine points (4g, 5a) during his five-game point streak.