UND, MTU and SCSU Combine for 3-0 Record in Non-Conference Play

No. 3 Denver wins at MSU-Mankato Friday to close to within three points of first place in the WCHA.

HEADLINES

Field of Five Nationally-Ranked Teams, Top Playoff Seeds Set to Head to Saint Paul for This Week's 2010 Red Baron WCHA Final Five at Xcel Energy Center

Denver, Wisconsin Punch Tickets to Saint Paul; Six Teams Vie for Last Three Berths in 2010 Red Baron WCHA Final Five in First Round Game Threes Sunday Night

Denver, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State Take 1-0 WCHA Playoff Series Advantage

• Email this to a friend

Dec. 15, 2001

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

MADISON, Wisc. - Ryan Caldwell, Lukas Dora and Connor James and had a goal and an assist and goaltender Wade Dubielewicz made 34 saves as third-ranked University of Denver recorded a 6-1 conference road victory over Minnesota State-Mankato Friday (Dec. 14) night to move to within three points of first place in the WCHA. The Pioneers and Mavericks complete their weekend series Saturday (Dec. 15) night with faceoff at the Midwest Wireless Civic Center set for 7:05 pm CT.

In other action Friday evening, WCHA-member teams went a collective 3-0 to boost the league's combined mark in non-conference play this season to 33-12-2 (.723). Defending MacNaughton Cup- champion North Dakota staked out a 2-1 victory at ECAC-member St. Lawrence, Michigan Tech defeated CCHA-member Northern Michigan, 5-3, and league-leading St. Cloud State won at CHA- member Bemidji State, 4-2. Tonight, UND, MTU and SCSU take aim at their respective non-conference sweeps, while Alaska Anchorage, Colorado College, Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth and Wisconsin are idle from play this weekend.

Through games of Dec. 14, St. Cloud State (14 gp, 23 points) led second place Denver (11 gp, 20 points) by three points, followed by Minnesota (10 gp, 14 points) in third, Wisconsin (10 gp, 13 points) in fourth and Colorado College (12 gp, 11 points) and MSU-Mankato (13 gp, 11 points) tied for fifth. Celebrating its 50th anniversary season in 2001-02, and home to a record 31 national championship teams since 1951, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association currently (Dec. 10 polls) has the nation's top three ranked Div. I men's teams in No. 1 St. Cloud State, No. 2 Minnesota and No. 3 Denver, while Colorado College is ranked 10th. A year ago, the WCHA became the first conference in Div. I hockey history to qualify five teams for the NCAA tournament.

2002 WCHA Final Five Tickets on Sale: Tickets for the 2002 WCHA Final Five, set for March 14, 15 and 16 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., are on sale now. To order, please call Ticketmaster at 651 989-5151, visit www.ticketmaster.com, or log-on to www.wcha.com for a link to Ticketmaster.