DENVER – The No. 4 Denver Pioneers hockey team continued to find different ways to win games as they posted a 2-0 shutout of the No. 7 St. Cloud State Huskies on Saturday night at Magness Arena, stretching their winning streak to a season-long eight games.
 
Junior goaltender Magnus Chrona stopped all 22 shots he faced to post his fifth shutout of the season, and freshman Carter King scored the first goal of his collegiate career to keep the Pioneers (20-5-1, 12-3-0 NCHC) unbeaten on at Magness Arena this season. Denver is the only team in the country that hasn't lost on home ice, sporting a 13-0-1 record.
 
"I liked all four of our lines, all six of our defensemen. To single out a line, I don't know if that does anybody justice. I thought it was a real team effort with our angling," said Richard and Kitzia Goodman Head Coach David Carle. "Our ability to come back in our own end and defend, everyone had to do it. It was great to win a low scoring hockey game at home, not something we've had to do yet this year. Doing it differently than last night, it's a great sign we can win in different ways and we've really shown that the last eight to 10 games."
 
Senior Cole Guttman also found the back of the net for the Pioneers, as he buried a wrist shot from the left circle with four seconds remaining on a 5-on-3 power play and with 3:51 left to play. The two-man advantage was the result of a major penalty called on Brendan Bushy for boarding junior Bobby Brink at 16:35.
 
While shaken up after the collision into the boards, Brink was able to leave the ice on his own and later got a bit of redemption by setting up Guttman's goal with the primary assist, stretching his career-long point streak to 10 games (3g/17a). Freshman defenseman Sean Behrens also assisted on Guttman's 13th tally of the year to push his own personal-best point streak to seven contests (2g/7a).
 
After the teams combined for 12 goals on Friday night, Saturday's outing was more of a goaltending duel between Chrona and Huskies netminder David Hrenak, who finished with 34 saves. Denver outshot St. Cloud 9-5 in the first frame and had another seven pucks blocked, but the squad was finally able to break through early in the middle frame.
 
King's first career goal came just 2:49 into the second period as he quickly tallied on a wrist shot from the right side after his initial shot was stopped by Hrenak. The puck rebounded right to his stick while he had a gaping net to shoot at, and he was soon stormed by his teammate on the ice.
 
Led by Chrona, Denver's defense did the rest to keep the Pios in front for their 20th victory of the season, the first NCHC squad and fifth team nationally to reach the mark. Denver has reached 20 wins in each of the last 20 full seasons.
 
Chrona has now posted clean sheets in four of his last seven games and owns eight shutouts in his career, tied with Wade Dubielewicz for the sixth-most in school history.
 
Saturday was the final meeting of the regular season between DU and St. Cloud State, as the Huskies (14-9-1, 6-7-1 NCHC) are one of two teams that the Pioneers will only play twice this year during conference player
 
Denver takes on No. 6 Minnesota Duluth next weekend at Magness Arena in a two-game set to wrap up a four-game homestand. The Pioneers and Bulldogs split their series up in Minnesota on Dec. 10-11.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Denver improved to 55-49-6 all-time and 32-24-2 at home when facing the Huskies.
• DU extended its season home unbeaten streak to 14 games (13-0-1).
• Cameron Wright played in his 170th collegiate game.
• The Pioneers have now outscored opponents in the second period by a 52-15 margin
• Connor Caponi recorded his first assist of the season.
• Bobby Brink has an assist in 17 of his last 18 games.
• Cole Guttman has a point in five of the last six games.
• Sean Behrens picked up his 25th point of the season.
• Bobby Brink's career-long 10-game assist/point streak is the longest of the season by a Pioneer, surpassing Carter Mazur's nine-game run from Nov. 12-Dec. 31. Prior to this season, the previous nine-game point streak by a Denver player came from Jarid Lukosevicius during the 2018-19 campaign.
• The Pioneers have allowed 25 shots or less in six straight games.

 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
No Scoring
 
2nd Period
2:49 DU (1-0) – After his initial shot was stopped, Carter King took the rebound and wristed the puck into an open net while the St. Cloud goalie was sprawled on the ice.
 
3rd Period
16:09 DU (2-0) – PPG, Cole Guttman took a pass from Bobby Brink and tallied from the left circle during a 5-on-3 power play.
 
 
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