No. 15 Colorado College’s Chad Rau scored the game-winning goal with 3:31 remaining in the third period to propel the Tigers to a 3-2 victory and series sweep over the No. 8 Denver Pioneers in WCHA action before a sellout crowd of 6,079 at Magness Arena.
The Pioneers received a goal and an assist from redshirt freshman Brock Trotter and a goal from Ryan Dingle. CC improves to 10-5-1, 7-3-0 on the season, while DU falls to 9-6-1, 5-4-1.
“I was really pleased with our approach to the game tonight and the adversity of being down 2-0,” said Denver head coach George Gwozdecky. “I was proud at how we battled back and tied the game up. I really felt that we gave ourselves a great chance to win.”
The Tigers scored the lone goal of the first period when Lee Sweatt struck during a 4-on-3 power play. Brandon Polich fed a cross-ice pass to Sweatt, who one-timed a slapshot past DU junior goaltender Peter Mannino from just outside the left faceoff circle to give CC a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
The Tigers doubled their lead 5:56 into the second stanza when Scott Thauwald scored his fifth goal of the season on a wide-open net. During a CC rush, Mannino was bumped into and knocked out of the net, leaving him helpless when Cody Lampl fed Thauwald on the goalmouth.
Dingle made it a one-goal game at the 11:10 mark of the middle frame on a power-play tally. With the Pioneers on a two-man advantage, Keith Seabrook found Dingle at the bottom of the right circle, and he one-timed a shot past CC netminder Matt Zaba for his 12th goal of the season. Trotter was also credited with an assist on the play.
DU senior captain Adrian Veideman was carried off on a stretcher 3:40 into the second period after suffering a concussion following a collision with CC’s Brandon Straub.
Trotter tied the game 4:13 into the final frame when he buried the rebound of a Geoff Paukovich shot for his seventh goal of the season. Trotter picked up the puck on the right side of the net and sneaked it between Zaba and the right goalpost.
Rau scored what proved to be the game-winning goal for CC on a rebound with 3:31 remaining in the third period. After a shot by Jimmy Kilpatrick, Rau capitalized on his second rebound attempt, putting the puck over Mannino’s outstretched glove.
Zaba made 18 stops for the Tigers, while Mannino recorded 23 saves in a losing effort.
CC outshot DU 26-20 on the evening. The Pioneers were 1-8 on the power play, while the Tigers were 1-6 with the man advantage.
