No. 3 DU Hockey sees victory over No. 1 St. Cloud State in weekend series with Friday’s game finalizing at 4-2 and Saturday’s game showing DU dominance with a final of 5-1.
On Friday night, No. 3 Denver ended No. 1 St. Cloud State’s seven-game winning streak and earned its fourth consecutive win against the Huskies.
Denver’s weekend’s series against No. 1 St. Cloud State marked its third ranked matchup of the season. Coming into the series, Denver was 3-0-1 against ranked opponents. Denver has scored 23 goals in its last five games and averages 4.11 goals per game, currently ranking fourth in the NCAA.
In the first game of the series, sophomore forward Henrik Borgstrom (Helsinki, Finland) opened the scoring for the Pioneer squad at 12:31 of the first period and the Crimson and Gold kept their lead for the rest of the game. St. Cloud State fought for a 3-2 comeback with 1:02 remaining in regulation, but Borgstrom sealed the Pioneer win with an empty netter, finalizing the score at 4-2 in Denver’s favor.
On Friday, Henrik Borgstrom and junior forward Jarid Lukosevicius (Squamish, B.C.) finished with two goals for the Pioneers while senior goalie Tanner Jaillet (Red Deer, Alberta) made 32 saves for the win.
Denver finished 1/2 on the power play and 5/6 on the penalty kill.
On Saturday night, power plays would define the second frame as senior defenseman Adam Plant (Penticton, B.C.) capitalized on a pair of opportunities for the DU squad. Plant opened the scoring at 1:32 of the second period off a two on one rush with junior forward Colin Staub (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Plant’s scored in the top right corner of the net for his first goal of the season. Less than 30 seconds later, sophomore forward Tyson McLellan (San Jose, Calif.) scored on a nearly identical shot to make it 2-0.
In the second period, Plant struck again as he sent a shot through traffic and the Huskies goalie David Hrenak. Sophomore forward Liam Finlay (Kelowna, B.C.) and sophomore defenseman Michael Davies (St. Louis, Mo.) had assists on the power play goal. After surrendering a 3-0 lead, the Huskies got on the board with Kevin Fitzgerald’s goal at 11:14 of the second period to make it 3-1 at the second intermission.
In the third period, Denver capitalized on their second five minute power play of the night. At 2:43 of the frame, freshman defenseman Ian Mitchell (Calahoo, Alberta) took a shot from the point and junior forward Dylan Gambrell (Bonney Lake, Wash.) finished the goal to make it 4-1. The Pioneers extended their lead to 5-1 at 14:02 of the third period when junior forward Troy Terry (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) drove the net and Lukosevicius put the rebound past Hrenak.
Denver finished 3/8 on the power play and 5/5 on the penalty kill. Jaillet made 21 saves in Saturday’s victory.
Crimson and Gold Hockey will face North Dakota in Magness arena next weekend for another two-game series.
