The No. 1 DU Pioneers (15-5-4, 7-2-3-2 NCHC) earned a split in their weekend series with No. 14 Western Michigan (11-6-3, 5-6-1-1 NCHC) on Saturday night, downing the Broncos by a score of 7-2 at Lawson Arena. Seven different student-athletes found the back of the net for Denver in the impressive road win while junior goaltender Tanner Jaillet (Red Deer, Alta.) made 22 saves on 23 shots in improving to 13-4-4 on the season.

“This was a statement game for us,” DU head coach Jim Montgomery said after Saturday’s win. “Everyone in our lineup contributed to this victory and we played solid, Denver-style hockey for sixty minutes. Our puck support, our battle level and our intensity were the best they’ve been all season and we showed what we’re capable of when we play our game at a high level. Hopefully this recipe for success is now ingrained within our team and we continue to play like this from here on out.”

Denver took an early 1-0 lead on Saturday as senior center Matt Marcinew (Calgary, Alta.) banged home a loose puck during a DU power play at the 4:31 mark of the first period. The visitors then went up 2-0 midway through the opening stanza when Jarid Lukosevicius (Squamish, B.C.) buried a rebound produced by a Will Butcher (Sun Prairie, Wis.) point shot, also during a DU power play.

Period No. 2 saw the hosts briefly cut Denver’s lead in half, with Philadelphia Flyers prospect Wade Allison striking in transition to get the Broncos on the scoreboard in the 22ndminute of play. The Pioneers restored their two-goal advantage 2:13 later however when sophomore forward Colin Staub (Colorado Springs, Colo.) rifled home his second tally of the season on a close-range snap shot. Evan Ritt (Lakewood, Colo.) then put the Pios up by three, deflecting a Butcher point shot to the back of WMU’s net at the 12:48 mark of the middle frame to register his first career NCAA goal. A shorthanded breakaway tally off the stick of Logan O’Connor (Calgary, Alta.) then gave the visitors a 5-1 lead as Saturday’s intraconference showdown reached its second intermission.

Senior forward Emil Romig (Vienna, Austria) hammered home his second goal of the season early in the third period, putting the Crimson & Gold up 6-1 in the process. Denver then struck again on the power play as freshman winger Kevin Conley (Wausau, Wis.) buried his third goal of the season at the end of a nicely-executed tic-tac-toe passing play with Ritt and Adam Plant (Penticton, B.C.). The Broncos pulled back to within five in the 52nd minute of play on an offensive strike by Matheson Iacopelli, but that would be as close as WMU would get as Denver ultimately took the decision by a five-goal margin.

The Pioneers travel to St. Cloud, Minn. next weekend to face the SCSU Huskies at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Denver’s next home game is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 27 vs. Nebraska-Omaha. Click HERE to view DU’s complete 2016-17 schedule.

Featured Image Credit: Denver Pioneers