The red-hot No. 3 Denver hockey team extended their win streak to six games after defeating the Western Michigan University (WMU) Broncos in two games played at Magness Arena on Oct. 28 and 29.
The Pioneers received a big boost with the return of sophomore center Dylan Gambrell (Bonney Lake, Washington) for the two-game series. Gambrell had missed two weeks with a wrist injury, but he regained his familiar scoring touch when he netted his first goal of the year at 10:01 of the second period in the first game of the weekend.
Sifting through a pile of bodies in front of the net for the puck, Gambrell was able to gather and laser a shot past the Western Michigan goaltender to give DU a 1-0 lead. Junior defenseman Adam Plant (Penticton, British Columbia) and senior center Matt Marcinew (Calgary, Alberta) picked up assists on the play.
Senior Evan Janssen (Green Bay, Wisconsin) extended the lead to 2-0 later in the period on an unassisted tally.
The Broncos sliced DU’s advantage in half early in the third period with a powerplay goal, but it wasn’t enough for the visiting team to secure a comeback. Senior captain Will Butcher (Sun Prairie, Wisconsin) would clinch a 3-1 Denver victory with a goal from the point at 10:06 of the third period.
DU outshot WMU 35-26, as Gambrell accounted for a team-leading five shots. Junior goalie Tanner Jaillet (Red Deer, Alberta) improved to 5-1 after making 25 saves in the victory.
In the second game of the weekend, DU again took the lead first. Florida Panthers prospect Henrik Borgstrom (Helsinki, Finland) one-timed a shot high and past the Broncos goaltender with 30 seconds remaining in the first period. Butcher deked at the top of the zone before slyly whipping the puck to the Finnish-born Borgstrom at the bottom of the circle.
Western Michigan came out firing in the second period, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes to take a 2-1 lead. Their advantage lasted less than five minutes, however, as sophomore Jarid Lukosevicius (Squamish, British Columbia) would tie the contest 2-2 on a tipped shot, again on the powerplay.
Heading into the third period tied, DU relied upon their experienced players to come through in the clutch. Gambrell lasered home the team’s third powerplay goal of the night from the high slot 2:29 into the period. He also forced a turnover in the neutral zone and was able to find Marcinew for the final goal of the night, allowing Denver to skate away with the 4-2 win.
Jaillet recorded the win again, recording 23 saves and improving to 6-1 on the year as a starter.
Now 6-2 overall, the DU hockey team looks forward to a marquee matchup on the road against rival No. 1 University of North Dakota on Nov. 11-12.
