DENVER – The No. 5 University of Denver hockey team defeated the Minot State Beavers 9-3 on Saturday night in a mid-season exhibition at Magness Arena.
 
It was DU's first game in nearly three weeks, as the team was on its holiday break and last played on Dec. 9 at Western Michigan. The Pioneers resume the regular season next Friday and Saturday as they host the Niagara University Purple Eagles Arena in their final non-conference series of the campaign.
 
Four Denver skaters had multi-goal nights as junior Jared Wright, sophomore Aidan Thompson and freshmen Sam Harris and Miko Matikka each tallied twice.
 
Junior defenseman Shai Buium led Denver with four points on one goal and three assists. Junior Jack Devine and freshman Boston Buckberger also had a trio of helpers, and sophomore Kent Anderson recorded a multi-point night as well with two assists.
 
Denver led 2-1 after the first period and added four more tallies to take a 6-1 lead midway through the second. Minot State scored late in the second frame and early in the third to cut the deficit to 6-3, but Wright and Thompson both netted their second markers of the contest in the final stanza to extend the Pioneers' lead once more. Buium finished his four-point night with game's final tally with 4:21 remaining.
 
DU used three different goalies throughout the outing, as junior Matt Davis started and made five saves in the first period, while freshman Freddie Halyk stopped two of the three shots he faced in the second frame. Freshman Paxton Geisel guarded the pipes in the third stanza.
 
Minot State also split its netminders, as Jake Anthony started and finished the game and made 28 saves. Riley Wallace played 17:22 in the second period and stopped nine shots.
 
Sheldin Howard scored two of the Beavers' three goals, while Ryan Monias tallied the other with 1:55 remaining in the second.
 
Denver, which owns a 12-5-1 overall record during the regular season and a 5-3-0 mark in NCHC play, finished with a 46-10 edge in shots on goal.
 
UP NEXT: Denver begins a four-game homestand against Niagara on Jan. 5-6 before returning to NCHC play against St. Cloud State on Jan. 13-14.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Denver was playing its first-ever contest against Minot State, which also marked the third straight season that the Pioneers played an exhibition against an ACHA squad.
• DU improved to 43-25-7 all-time in exhibitions and have now won each of its last eight such outings.
• The game marked the first time that Denver had played an exhibition after having already started the season since Oct. 20, 2001 when it played the U.S. Under-18 Team. The last time the Pioneers played an exhibition this late into the season was a pair of games against the U.S. National Team on Feb. 3 and 23, 1988.
• Freshman Peter LaJoy saw his first game action as a Pioneer.
• Goaltender Matt Davis played for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury on Oct. 27 vs. Augustana.
• With head coach David Carle currently serving in the same role with Team USA at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Sweden, assistant coaches Tavis MacMillan, Dallas Ferguson and Ryan Massa ran Denver's bench

 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
11:42 DU (1-0) – Aidan Thompson hit twine with a wrister that got through traffic in front.
17:05 DU (2-0) – PPG, Sam Harris scored on a rebound in the slot.
19:23 MSU (2-1) – PPG, Sheldin Howard knocked in a bouncing puck in the crease off a pass from Troy Hamilton.
 
2nd Period
1:51 DU (3-1) – Jared Wright tallied short-side from the right circle.
2:38 DU (4-1) – Sam Harris scored on a breakaway with a backhander after taking a leading pass from Kieran Cebrian.
11:55 DU (5-1) – Miko Matikka chipped the puck into the cage from the slot off a feed from Rieger Lorenz.
12:39 DU (6-1) – Jack Devine circled the net before passing the puck in front to Miko Matikka, who netted his second of the game.
18:05 MSU (6-2) – Ryan Monias scored on a scramble in front of the net on a play that was initially waved off before being overturned after review.
 
3rd Period
0:59 MSU (6-3) – Sheldin Howard went top-shelf with a shot in the low slot during a rush.
4:21 DU (7-3) – Jared Wright scored on a backhand shot at the top of the crease.
11:08 DU (8-3) – Aidan Thompson buried a wrist shot from the right side.
15:39 DU (9-3) – Shai Buium buried a cross-pass from Boston Buckberger at the right circle.
 

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