Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.  – The No. 2 Denver Pioneers (3-0-0, 0-0-0-0) scored late in the second period and twice in the third to erase an early deficit and top the Lake Superior State Lakers (2-1-0, 0-0-0-0) 3-1 on Friday at the Taffy Abel Arena in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
 
For the second straight game, Ian Mitchell started the scoring for the Pioneers and a shorthanded goal played a crucial role in their victory. Mitchell's goal at 18:20 of the second period tied it 1-1 and Jaakko Heikkinen burying the rebound from Jake Durflinger's shot with 1:04 remaining was shorthanded insurance for the non-conference win.
 
"The first period was a little vanilla – kind of back-and-forth with not much going on," Richard and Kitzia Goodman Head Coach David Carle said. "In the second I didn't really like our first eight or nine minutes, then we got a power play and I thought our guys did a really good job and generated some momentum."
 
After falling behind to a shorthanded goal at 12:02 of the first period, the Pioneers' power play brought the offense in the second period, peppering Mareks Mitens on the man advantage and tying the game only 14 seconds after their fourth power play of the game. Streaking into the slot, Mitchell caught a pass from Emilio Pettersen and rifled a shot over the glove of Mittens for his second goal in as many games.
 
The Pioneers continued their pressure in the third period, taking the lead at 7:15 when Cole Guttman dropped a pass for Bobby Brink, who sold a shot before sliding a pass to the back door for Emilio Pettersen. Lake Superior State was unable to solve Magnus Chrona after the first period despite doubling their shot total in the third. The Lakers' went scoreless on a pair of power plays in the final 10 minutes, bringing Chrona's save total to 23 in his second straight win.
 
"For the first time playing a team like that, that plays a little bit of that chaotic, helter-skelter game at times, I thought we handled it really well with some poise and calmness," Carle said. 
 
Denver finished 0/5 on the power play and 3/3 on the penalty kill…Bobby Brink had two assists…Ian Mitchell has goals in back-to-back games…The Pioneers improved to 14/14 on the penalty kill with two shorthanded goals…
 
UP NEXT:
Denver will close their series with Lake Superior State on Saturday, Oct. 12 before returning to Magness Arena for their first home series of the season on Oct. 18-19 vs. Boston College.
 
2019-20 SEASON TICKETS:
Season tickets for the 2019-20 season are on sale now, and can be purc­­­hased here. Check out the complete 2019-20 schedule here. 
 
SHOP PIONEERS:
Get dressed for Game Day! Get your Pioneers gear at ShopPioneers.com, the official online store of University of Denver Athletics.
 
OUR JOURNEY:
Fans interested in making a donation to the men's hockey program can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.   

-OUR JOURNEY, OUR TIME- 
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 17 of DU's NCAA Division I sports
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Hockey on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_Hockey on Twitter
Follow @DenverPioneers and @DU_Hockey on Instagram