DENVER – Goaltender Magnus Chrona stopped all 23 shots he faced, and the No. 5 Denver Pioneers hockey team defeated the Colorado College Tigers 2-0 on Friday night in front of a crowd of 17,952 at Ball Arena. The game at the home of the Colorado Avalanche was the highest-attended indoor college hockey game in the nation since Feb. 10, 2018.
 
"I take a lot of pride in what the night was, and that is not even on the ice but just the event that it was," said Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle. "I thought it was excellent from start to finish. I thought our people, our athletic department and our university did an unbelievable job on short notice too… The production they put on for this type of event was really impressive, and it goes to show the support in the following and the brand that Denver hockey has in this community. It is something that none of us take for granted. It has been around for 70-plus years. We did not create this, but we are certainly trying to add to it the best we can. Just an immense amount of pride tonight for the hockey community, but obviously specifically for our fans and the brand and the following that we have within the state and city of Denver."
 
Chrona earned his fourth shutout of the season and 13th of his career, moving into a tie with Gerry Powers (1966-1969) for second place in school history. He is two shy of matching the program record of 15 held by Peter Mannino (2005-2008), who is currently an assistant coach with the CC Tigers.
 
The Stockholm, Sweden, native has posted clean sheets in three of the last five games and has recorded five straight shutouts against Colorado College (10-14-1, 6-8-1 NCHC). He presently owns a 306:07 shutout streak against the Tigers that spans six games and three seasons since Feb. 25, 2021.
 
Freshman Jared Wright and junior Connor Caponi scored for the Pioneers (20-7-0, 11-4-0 NCHC), while Brett Edwards, Kyle Mayhew, Aidan Thompson and McKade Webster picked up assists.
 
Wright opened the scoring on a deflection off a pass from Mayhew just 5:02 into the game, and Caponi knocked in a feed from Webster during a rush up the ice and slick stick handling by Webster with 7:22 left in the second fame. Wright's marker was his third game-winner of the season.
 
The Pioneers outshot the Tigers 41-23 overall, posting double-digit shot totals in each period.
 
UP NEXT: Denver doesn't have another game this weekend, as the Pios' next contest will be at Colorado College's home rink of Robson Arena on Saturday, Feb. 4 to wrap up the first half of the four-game season series.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Overall, the game was the second-highest attended college hockey game this season, as only the Frozen Fenway matchup between Boston College and UMass at Fenway Park on Jan. 7 in Boston had more (22,500).
• Ball Arena marked the 14th different venue that DU and CC have played one another in. Denver has a winning record in 11 of them.
• The Pioneers were playing their first-ever regular season game at Ball Arena, as their only other contest at the rink was an exhibition against the University of British Columbia on Oct. 6, 2012.
• DU has now won eight straight games against Colorado College and is 12-1-1 in the last 14 matchups.

 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
5:02 DU (1-0) – Jared Wright deflected the puck into the net off a cross-feed by Kyle Mayhew.
 
2nd Period
12:38 DU (2-0) – McKade Webster drove to the net before passing over to Connor Caponi, who knocked in the puck while crashing the net.
 
3rd Period
No Scoring
 
 
QUOTABLES
Richard and Kitzia Goodman Head Coach David Carle
On goaltender Magnus Chrona's performance and growth: "He has been great. Justin [Lee] talked a little bit about him, and we have talked a lot about him this year. His demeanor, his professionalism day in day out, he is a rock back there. As good as he was last year, he looks even better this year, so really proud of the player and the person that he continues to become."
 
On the penalty kill compared to last week's games: "Just work on it a little bit more. Get reps, a little more preparation for what they are doing. We weren't in our zone as much. I think that was the biggest thing. There were better clears, there was better support of dumps, and they didn't get set up nearly as much as St. Cloud did. A little bit of that is the ice, so that helps as well. Things just happen quicker. It is quicker to get to pressure points, but the kill was good tonight and it started with the big fella (Magnus Chrona) that was sitting here (at the press conference) before."
 
Senior goaltender Magnus Chrona
On the fans: "I think we beat North Dakota on that one, especially the amount of fans and how loud it was. I thought it was great, especially with all fans, alumni and other people showing up. That is great for the state of Colorado."
 
On how it compared to a Frozen Four atmosphere: "I thought it was better, In my opinion."
 
On what changed from Colorado College from last year: "From my standpoint of view, I think they are more structured this year. They worked on their structure in their offense and also in their defense because last year the only shots they basically got was bump ins or throw ins on net. Now it's more structured low-to high, they get shots to the net and rebounds. So they have improved a lot since last year."
 
Senior defenseman Justin Lee
On confidence in goaltender Magnus Chrona: "A ton. He's kept us in countless games in his four years here. He is a big part of our team, and we are lucky to have him."
 
On the chippiness of the game: "It started off being a very physical game, and I think those games are fun to play in."
 
On the penalty kill: "I think we came together and focused on details very well. We had really good sticks, and we were working as a four-man unit out there. It was nice to see the kill do good tonight."
 
On the atmosphere: "Yeah, I think just this building alone, playing in an NHL building. It's different from a college building, that's for sure. The energy in the building with the fans was good for everyone to experience that, and it should be good moving forward."
 
 
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