The University of Denver’s offensive funk appears to be history, just as the Pioneers begin preparing for No. 1 Minnesota in this week’s marquee Western Collegiate Hockey Association series in Minneapolis.
No. 7 Denver on Saturday night got second-period goals from freshmen Brandon Vossberg, Brock Trotter and Tyler Ruegsegger to spearhead a 5-2 victory over Niagara and a two-game sweep of the nonleague series at Magness Arena.
DU, a 2-1 overtime winner behind a 54-shot attack Friday, produced 97 shots in the series and had a litany of terrific scoring chances against the No. 17 Purple Eagles of Niagara Falls, N.Y.
The Pioneers (17-7-2) entered the weekend with just 12 goals in their past six games and were relying on goalies Glenn Fisher and Peter Mannino to win close games.
But DU’s defensive-end and neutral-zone transition game clicked against Niagara, and the power play capitalized four times over the weekend. The Pioneers’ penalty-killers did not allow a goal, including a 5-on-3 disadvantage for 1:31 Saturday.
Ruegsegger, from Lakewood, scored twice in Game 2, and junior Ryan Dingle got his WCHA-leading 18th goal. Fisher improved to 11-4-1 after playing both weekend games because of the slight groin injury to Mannino.
Mannino should be ready to go against the Gophers (20-2-3), who lead DU by seven points in the WCHA.
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
