Troy Terry was a one-man wrecking crew and Tanner Jaillet made 19 saves as Denver completed a two-game sweep at Michigan State on Saturday afternoon, extending its winning streak to four games.

Terry scored a highlight reel goal off a feed from Henrik Borgstrom less than five  minutes into the game, then shot the puck through the net for a strange second goal 10 minutes later. The Anaheim Ducks prospect was awarded the goal several minutes later after a lengthy video review confirmed it. The sophomore nearly had a natural hat trick when he just missed a shorthanded chance in the second period.

“I liked the way we started, and Troy Terry was special tonight. On the penalty kill, five-on-five, they had no answer for his explosiveness tonight,” Denver coach Jim Montgomery told AM 1600 after the game.

The Spartans (0-4) kept the game tight and made it really tight when sophomore Mason Appleton (a Winnipeg Jets prospect) fired one past Jaillet 4:01 into the third period. Senior Matt Marcinew’s empty-net goal with 1:04 left iced it for the Pioneers (4-2).

Montgomery was particularly pleased with the play of his defense, especially top pair Will Butcher and Adam Plant.

“We broke pucks out quickly,” the coach said. “I thought our D core was really good, especially 4 (Butcher) and 28 (Plant). … It was an area of focus, you like to see your team get better.

“Four wins in a row now, two on the road is not easy, I don’t care who you’re playing. Michigan State is hard to play against. They’re fast and they’re really committed to defense.”

Jaillet shines again

Jaillet got  back-to-back starts for the second weekend in a row, and the workload clearly is agreeing with him. He allowed just one goal for the third consecutive game and has given up just nine goals in his five starts.

“He was seeing the puck well. He’s getting better and better,” Montgomery said.

Reservations for two

If there was a downside to Saturday’s game it the Pioneers took six penalties to the Spartans’ two. The type of penalties they took  were what gnawed at Montgomery.

“I felt we were really good five on five, but we’ve got to quit taking stick penalties that just aren’t necessary when we’ve got two or three guys behind them when they’re carrying the puck,” the coach said. “We have to learn from that, and if the players don’t learn they’re going to find themselves sitting on the bench real quick.

“That’s on us to get better in those areas.”

Super subs

It wasn’t exactly Sophomores Sit Night (Terry didn’t, obviously), but defenseman Blake Hillman and forward Jarid Lukosevicius were scratched because of the often-debated but always mysterious “coach’s decision”.

That allowed freshman blue liner Erich Fear and junior forward Rudy Junda to get their first action of the season, and in Fear’s case, of his NCAA career.

“Erich did some really good things out there, as did Rudy, especially there in the second period behind the other team’s net with his puck protection, which needs to become a strength of his,” Montgomery said.

“Erich Fear had his first game of college hockey after playing in the North American league, coming against a Big Ten school on the road. I was really happy with the way he played aggressively.”

Sophomore Colin Staub (he didn’t sit either) filled in for Lukosevicius on the top line, and he was a presence all game.

“Colin Staub’s a glue guy,” Montgomery said. “Him and (Evan) Janssen I can move them anywhere. They can play with anybody because of their understanding of details in our systems. I loved (Staub’s) big hit in the first period. That gave us momentum, and Terry walked down right after that (and scored).”

Next up

The Pioneers open NCHC play when undefeated Western Michigan visits Magness Arena next Friday and Saturday night.