GRANVILLE, Ohio--  No. 3 Denison shook off a sluggish first quarter to defeat visiting DePauw University 16-2 on Saturday afternoon at Piper Stadium.  The win improves Denison's record to 5-0 while DePauw drops to 3-3.

The Big Red scored 33 seconds into the game on a feed from Spencer Butler to Peter Pittroff.  A pushing penalty on DU put the Tigers in man-up less than a minute later and Ben Davis converted the extra-man opportunity to tie the game at 1-1.

With 6:01 left in the first quarter, Butler scored his 11th goal of the season to put Denison back on top, 2-1.  That was the score heading into the second quarter and that's when the Big Red offense began to hit their stride.  Pittroff had a hand in three of Denison's five goals in the second frame and junior faceoff specialist Henry DeCamp was locked in. 

DeCamp stole the show by going a perfect 21-for-21 at the faceoff X. He gave his wings the afternoon off by scooping up 20 ground balls.  The 21 faceoff wins broke Denison's single-game record of 18 that had been held by Warner Seibert since his performance against Cabrini in 2005.  The 20 ground balls broke a 32-year old school record that was set by Kurt Himy in 1986 when he posted 18 ground balls against Mount Union.  DeCamp has won 67-of-98 draws this season for a .684 faceoff percentage. He boasts a career F/O% of .647 (333-of-515).

Denison outshot the Tigers 49-15 while dominating the ground ball category 47-13. The Big Red did commit 16 turnovers, with 11 of those coming in the first half.

Butler and Jake Waxter each tallied hat-tricks for the Big Red. Butler also added a pair of assists. Pittroff led the team in points with two goals and seven assists.  Brooks Davy, Owen Armstrong, and Wills Hutras scored twice while Chris Haimbaugh and Josh Happ rounded out the goal scoring for the Big Red.

DePauw's goals came from Davis in the first quarter and from an unexpected source in the third.  After a turnover on the Big Red gave possession back to DePauw, rather than initiate the clear, Tiger goalie Charlie Robson stepped up and fired a 65-yard shot that found an unguarded cage.  Aside from scoring one of DePauw's two goals, Robson finished with 11 saves in 60 minutes of action.

Denison goalie Cole Poyfair played the first three quarters and finished with five saves. Stephen Paras played the fourth quarter and notched one save.  Aside from DeCamp's 20 ground ball showing, Brant Pittman posted five ground balls and one caused turnover from his midfield position. Ben Duhoski had one caused turnover and one ground ball while Liam Burman finished with two ground balls and one caused turnover.

The Big Red will gear up for its biggest test of the season when they face off against nationally ranked Amherst and Dickinson in back-to-back days at the Mustang Classic hosted by Stevenson University on March 16-17.  Friday's game against No. 12 Amherst is slated for a 5:30 p.m. start at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills, Maryland. Denison is 3-0 versus nationally ranked opponents this season.