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Denver Pioneers hockey: DU, North Dakota finish in 2-2 draw

Thanks to Juho Olkinuora's solid effort in net, the Denver Pioneers settled for a 2-2 draw on Friday night in North Dakota.

By Bryan Kilpatrick
Alexander Hassenstein

The No. 6 Denver Pioneers and No. 9 University of North Dakota played to a 2-2 draw in WCHA hockey action on Friday night in Grand Forks, N.D. Denver goaltender Juho Olkinuora stopped 31 of North Dakota's 33 shots to preserve the tie.

The Pioneers got on the board first on Chris Knowlton's goal at the 7:21 mark in the opening period. Dakota Mermis assisted on that goal, and also picked up a helper on Scott Mayfield's second-period goal that allowed the Pioneers to reclaim the lead after UND's Carter Rowney evened things up a minute and a half into the period.

Denver's second lead didn't last long, as North Dakota came up with the equalizer just three minutes after Mayfield's goal when Corban Knight found the back of the net on a power play. After the second-period scoring barrage, the two teams went the final 25 minutes without either side tallying a goal.

DU is now 9-4-2 on the season, while UND is 7-5-3. The two teams play again on Saturday night at 6:07 p.m. MT.