DENVER – The No. 5 Denver Pioneers hockey team scored three second-period goals and received a second consecutive shutout from goaltender Magnus Chrona to win 5-0 against the Colorado College Tigers on Friday night at Magness Arena.
 
After stopping 31 shots in Sunday's 4-0 win over Omaha, Chrona had a much different night versus CC as he only had to make 19 saves. It is the first time in his career that he's posted consecutive clean sheets and now has a shutout streak of 123:16, the longest of the season for the Pioneers.
 
Brett Stapley, Ryan Barrow and Carter Mazur each had a goal and an assist for Denver, and Cole Guttman and Cameron Wright scored power-player markers versus the Tigers. Defenseman Mike Benning added a pair of assists.
 
Denver went 2-for-3 on the power play and capitalized on its first chance of the night as Guttman scored on his own rebound just 3:20 into the game. The Pios took advantage of more rebounds in the middle frame as they tallied three times, including twice in 3:12 late in the period with Barrow and Wright finding twine.
 
"For whatever reason the second period has kind of been our period this season," said Barrow. "We have four good lines that pin teams in and you get that close change and you kind of keep up that momentum, so I think that's what did it for us here."
 
Mazur made it a 5-0 game 5:21 into the third stanza, with Justin Lee and Bobby Brink picking up assists. Mazur is now on a three-game point streak (2g/4a) and has nine goals and 12 assists in his past 13 contests. Brink extended his own point streak to five outings on the play and has also produced 21 points (5g/15a) in the past 13 outings dating back to Nov. 12 vs. Western Michigan.
 
DU outshot Colorado College 40-19, the 11th time the team has recorded 40 or more shots in a contest and the fifth time that the Pios have held an opponent to 20 or fewer shots against this season.
 
Friday's game marked the 329th all-time meeting between the two teams, tied for the most between opponents in college hockey history. It was also the start of the yearly Battle for the Gold Pan series, with Denver looking to hold onto the trophy for a third straight year.
 
Since the Pioneers are currently in possession of the hardware, they can retain the trophy for a third consecutive year with a victory on Saturday at Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs. It will be Denver's first-ever trip to CC's new home and the start of three-straight road contests.
 
Friday marked the end of a season-long, five-game homestand for Denver (4-0-1), which improved to 11-0-1 at home—now tied for the third longest unbeaten streak to begin a season on home ice in program history.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES
·       DU is now 187-121-21 overall and 107-54-11 at home in its all-time series versus Colorado College.
·       Denver (11-0-1) and UMass-Lowell (7-0-3) are now the only teams in the country to remain unbeaten at home this season.
·       Sean Behrens has three straight games with assists.
·       Denver only allowed three shots on goal in the first period, tied for a season low.
·       Brett Stapley has four goals in the last five games.
·       Mike Benning set a new single-season career best with nine assists
·       Magnus Chrona has posted back-to-back shutouts, the first goalie to record such a feat since Filip Larsson during the 2019 NCAA Tournament first and second rounds.
·       It was the first consecutive shutouts at home since Tanner Jaillet on Jan. 19-20, 2018 vs. Omaha. 19th and 20th.
·       The Pioneers had 11 different players register a point.
 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
3:20 DU (1-0) – PPG, After his initial shot was block, Cole Guttman collected his own rebound and scored from the slot.
 
2nd Period
5:13 DU (2-0) – Brett Stapley redirected Ryan Barrow's shot from the blue line while skating through the slot.
12:43 DU (3-0) – Brett Stapley sent a centering pass and Ryan Barrow knocked the puck in from the low slot.
15:54 DU (4-0) – PPG, Cameron Wright scored on a rebound after Mike Benning's slap shot from the blue line was initially stopped.
 
3rd Period
5:12 DU (5-0) – Carter Mazur buried a rebound off a shot by Justin Lee in the slot.
 
 
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