DENVER – Senior defenseman Kyle Mayhew scored the eventual game-winning goal early in the third period and the No. 2 Denver Pioneers hockey team held off the No. 4 St. Cloud States Huskies 3-2 on Saturday night at Magness Arena.
 
The victory gave Denver (7-3-0, 3-1-0 NCHC) a weekend split in the top-five, nationally-ranked series between NCHC foes. The Pioneers picked up four of a possible six conference points over the two games after St. Cloud State (8-2-0, 1-1-0 NCHC) won 4-3 in overtime on Friday in the series opener.
 
"They are a really good team. They pushed back and they started skating a little bit more," said Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle of the Huskies. "I thought we were outskating them in the first period and in the second it was a little bit more evened out. The last seven or eight minutes they were putting a lot of pressure on us. I thought their intensity on faceoffs in particular was a bit higher than ours, which led to some possession time for them. Ultimately, we found a way in the 5-on-6 (at the end of the game) to win some battles, get pucks out of our zone, and ultimately that was able to ice the game for us. We found a way to win a game tonight that was tight."
 
Mayhew's marker came on the power play, as he buried a shot from the top of the left circle following a scramble in front of the net just 2:43 into the final stanza. The fifth-year senior's first marker of the year made the score 3-1 at the time, and it went on to be his second career game-winning goal.
 
"It was a power play, and I'm usually not out there for those," Mayhew said. "Unfortunately [Sean] Behrens went down (with an injury), so I had to step in a little bit there. [Carter] King made a really nice play out to me; I had an open cage and I found a way."
 
Grant Cruikshank tallied with the man advantage at 10:50 of the third period to cut SCSU's deficit to 3-2, but the Pioneers were able to hold off the Huskies' attack for the remainder of the game.
 
Denver led for nearly the entire night, as the squad scored twice in the first 2:27 of the contest. Senior Casey Dornbach tallied at the 1:13 mark and sophomore Jack Devine netted his own marker 1:24 later.
 
The Pioneers finished 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Huskies tallied twice on five man-up opportunities. Jami Krannila also scored with the man advantage at 8:09 of the second period, which halved Denver's lead to 2-1.
 
DU goaltender Magnus Chrona stopped 28-of-30 shots and 15 in the third period. He has not lost in regulation in the last six games and improved to 6-3-0 on the campaign.
 
St. Cloud State netminder Dominic Basse, the national goaltender of the month for October, stopped 32 shots and suffered his first loss of the season (4-1-0).
 
UP NEXT: Denver now heads back on the road as the team continues NCHC play at North Dakota next Friday and Saturday.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Nine different Pioneers recorded a point in the contest.
• Casey Dornbach (2g/6a) and Massimo Rizzo (4g/10a) extended their respective point streaks to six games.
• McKade Webster returned to the lineup after missing seven games with an upper-body injury and recorded an assist for his second point of the season.
• Mike Benning had an assist and is now on a three-game point streak (1g/3a).
• Justin Lee had a helper and has posted points in consecutive contests.
• Aidan Thompson recorded his first collegiate point with an assist on Kyle Mayhew's goal.
• Denver is halfway through an eight-game stretch where it is only playing conference opponents.

 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
1:13 DU (1-0) – Casey Dornbach scored on a backhand attempt at the top of the crease after Massimo Rizzo's initial shot was stopped in front of the St. Cloud goaltender.
2:37 DU (2-0) – Jack Devine tipped in Justin Lee's shot from the point.
 
2nd Period
8:09 SCSU (2-1) – PPG, Jami Krannila tallied on a one-timer from the right circle.
 
3rd Period
2:53 DU (3-1) – PPG, Kyle Mayhew scored with a wrister from the top of the left circle after Carter King fed him the puck following a scramble in front of the net.
10:50 SCSU (3-2) – PPG, Grant Cruikshank knocked the puck into the cage during a scramble in the crease.
 
 
QUOTABLES
 
Richard and Kitzia Goodman Head Coach David Carle
On senior defenseman Kyle Mayhew's play after Sean Behrens got hurt: "Kyle was excellent in Sean's absence. That was not the only time he made plays after Sean went down. I thought in the 5-on-4 there in the second he made some real nice plays, and in the 5-on-5. It was really good and great for him to be able to excel with that unfortunate opportunity, with how it came about. That's the depth of our team, and it was a nice job by him to step up."
 
On freshman Aidan Thompson's first two games: "I thought he was better tonight than he was last night. I think he was 11-2 or 7-2 on faceoffs. He was snapping them back good. We need that from him. I thought him, Webster and King all getting back to the lineup added some good depth for our forward group."
 
Sophomore Forward Jack Devine
On the team close to finding more offensive consistency: "I think we are trying to add that level of execution and keep getting better, but I am happy that we got the win. Even with not being 100 percent in our execution, we still found a way to win. Just excited that we were able to do that."
 
On St. Cloud State: "I think they are a really good team and after last night we wanted to come out strong. I thought that we did that tonight. Credit to them, they bounced back, and they have a strong goalie, but I am happy that we found a way to win."
 
Senior Defenseman Kyle Mayhew
On a fast start: "It was the opposite of Friday where we were a little out of it off the start. I think they were a little out of it, and we really took advantage. We really harped on our start and how important that was going be. I think coming out that strong really worked them up."
 
On the Pioneers' defense: "I think we really bear downed, it's so hard going five (defensemen) with a game that fast, that hard and that heavy. I loved our accountability, and on the backend that's what it's going to take to win big games."
 

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