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DENVER — Though the two teams were close in the polls entering the weekend, you couldn’t have figured that out from the play on the ice.
No. 6 St. Cloud State used a hat trick from Kalle Kossila, two goals from Joey Benik and goaltender Charlie Lindgren’s 27 saves en route to a 6-2 win over No. 11 Denver to gain a sweep of their weekend series.
“They are seniors that have done that their whole career, and that’s all we asked of them,” said Huskies coach Bob Motzko. “Don’t try to take on leadership roles that aren’t natural; just be darn good hockey players. They’ve had a terrific first half.”
St. Cloud struck first on a seemingly harmless play. Ethan Prow got a shot on net and Benik picked up the rebound down low. From the goal line to Denver goalie Evan Cowley’s right, Benik got off a shot that beat Cowley at 3:58.
The Huskies controlled the better of the offensive chances in the period, but Denver capitalized on a power play late to tie the game. Danton Heinen took a shot from the left circle that Lindgren stopped, but Lindgren lost track of the rebound, which was just in front of his left skate, and Gabe Levin raced in and batted at the puck, getting it by Lindgren at 15:16.
St. Cloud came out strong and reclaimed the lead at just 42 seconds of the second period when Patrick Russell picked up a rebound in the slot right in front of Cowley and knocked it toward the net, where it was tipped in by Kossila. The goal was still being announced on the PA when Benik raced up the left side and got off a rocket from the left faceoff circle that beat Cowley top corner stick side at 1:17. Cowley didn’t even see the puck get by him, and reacted when it came back out of the net to his left.
“We came hard in the first period, but they got the power-play goal, and I think that changed the momentum a little bit for them at the end of the first,” said Kossila. “The second period started and we decided we were going to come together and play harder and I think we did that. We got two quick goals there at the beginning, and I think that changed the game for us.”
“They’re a really good hockey team,” said Denver coach Jim Montgomery. “Jesus, they come at you in waves, and they’ve got three lines that can make you pay. I thought that they dominated the game the first five minutes. I thought our power play gave us momentum, and I thought we carried the last 15 of the first. Then we started the second and they got two goals that we wish we could have back.”
That was all on the night for Cowley, who was replaced with Tanner Jaillet.
Jaillet stopped the bleeding momentarily, but Denver’s poor defensive play continued to be a problem, and Kossila made them pay at 11:57. Kossila picked up the puck at the bottom of the right circle on a turnover, took one step toward the net, and roofed it past Jaillet to extend St. Cloud’s lead to three.
“I think there was a faceoff and the defenseman got the puck and flipped it on net, and it just happened to come to me and we got a quick two-on-one, me and Russell, and they were holding him so I just decided to shoot it and it went in,” said Kossila.
St. Cloud’s strong play early in periods continued in the third, when Jimmy Murray got a pass to Daniel Tedesco on the left side of the slot and Tedesco roofed it glove side past Jaillet at 3:21.
“Timely goals, and needed them both nights,” said Motzko. “At the end, I thought we played pretty well defensively. We didn’t get a power play till the end of the game. Last night, the power play got us going [and] tonight it was five-on-five and our seniors.”
Shortly after that goal, Montgomery replaced Jaillet with Greg Ogard. It was only the second time Ogard, a junior, has played in his time at Denver.
Denver got one back near the midway point of the third. Off a sloppy turnover by St. Cloud and its own blue line, Trevor Moore sent Grant Arnold in. With Jon Lizotte backing off, Arnold roofed one glove side past Lindgren at 9:25.
DU’s defense again hung its goalie out to dry when Mike Eyssimont carried the puck in deep, forcing Ogard to play a potential shot. Instead, Eyssimont sent a pass across ice to Kossila, who had a wide-open net that he fired it into at 13:37.
“Oh boy, Mikey’s a Colorado boy and I’m so happy he got that,” said Kossila. “He made a great play. I almost missed the net too, so luckily it went in.”
It was the first time Denver was swept at home since November 2013, and, when coupled with Denver getting swept last weekend at North Dakota, is the first time Denver has been swept on consecutive weekends since January 2000, when Minnesota and Colorado College did so.
“I’ve got to be honest, I’ve been very fortunate, I’ve had nothing but success as a head coach; I’ve never been through something like this,” said Montgomery. “The only thing I know is the only way you get out of this from my pro career as a player is to go back to work, get back to what your team identity is. As coaches, we have to make sure the details are really good when we get back so that we give ourselves a better chance and we’re not chasing the game.”
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