No. 2 Denver never trailed in a 3-2 NCHC victory against No. 4 St. Cloud State that earned the Pioneers a split of the series at Magness Arena on Saturday night.

Casey Dornbach, Jack Devine and Kyle Mayhew scored goals, and Magnus Chrona made 28 saves for Denver (7-3, 3-1 NCHC). Jami Krannila and Grant Cruikshank scored for the Huskies (8-2, 1-1). Dominic Basse made 32 saves for St. Cloud.

Here are three notable points from the Pioneers’ victory:

Putting a headlock on the injury bug

Denver finally received some good news on the injury front this weekend. Freshman Aidan Thompson played his first two games after missing eight. Sophomore Carter King returned after missing two, and on Saturday night junior McKade Webster returned after missing seven games. In addition, defenseman Justin Lee, who took an absolute missile to his left leg late in Friday’s game was in the lineup Saturday. However, Krannila was ejected during the second period for a hit from behind on DU defenseman Sean Behrens, and Behrens did not return to the game.

Magnus Mayhem

It says here Magnus Chrona is heating up. He was terrific last weekend at Miami (two goals in two games), excellent for nearly all of Friday’s game, and he made 28 more saves Saturday, including a couple of biggies on prime Huskies scoring chances. The senior appears to be playing with the confidence befitting an NCAA champion, and that is good news for Denver in tight games against highly ranked foes.

Scoring balance

Nine players registered points on Denver’s three goals. Mayhew, ostensibly replacing his top-pair partner Behrens on the power play, tallied the eventual winner early in the second period on a man advantage. King had the primary assist and Thompson the secondary one. Webster and Lee had assists on Devine’s goal. And Massimo Rizzo, who now has points in six consecutive games, had the primary assist on Dornbach’s goal. Mike Benning had the other, and he extended his points streak to three games. Rizzo’s 17 points are tied for third in Division I.

©First Line Editorial 2022