DENVER—Brock Trotter scored six seconds into the contest, and Denver received goals from two of its heralded freshmen as the Pioneers won 3-1 Saturday night against Maine.
Senior Peter Mannino recorded 29 saves to notch the 40th win of his career and help Denver to its first 2-0 start since 2003.
Trotter gave the Pioneers an immediate spark, securing the puck after the opening faceoff and splitting a pair of Maine defenders before beating Black Bears goaltender Ben Bishop for an unassisted goal before much of the crowd of 6,048 had settled into their seats.
“I got a good jump off the draw and their D might not have seen me coming,” Trotter said. “I beat them to the puck, and next thing you know six seconds later we had a 1-0 lead. I made a quick move in the crease and got it by him.”
Maine senior defenseman Bret Tyler scored the Black Bears’ first goal of the season during a five-on-three power play at the 3:49 mark of the first to even the score at 1-1.
Denver took a 2-1 edge into the first intermission after a hustling Tyler Ruegsegger set up freshman Jesse Martin for the first goal of his career. Pioneers freshman Anthony Maiani capped the scoring with his first career goal late in the second.
The teams both had 30 shots, and Denver went 0-for-5 on power plays. Maine (0-2) went 1-for-7 on power plays and Bishop, who recorded a career-high 46 saves in Maine’s 2-0 loss to Denver on Friday, posted 27 saves.
“I think it’s very noticeable how hard out team competes,” Denver coach George Gwozdecky said. “It’s even more noticeable that when we do make blunders, you see how phenomenal Peter (Mannino) can be in making us look good.”
