Photo by: Jacob Rokeach
The No. 8 Pioneers continued their strong play with a series split against defending national champion University of Wisconsin last weekend at Magness Arena.
After an impressive 3-1 win Friday night in which the Pioneers slipped three shots past highly touted UW goalie Brian Elliott, DU was shutout Saturday to end their seven game unbeaten streak.
In Friday night’s win, the Pioneers took full advantage of solid goaltending by junior netminder Peter Mannino and capitalized on their power-play chances, scoring all three goals with the man advantage.
Freshman Tyler Ruegsegger put the Pioneers up early in the first period on a power play, when he rifled a shot through a screen and over the Elliott’s left shoulder. The goal was Ruegsegger’s eighth of the season and was assisted by sophomore defenseman Chris Butler and freshman forward Rhett Rakhshani.
Despite the early lead, most of the first period was dominated by the Badgers, as they continued to pepper Mannino with shots.
Mannino was up to the task, saving all 12 shots he faced in the opening period.
After withstanding an onslaught of shots by the Badgers, DU drew a penalty with just under five minutes left in the first period.
The Pioneers took full advantage, as Butler blasted a shot from just inside the point and past a sprawling Elliott to give the Pioneers a 2-0 lead.
The second period proved to be a battle of the goalies, as both made several crucial saves to keep their teams in the game.
However, the Badgers finally slid one past Mannino on a power play with 2:24 left in the second period, making the score 2-1
The Pioneers bounced back in the final period, controlling the majority of play. DU continually fired shots at Elliott, getting a handful of good scoring chances.
Then, with 6:48 left in the game, Badgers’ forward John Mitchell received a five minute major penalty for kneeing DU’s Keith Seabrook in open ice.
The power play resulted in junior forward Ryan Dingle’s league-leading 17th goal of the season.
After receiving the puck down low on the corner, freshman forward Brock Trotter feathered an incredible pass through two UW defenseman right onto Dingle’s tape on the opposite side of the goal. Dingle promptly lifted the puck past Elliott’s outstretched glove to give the Pioneer’s a two goal lead.
DU held on in the final minutes of the game for a 3-1 victory, despite being outshot 35-23 in the contest.
Mannino received first star honors after saving 34 of the 35 shots that he faced.
Unfortunately for the Pioneers, Saturday night’s game didn’t go as smoothly, as UW’s Elliott proved why he is considered one of the best goaltenders in the country.
Elliott made 33 saves to shutout the Pioneers 4-0, giving the Pioneers their first loss since December 1, 2006, when they dropped a 3-2 decision to in-state rival Colorado College.
The Badgers jumped out to an early lead when UW’s Ben Street fired a shot past DU senior goalie Glenn Fisher only 54 seconds into the game.
From that point on, the first period was dominated by the Badgers, as they outshot the Pioneers 17-5.
The game became out of reach as the Badgers stretched the lead to 3-0 by the end of the second period. Elliott made a number of key saves to keep the Pioneers off the scoreboard.
The Badgers added an empty-net goal at the end of the third period to seal the 4-0 victory.
The win ended UW’s five game losing streak and DU’s seven game unbeaten streak.
Now 15-7-2 (9-5-2 in WCHA play), the Pioneers currently sit in second place in the WCHA standings, behind only Minnesota.
The Pioneers look forward to a non-conference series against the University of Niagara this weekend at Magness Arena. The puck drops Friday night at 7:37 pm.
