Box Score
 
DENVER – The 12th-ranked men's hockey team largely carried the play Friday night at Denver, but was trailing from start to finish in a 5-1 setback at Magness Arena. Sophomore forward John McCarron scored a goal in his third consecutive game, but that was the lone bright spot for the Big Red, even though it had a 38-25 advantage in shots on goal.
 
Cornell (7-5-2) had the majority of the scoring chances in the first period, but still came out on the short end of the score. Denver scored a controversial power-play goal at 3:57, with Ty Loney getting credit for the goal. Loney drove the net from the right corner, but his shot was stopped and popped back out of the crease. David Makowski followed up and banked a shot in off of Loney, who was standing in Andy  Iles' crease over the sprawled goalie. The play went to video review and was allowed to stand, with officials gesturing that Loney's presence in the crease was allowed because he was pushed into the blue paint by a defender. Nolan Zajac drew the secondary assist.
 
Cornell had the last two power-play opportunities of the frame, generating bunches of chances without a goal to show for it. Greg Miller had a shot from the left circle squeezed off by Juho Olkinuora at the 10:43 mark, then John McCarron had a booming slap shot kicked away later on.
 
Joel Lowry got the second period off to an exciting start with a slick forehand-backhand move that had a Denver defenseman and the goalie out of position, but his finish slid just wide of the post to Olkinuora's left at the :42 mark.
 
Denver (11-6-3) took a 2-0 lead a couple minutes later after Matt Tabrum circled the zone and found Quentin Shore open in the left circle. He had enough time to pick a spot over Iles' glove and put the Big Red down by two.
 
But the deficit was cut in half at 5:58 on John McCarron's third goal in as many games. John Esposito started the play with a pass banked off the left-wing boards to send McCarron away on a two-on-one. McCarron fed a pass to Mowrey coming down the slot, but the puck clanked off his skates and back toward the near post. McCarron calmly tucked the puck into the vacated cage. McCarron also scored the Big Red's first goal in last season's games in Colorado against Colorado College.
 
The Pioneers' power play struck again to restore their two-goal lead on Shore's second goal, coming at 9:54. Cornell fell victim to a bad bounce on the play, as a shot from the right side hit a stanchion behind the net and kicked back out in the direction from which it came. Shawn Ostrow shoveled the puck back into the slot, where Shore was able to slip a backhander under the scrambling Iles.
 
Cornell didn't fade away quietly, proving to be the aggressor early in the third. Greg Miller's shot from the slot on the power play clanked off Olkinuora's mask at the 5:53 mark, then Mowrey backhander off a busted two-on-one was gloved by the DU goalie a couple minute later.
 
Denver then put the game away with a breakaway goal that also drew a penalty, with the ensuing power play yielding the Pioneers' fifth goal of the evening.
 
The teams will play again at 7:07 p.m. MST on Saturday in the Big Red's non-league finale.