Last Updated 10:47 PM, November 05, 2022
Patrick Donnelly | NCAA.com

No. 2 Denver fights back for split with No. 4 St. Cloud State men's hockey with 3-2 win

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2:40 am, November 6, 2022

FINAL: Denver hangs on for 3-2 win, split with St. Cloud 😤

No. 2 Denver men’s hockey scored two goals in the opening three minutes of the game and never looked back in a 3-2 win over No. 4 St. Cloud State, fighting to a weekend split.

Senior forward Casey Dornbach, sophomore forward Jack Devine and senior defenseman Kyle Mayhew each scored for the Pioneers (7-3-0, 3-1-0 NCHC). Senior goaltender Magnus Chrona made 28 saves.

Senior assistant captain Jami Krannila and fifth-year forward Grant Cruikshank each scored for the Huskies (8-2-0, 1-1-0 NCHC), while junior goaltender Dominic Basse made 33 saves.

Dornbach opened the scoring just 1:13 into the game during a battle in front of the net when Massimo Rizzo’s rebound bounced right to him, and Devine made it 2-0 1:24 later, redirecting Justin Lee’s wrist shot from the point.

Krannila cut it to 2-1 on the power play with 12:51 remaining in the second, blasting a one-timer from right face-off dot after Jack Peart drew defenders over to him on the left side before swiveling it back over to Krannila.

Mayhew restored the Pios’ two goal lead 2:43 into the third period. Basse made a number of quality saves in a net-front scramble before Carter King sent the loose puck back to the point, where Mayhew one-timed it over a sprawling Basse.

Cruikshank pulled SCSU to within 3-2 with 9:10 to go in regulation on the power play. Chrona saved Veeti Miettinen’s shot from the right dot, and Cruikshank crashed the net, jamming the loose puck over the line.

DU went 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Huskies went 2-for-5.

St. Cloud State will return home next weekend when they host No. 18 Western Michigan. Denver will travel to North Dakota for a series with the No. 10 Fighting Hawks.

2:21 am, November 6, 2022

GOAL! 🚨 Huskies cut it to 3-2 | 3rd – 9:10

Grant Cruikshank pulls St. Cloud State back to within one against Denver on the power play with his second goal of the weekend.

The Pioneers could not corral the loose puck after Chrona saved Veeti Miettinen's wrist shot from the right dot, and Cruikshank crashed the net, jamming away at the puck and forcing it over the line. 

2:07 am, November 6, 2022

GOAL! 🚨 Denver adds insurance | 3rd – 17:17

The Pioneers retake a two-goal lead, making it 3-1 on the power play early in the third.

Basse made a number of saves in a net-front scramble, robbing a number of Grade-A Denver chances before Carter King popped the puck back out to the point, where senior defenseman Kyle Mayhew was waiting to one-time into the de-facto open net.

2:04 am, November 6, 2022

3rd period is a go 🏒

The final period of regulation is underway between No. 2 Denver and No. 4 St. Cloud State.

The Pios lead the Huskies 2-1.

1:47 am, November 6, 2022

END 2nd: Denver holding onto one-goal lead 🔘🔘⚪️

Through 40 minutes of play, the No. 2 Pioneers lead the No. 4 Huskies, 2-1.

Jami Krannila got St. Cloud State on the board with a one-timer on the power play, but was later assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct for a hit from behind.

Denver is outshooting SCSU, 24-14.

1:19 am, November 6, 2022

GOAL! 🚨 St. Cloud gets on the board | 2nd – 12:51

The Huskies cut it to 2-1 on the power play early in the second period on Jami Krannila's second of the weekend and fourth of the season.

Jack Peart had the puck at the point, working towards the left face-off circle before swiveling it back over to Krannila, who blasted a one-timer by Chrona.

1:05 am, November 6, 2022

2nd period is underway ✅

The middle frame is on at Magness Arena.

Denver leads St. Cloud, 2-0. The Huskies begin the period on the power play.

12:39 am, November 6, 2022

END 1st: Denver leads by 2️⃣

The Pioneers take a 2-0 lead out of the first period against St. Cloud State.

Casey Dornbach and Jack Devine gave Denver the lead within 1:24 of each other in the opening three minutes of the game.

The Huskies will have just over a minute of power play time to start the second period.

Denver is outshooting SCSU, 15-5.

12:16 am, November 6, 2022

GOAL! 🚨 Pioneers double their lead | 1st – 17:23

Just 1:24 after Dornbach gave Denver a 1-0 lead, the Pio's extend it to 2-0.

Jack Devine got a stick on Justin Lee's wrist shot from the point, deflecting it past Basse. 

12:12 am, November 6, 2022

GOAL! 🚨 Denver strikes early | 1st – 18:47

The Pioneers get out to an early 1-0 lead just over a minute into the game.

Casey Dornbach cashed in on a loose puck in front, battling at the top of the crease with SCSU's Jami Kranilla as Massimo Rizzo's shot rebounded right onto Dornbach's stick. 

11:52 pm, November 5, 2022

Here are tonight's projected lineups 📝

Below are the lineups for No. 2 Denver and No. 4 St. Cloud State.

Defenseman Josh Luedtke returns to the lineup for the Huskies for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury on Oct. 1 when he was taken off the ice on a stretcher after a scary hit into the boards. Dominic Basse will start in goal, continuing the timeshare with Jaxon Castor. 

Junior forward McKade Webster will return for the Pioneers, while Magnus Chrona gets the call in net again.

 

11:34 pm, November 5, 2022

Get ready for Game 2 between Denver and St. Cloud State 👀

Puck-drop in Saturday's rematch between the No. 2 Pioneers and No. 4 Huskies is just about a half hour away. 

St. Cloud took Friday's Game 1, 4-3, in overtime thanks to a wild third period comeback that saw the Huskies tie it 3-3 with just over a minute remaining in regulation.

Veeti Miettinen scored the winner for the Huskies, while Grant Cruikshank added a goal and an assist. Denver's Massimo Rizzo stayed hot with a goal and an assist of his own.

Here's how to follow along:

 

3:47 am, November 5, 2022

FINAL: St. Cloud State completes comeback in OT over Denver

Veeti Miettinen scored with 2:38 remaining in overtime, and No. 4 St. Cloud State men’s hockey came back to take down No. 2 Denver, 4-3, on the road on Friday.

Fifth-year forward Grant Cruikshank skated the puck into the zone off the rush before dropping off to Miettinen, who fired a wrist shot over senior goaltender Magnus Chrona’s blocker.

Cruikshank and senior forward Zach Okabe each had a goal and an assist for the Huskies (8-1-0, 1-0-0 NCHC). Senior netminder Jaxon Castor made 24 saves for St. Cloud.

Sophomore forward Massimo Rizzo stayed hot for the Pioneers (6-3-0, 2-1-0 NCHC) with a goal and an assist, while Chrona made 21 saves.

Senior forward Jami Krannila opened the scoring just under five minutes into the game after he was lost in coverage to the right of the crease, and was right there to jam in his third goal of the season off the rebound.

Sophomore defenseman Mike Benning evened it up late in the first period with 2:11 to go, picking the puck up in a give-and-go at the point before making a nice move to cut into the slot and burying a shot inside the left post.

Senior captain Justin Lee scored his first of the season with 12;36 to go in the second, scoring on a wrist shot from distance that found its way through traffic in front.

Cruikshank tied it 2-2 right before the halfway mark of the third, ripping a one-timer bar-down from the top of the left circle off a feed from defenseman Dylan Anhorn.

Rizzo gave DU the lead with 2:11 to go when he reached around a defender to roof a feed from Sean Behrens, but Okabe knotted it up at 3-3 for SCSU with 1:17 to go with the goalie pulled.

The win snaps an eight-game losing streak at Denver for the Huskies.