DU 3 - St. Cloud 1

(above) Kyle Ostrow notched two goals for the Pioneers on Friday night

The University of Denver hockey team stuck to the recent formula. Fall behind early, coolly build momentum and pull out the win with a big Third Period. Kyle Ostrow scored two goals and Patrick Mullen notched another for a 3-1 victory against St. Cloud.

Rhett Rakhshani sustained a lower body injury in the 1st period and is questionable for Saturday's game. He was seen putting ice on his ribs or hip region in the 2nd period.

Although Denver is now two points clear of North Dakota in the WCHA standings, DU only has two games left in the season while UND has four games remaining.

All eyes will be on the Colorado College-North Dakota game tomorrow afternoon (2:35 MST) in Grand Forks. A CC victory would allow DU to control their own destiny in the race for the MacNaughton Cup race.
Box Score

WCHA STANDINGS

PAIRWISE RANKINGS

Denver Post game recap

USCHO game recap

St. Cloud Times game recap
First Star: Kyle Ostrow (Denver)
Second Star: Patrick Mullen (Denver)
Third Star: Marc Cheverie (Denver)

12 comments:

Jordan said...

Nice to see Ostrow's second goal- that was a blue collar, crash the net, chaotic kind of goal- the kind of goal we need to get better at going into the playoffs. A character goal. Missed the first period, but seemed like a pretty well played game.

dggoddard said...

Very, very solid effort tonight. When DU is fully committed to "defensive first" hockey they are very tough to beat.

DU #4 in Pairwise and in first place, but going to need some help from CC this weekend against UND.

du78 said...

I had the same three starts but I had Chevy and Mullen reversed. Good solid game tonight. SCSU played a good game but DU was able to score on the PP and keep SCSU off the board on the PP. Both goalies were outstanding.

dggoddard said...

DU all the way up to #2 in the Pairwise formula. The 14-8-3 record against "Teams Under Considereation" & Minnesota State jumping back into the Top 25 last night is why.

DU needs Minnesota State to beat the Gophers tonight, CC over UND & obviously DU to beat SCSU to stay at #2.

msbdu said...

I know we need CC to beat ND, but it's really tough to ever hope for a CC win...just goes against my D&A

Highway 2 and 35 said...

The crowd seemed great last night on TV, but I was surprised to see no sellout. It appeared packed from the little bit that I saw. Maybe tonight one of the rare sellouts will come. Hopefully, CC hates afternoon play.

Anonymous said...

Agents Pat Brisson and J.P. Barry, who represent players such as Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Henrik Lundqvist, the Sedin twins, Mats Sundin, and Evgeni Malkin, were in attendance scouting out the prospectus of Joe Colborne with his father, Paul.

Angélique C. Murray (Jori) said...

Colborne's name has come up as possible trade bait for the Bruins. Regardless, hopefully the kid sticks around DU for at least one more season.

Anonymous said...

msbdu: Thanks when you hope for an act of God.

Twister said...

Solid victory last night. A good all-around team effort. St. Cloud had a few good chances but Chevy was up the task and PK was strong.

Is is just me or does Colborne seem to be getting better and better every game? He seems to be playing with more and more confidence and is asserting himself physically on a more consistent basis. I hope he's a Pioneer next year!

dggoddard said...

I can believe the Bruin trade rumors and its no slight on Colborne. I think they took Wheeler & Colborne and it only cost them one 1st round draft choice. Now that Wheeler's a stud and the Bruins are contenders they don't need a project like Colborne.

Is Colborne an NHL wing? I don't think so, but he needs to fill out a ton to be an effective NHL center.

I can't really see him jumping to the AHL and getting banged around down there like Skinner, Caldwell, Berkhoel and all the other guys. Once you sign and go to the minors you lose all your bargaining power to force yourself on the roster a'la Stastny & Wheeler.

My guess is two maybe three more years at DU. Add 20-30 lbs. and control your destiny.

Angélique C. Murray (Jori) said...

Colborne's rumored to be a part of a package to acquire Chris Pronger.