Freshman Tyler Bozak netted his first career hat trick, including two shorthanded goals, and Peter Mannino stopped 32 shots to lead No. 7 Denver to a 4-1 win and series sweep of No. 8 Minnesota before 9,898 fans at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis on Nov. 4.
Denver improves to 6-2-0 and 3-1-0 in the WCHA, while Minnesota falls to 4-4-0, 0-4-0. The sweep was Denver’s first at Minnesota since 1994.
Blake Wheeler beat Mannino five-hole from the left slot to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead at 11:33 of the first period, but Bozak responded with a nifty one-on-one goal at 16:13. Rhett Rakhshani regained the lead for Denver with a power-play goal at 17:26.
After a scoreless second period, Bozak netted a shorthanded goal on a pretty breakaway at 6:25 of the final stanza. Minnesota pulled goaltender Alex Kangas to created a 6-on-4 advantage during a five-minute power play near the end of the game, but Bozak tallied his second shorthanded goal with an empty net at 18:07 to ice the win.
Brock Trotter added two assists for Denver, who went 1-for-4 on the power play. Minnesota outshot Denver, 33-23, but went 0-for-6 with the man advantage.
The Pioneers return to action against Minnesota State on Nov. 16–17.