Box Score GREEN BAY, Wis. - The University of Denver suffered a 2-1 season-ending loss to Ferris State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis. The Pioneers finish the season 25-14-4 after making their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
Sam Brittain (Calgary, Alberta) had 32 saves for the Pioneers and Drew Shore (Denver, Colo.) registered Denver's lone goal.
Jordie Johnston and Simon Denis scored for the Bulldogs and Taylor Nelson made 25 saves for FSU (24-11-5).
"I want to congratulate the Ferris State University Bulldogs. They played a very good game, took advantage of our miscues and their goaltender was really good," DU head coach George Gwozdecky said. "Sam Brittain really kept us in there. He did a terrific job in goal for us. You have to be a little lucky at this time of year to be healthy, and this team has battled through a lot of challenges this year, including a lot of lengthy injuries. I'm really proud of our team. Sometimes it just doesn't work out."
After a scoreless first period, Johnston gave Ferris State a 1-0 lead at 4:30 of the middle stanza. Denis made it 2-0 at 2:54 of the final frame with his first career goal.
Drew Shore put the Pioneers on the board at 5:22 of the final period to make it 2-1. Shore accepted a pass from Luke Salazar (Thornton, Colo.), shifted the puck to his backhand and beat Nelson top shelf. John Ryder (Colorado Springs, Colo.) earned the other assist.
Junior Chris Knowlton (Colorado Springs, Colo.), sophomore Jason Zucker (Las Vegas) and freshman Josiah Didier (Littleton, Colo.) played today despite significant injuries. Zucker had a team-high seven shots on goal.
Ferris State outshot Denver 34-26 and went 0-for-3 on the power play. The Pioneers went 0-for-4 on the man-advantage.
The game marked the end to the careers of Nate Dewhurst (Johnston, Iowa), John Lee (Moorhead, Minn.), Dustin Jackson (Omaha, Neb.), student assistant coach David Carle (Anchorage, Alaska), Ryder and Salazar. The senior class was the second in school history to participate in four NCAA tournaments and the 10th to post 100 career wins.
Notes: This season marks the Pioneers 11th consecutive 20-win season. Drew Shore led Denver in scoring with a career-high 53 points.
