DENVER – The No. 8 University of Denver hockey team defeated the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks 7-2 in a rare New Year's Eve contest on Friday night at Magness Arena.
 
Junior Bobby Brink had a career-high four points (one goal, three assists) to lead the Pioneers, while fifth-year senior Cameron Wright recorded his first three-goal game at DU and senior Cole Guttman registered three assists in the victory. Denver (12-5-0, 5-3-0 NCHC) remains undefeated on home ice this season at 8-0-0, tied for the third-best home start in program history (1958-59 also went 8-0-0).
 
Justin Lee, Brett Stapley and McKade Webster also had multi-point outings with a goal and an assist each. Goaltender Magnus Chrona stopped 18-of-20 shots as he started for the 11th consecutive game.
 
"I think that the sky's the limit for this group, and I still don't think we're there yet," Richard and Kitzia Goodman Head Coach David Carle said. "We've got room to grow, and we'll continue to do that."
 
The Pioneers were playing on New Year's Eve for just the seventh time in program history and improve to 4-2-1 all-time on the date. Friday's contest was Denver's first since Dec. 11 when it closed out a series at Minnesota Duluth and it was its first at home since defeating Miami 7-1 on Nov. 20.
 
Denver led 2-0 after the first period with Wright and Lee finding the back of the net, and then the squad doubled its advantage in the second frame on perfectly-placed pucks off shots from Stapley and Webster in a span of 46 seconds in the middle of the stanza.
 
Brady Risk ended the Pios' run at 11:59 of the second for Alaska Fairbanks (4-13-0), but Denver continued to stretch its lead in the final regulation period. The Pioneers received another pair of quick strikes as Wright and Brink hit twine at 7:58 and 9:07, respectively, and Wright completed the hat trick with 1:43 remaining on a one-time snap shot off a pass by Guttman.
 
The victory marked the fifth time this season that DU scored seven or more goals in a game, the first time the program has accomplished the feat since also having five such contests in the 2002-03 campaign.
 
Denver went 2-for-6 on the power play, while Alaska was 1-for-3.
 
The teams wrap up their series on Saturday in a New Year's Day affair at 6 p.m. MT. It will be the final non-conference game of the season for the Pioneers.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Denver picked up its first New Year's Eve win since 2011 (7-1 win at Air Force) and improved to 4-2-1 all-time on the date.
• DU is now to 9-2-1 in the all-time series against Alaska Fairbanks and is unbeaten in the last five contests (4-0-1).
• Cameron Wright's first goal at 0:30 of the first period was the fastest by a Pioneer to begin a game this season.
• Cameron Wright scored his 60th career collegiate goal, his second of the game during the third period.
• Wright's hat trick was the second of his collegiate career and first as a Pioneer. He scored four goals at Miami on Oct. 6, 2019 while a member of Bowling Green.
• It was the third hat trick of the season for Denver (Carter Savoie, Oct. 16 vs. Air Force; Brett Stapley, Dec. 3 at Arizona State).
• Bobby Brink's three assists and four points were both a new career high for a single game.
• Brink extended his career-best assist total to 18 and now leads the team with 25 points.
• Second time this season that the Pioneers had multiple players with three assists in a game (Oct. 16 vs. Air Force: Sean Behrens, Cole Guttman, Carter Savoie).
• Second three-assist game of the season for Cole Guttman and his third three-point game of the campaign.
• Antti Tuomisto and Cameron Wright both finished with plus-4 ratings, tied for the highest by Pioneer players this year (three times previously).
• Bobby Brink had three of his points in the third period, the fourth time this year that DU player has recorded that many in a single frame
• Carter Mazur stretched his career-long point streak to nine games (7g/8a) with an assist in the outing. He is also on a five-game assist streak (6a), the longest of his career.
• The Pios have now recorded 30 or more shots on goal in 12 games this season and 40 or more shots in nine contests
• Denver has held opponents to 30 shots on goal or less in 14 games this season and 25 or less shots in 10 outings this season.

 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
0:30 DU (1-0) – Cameron Wright opened the scoring with a wrister from the right circle after Cole Guttman forced a turnover in the corner and Bobby Brink fed over the puck from between his legs.
11:47 DU (2-0) – Carter King delivered a cross-ice pass to Justin Lee, who stickhandled and then scored far-side from the top of the left circle.
 
2nd Period
7:30 DU (3-0) – PPG, Brett Stapley spun his way into space at the low left side before depositing the puck short-side past the Alaska netminder.
8:16 DU (4-0) – McKade Webster took a pass from Carter King in the neutral zone, split two Nanooks defenders before tallying on the rush.
11:59 UAF (4-1) – PPG, Brady Risk's shot from the right side got through Magnus Chrona and trickled across the goal line before the Pioneers could stop it.
 
3rd Period
7:58 DU (5-1) – Cameron Wright took a pass from Brett Stapley and tallied on a shot while all alone in the low slot.
9:07 DU (6-1) – PPG, After Carter Mazur's shot rang off the iron, Bobby Brink stuffed the rebound into from the edge of the blue paint.
18:17 DU (7-1) – Cameron Wright completed the hat trick with a snap shot off a pass from Cole Guttman at the left circle.
19:43 UAF (7-2) – Matt Koethe scored on a backhander during a breakaway in the closing seconds.
 
 
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