No. 2 Denver men’s hockey scored two goals in the opening three minutes of the game and never looked back in a 3-2 win over No. 4 St. Cloud State, fighting to a weekend split.
Senior forward Casey Dornbach, sophomore forward Jack Devine and senior defenseman Kyle Mayhew each scored for the Pioneers (7-3-0, 3-1-0 NCHC). Senior goaltender Magnus Chrona made 28 saves.
Senior assistant captain Jami Krannila and fifth-year forward Grant Cruikshank each scored for the Huskies (8-2-0, 1-1-0 NCHC), while junior goaltender Dominic Basse made 33 saves.
THRILLER: How St. Cloud State came back to take Game 1
Dornbach opened the scoring just 1:13 into the game during a battle in front of the net when Massimo Rizzo’s rebound bounced right to him, and Devine made it 2-0 1:24 later, redirecting Justin Lee’s wrist shot from the point.
Krannila cut it to 2-1 on the power play with 12:51 remaining in the second, blasting a one-timer from right face-off dot after Jack Peart drew defenders over to him on the left side before swiveling it back over to Krannila.
Mayhew restored the Pios’ two goal lead 2:43 into the third period with the eventual game-winner. Basse made a number of quality saves in a net-front scramble before Carter King sent the loose puck back to the point, where Mayhew one-timed it over a sprawling Basse.
Kyle Mayhew connects on the power play to give DU a 3-1 lead with 17:17 left in the 3rd period. pic.twitter.com/dH3DmZQPpn
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) November 6, 2022
SCOREBOARD: Click or tap here for DI men’s ice hockey scores
Cruikshank pulled SCSU to within 3-2 with 9:10 to go in regulation on the power play. Chrona saved Veeti Miettinen’s shot from the right dot, and Cruikshank crashed the net, jamming the loose puck over the line.
DU went 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Huskies went 2-for-5.
St. Cloud State will return home next weekend when they host No. 18 Western Michigan. Denver will travel to North Dakota for a series with the No. 10 Fighting Hawks.
