GRAND FORKS, N.D. – A trio of freshmen connected for the game-winning goal in the third period to give the No. 2 Denver Pioneers hockey team a 3-2 victory over the No. 12 North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Friday night at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Jared Wright tallied his first career goal on a rebound at 6:33 of the third period off assists from
Lucas Olvestad and
Aidan Thompson to break a 2-2 tie. Stationed in front of the net, the freshman from Burnsville, Minnesota, knocked the puck between the pads of UND goaltender Drew DeRidder and it trickled through the crease and across the goal line. Wright had an assist earlier in the ngiht.
The win was DU's first over North Dakota since Jan. 17, 2021, ending a six-game losing streak in the all-time series. The Pioneers also picked up their first win over the Fighting Hawks at Ralph Engelstad Arena since Dec. 8, 2018, ending a seven-game streak.
Denver (8-3-0, 4-1-0 NCHC) improved to 4-1-0 in conference play this season and has won six of its last seven contests. DU and North Dakota (4-4-2, 1-1-1 NCHC) wrap up their weekend series on Saturday at 5 p.m. MT in Grand Forks.
Thompson also netted his first career goal in the game for the Pioneers, and
Carter King tallied as well. Freshmen defensemen
Kent Anderson and
Lucas Olvestad each recorded assists in the outing for their first collegiate points, and fellow blueliner
Kyle Mayhew registered two assists for a multi-point performance.
Goaltender
Magnus Chrona made 21 saves and now hasn't lost in regulation in the last seven games.
The Fighting Hawks twice knotted the contest after trailing, but the Pioneers responded each time to regain the lead.
King opened the scoring for Denver just 5:09 into the game, while Thompson scored the only marker in the middle frame to give the Pios the 2-1 advantage.
UND tied the outing again just 33 seconds into the third period as Chris Jandric netted a power-play goal, but Wright's first marker six minutes later put the Pioneers back in front. Denver held off the Fighting Hawks' attack for the remainder the stanza, with Chrona making seven saves in the period.
North Dakota outshot DU 23-19 in the game.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Kyle Mayhew had two assists and extended his point streak to a career-long four games (1g/3a). It was his fifth career multi-point game and first since March 4, 2022 at Colorado College (1g/1a).
- Aidan Thompson recorded his first NCAA goal in the second period and added an assist in the third for his first career multi-point outing. He has now picked up points in back-to-back contests.
- Jared Wright recorded his first career goal in the third period after picking up his first point with an assist in the second period.
- Kent Anderson and Lucas Olvestad also registered assists for their first collegiate point.
- Casey Dornbach (2g/6a) and Massimo Rizzo (4g/10a) had their season-long six-game point steaks. Both runs were tied for the longest of their NCAA careers.
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
5:09 DU (1-0) –
Kyle Mayhew chased down the puck on a forecheck, won a battle in the corner before passing it over to
Carter King, who scored with a wrist shot from the slot.
17:01 UND (1-2) – Griffin Ness tapped in a loose puck in the crease after a pass from behind the goal line by Ryan Sidorski.
2nd Period
2:17 DU (2-1) –
Aidan Thompson gathered a bouncing puck in the high slot and scored on a shot that went far-side.
3rd Period
0:33 UND (2-2) –
PPG, Chris Jandric's shot from the blue line found its way through traffic and hit twine.
6:33 DU (3-2) –
Jared Wright swatted at a rebound and the puck trickled through the legs of the North Dakota goalie and across the goal line.
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