Pioneers hustle to beat Huskies
The overtime victory at Magness puts Denver, with 49 points, in a conference tie with Minnesota-Duluth.
Capturing the spirit of the weekend commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the release of the film classic “Slap Shot,” this is how veteran Charlestown Tim es Herald scribe Dickie Dunn might have described the University of Denver’s 4-3 overtime victory over St. Cloud State on Friday night at Magness Arena: “To see the three Pioneers make a scoring rush, the bright colors of their jerseys flashing against the milky ice, was to see a work of art in motion.”
On the rush, prized Finnish freshman Henrik Borgstrom scored with 1:16 remaining in the five-minute overtime to give the Pioneers their eighth consecutive win and make them 23-6-4 for the season.
Sophomore center Dylan Gambrell had two goals, and sophomore winger Troy Terry had a goal and two assists for the Pioneers, who at the end of the night were tied for first in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference with Minnesota-Duluth, at 49 points.
Terry had the first DU goal, off a terrific blind backhanded setup pass from Borgstrom only 3:08 into the game.
St. Cloud State took a 2-1 lead in the next five minutes on goals from Mikey Eyssimont and Jon Lizotte, but Gambrell made it 2-2 at 12:05 of the first before scoring again on a sneaky backhander through Huskies goalie Jeff Smith’s five-hole in the early stages of he second.
DU held that 3-2 lead until Judd Peterson scored for the Huskies at 17:38 of the third, forcing the overtime.
Gambrell’s goals gave the 2016 San Jose Sharks’ second-round draft choice 11 for the season in 28 games. He had 17 goals last season, centering Trevor Moore and sophomore Danton Heinen on the Pioneers’ Pacific Rim line, but Moore signed as a free agent with Toronto, and Heinen, a Boston draft pick, signed with the Bruins. So Gambrell has been trying to find chemistry with new linemates this season, often playing wing, and he centered Evan Janssen and Liam Finlay against the Huskies Friday.
The Pioneers and Huskies close out the two-game series Saturday night at DU.
Footnote. The Avalanche had a three-man contingent — general manager Joe Sakic, assistant GM Craig Billington and development consultant Brett Clark — at the game. They came to check in on two seniors who were 2013 Colorado draft choices — DU defenseman Will Butcher (fifth round), a bona fide contender for the Hobey Baker Award as the college game’s top player, and St. Cloud State forward/defenseman Ben Storm (sixth). Storm, however, was a healthy scratch for the fifth time in the Huskies’ past six games.