University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Denver
Denver Prevails 4-3 In Overtime
2/12/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Feb. 12, 2012
Video Highlights l Season Stats l Analysis l Blog Recap l Audio: Guentzel l Budish
The No. 1/2 Minnesota men's hockey team lost its first WCHA series finale of the season on Saturday, dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to No. 14 Denver. With a loss on Friday as well, the Gophers were swept for the first time since Dec. 3-4, 2010 when they lost two one goal games to Minnesota State.
It only took 38 seconds for the Gophers to get on the scoreboard and net the game's first goal for the second straight night.
On his first shift of the game, sophomore Erik Haula sniped his 12th goal of the season past Pioneer goaltender Sam Brittain with a snapshot from the left circle.
Haula's goal stood as the only score of the game until 15:57 of the second period when Zach Budish posted his second goal of the weekend, banging home a loose puck in front of Brittain after Jake Parenteau kept a DU clearing attempt in the zone. The goal came with five seconds left on a shortened power play.
The Pioneers responded before the ended of the middle stanza when Chris Knowlton converted on a breakaway effort, beating Minnesota netminder Kent Patterson up high on DU's 18th shot on goal of the game.
Seconds after Brittain turned away a Nico Sacchetti one-time bid 1:01 into the final frame, Denver's Josiah Didier gave the Gophers a man advantage with a minor penalty for roughing. The power play was short-lived though, as Jake Hansen and Budish took tripping and roughing penalties, respectively, to give DU a four-on-three opportunity.
Moments after Haula broke his stick on the ensuing penalty kill, the Pioneers knotted the score when Luke Salazar tipped home a shot by Nick Shore.
Just past the midway point of the period, Sacchetti gave Minnesota the lead back by potting his second goal of the season, burying his own rebound after receiving a pass from freshman Sam Warning on a three-on-two odd-man rush.
The score held until Shore found the back of the net on a power-play one-timer with 1:26 remaining in regulation. Shore then finished the game 17 seconds into overtime with his second goal in under two minutes of play.
Minnesota failed to win after heading into the third period with the lead for the first time in 2011-12, dropping its record in such situations to 14-1-0. The Gophers also fell to 1-2-1 in games decided in overtime and 10-1-0 in WCHA Saturday games.
UM was without the services of high-scoring freshman Kyle Rau, who was suspended for a hit on DU's Jason Zucker on Friday. Zucker remained out with an upper-body injury on Saturday, as well.
The Gophers return home next weekend for a two-game series with in-state rival Bemidji State before finishing the regular season with a road series against Nebraska-Omaha and another home series against Border Battle rival Wisconsin.
