DENVER – The No. 7 Denver Pioneers (7-3-1, 3-3-0-0) defeated the No. 9 Providence Friars (7-4-1, 4-2-0) 3-1 on Friday in Magness Arena.
 
The Pioneers scored twice in the third period and Devin Cooley made 39 saves in Denver's first victory against Providence since Dec. 30, 2000.
 
"Five on five I really liked our game," Richard and Kitzia Goodman Head Coach David Carle said. "I thought we continued to skate and attack the game in the third period, which was nice to see."
 
After a scoreless first period, the game opened up in the middle frame. Denver began the second period with a pair of penalties, including Tyson McLellan's five-minute major for charging. The Pioneers successfully killed the penalties before capitalizing an opportunity of their own late in the period.
 
Colin Staub broke the stalemate on the power play at 16:29 of the second frame when Les Lancaster sailed a shot from the point that redirected off Staub, who was standing in front of the net for his first goal of the season. Denver's 1-0 lead held through the second intermission.
 
Providence tied the game on its next power play at 5:04 of the third period when Josh Wilkins found Greg Printz streaking across the goal for a redirect past Devin Cooley. Shortly after, the Pioneers regained their one-goal lead as Jaakko Heikkinen converted with the extra attacker on a delayed penalty. After drawing the penalty, Heikkinen helped Denver maintain possession before moving to the net front for a low-to-high pass from Jarid Lukosevicius for his first goal of the season.
 
Denver extended its lead to 3-1 at 12:25 of the third period with a string of four passes leading to a backdoor tap-in for Tyler Ward's first NCAA goal. Brett Stapley and Slava Demin assisted on the goal.
 
The Pioneers finished 1/5 on the power play and 6/7 on the penalty kill. 

TOGETHER 4 COLORADO TOY DRIVE
The Pioneers have partnered with CBS4 for the Together 4 Colorado Toy Drive to support the Denver community during the holiday season. Beginning Nov. 17, there will be toy drops at every Denver Athletics and Newman Center event thru Dec. 19. Additionally, there will be a Community Shop 'n Drop on Saturday, Dec. 15 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., hosted by the Denver Cheerleading squad at the circle drive on the north side of the Ritchie Center.
 
PIONEER MOVEMENT:
Interested in making a donation to the hockey program? Click Here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence. 

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