Box Score SALEM, Va.—In a battle of two nationally ranked opponents, No. 13 Denison utilized an explosive 8-goal second quarter to hand 12th ranked Roanoke a decisive 20-6 loss at Kerr Stadium.
It was a statement win for the Big Red, one week after last Saturday's home loss to Stevenson. Denison established themselves early by taking a 3-1 lead into the pivotal second quarter.
Roanoke opened the second period with a goal by Peter Lindley to make it 3-2 but that is as close as the Maroons would get. DU proceeded to score eight goals in the frame thanks to a hat trick from Peter Pittroff and goals by defensive midfielder Patrick Lunt and LSM Chris Broderick just before intermission.
Leading 11-4 at the intermission, Denison kept the pedal to the metal in the second half with tremendous goalie play and timely offense. The Big Red outscored Roanoke 5-0 in the third quarter and held their opponents scoreless until the 7:03 mark in the fourth, snapping a 9-0 run by Denison that stretched all the way back to late in the second quarter.
While Denison did win 19 of 29 faceoffs and was 3-of-4 in man-up situations the real difference in the game came down to shooting accuracy. The Maroons outshot the Big Red 50-48 but could only muster six goals on those 50 shot attempts. Sophomore goalie Reeves McKenney had a little something to do with that. He posted 12 saves in 53 minutes of action before turning things over to Stephen Paras for the final seven minutes. McKenney allowed only four goals while facing 40 shots.
Meanwhile, Denison scored 20 goals on its 48 shot attempts while also gathering ground balls at a steady rate.
Brooks Davy led DU in scoring with five goals and one assist. Pittroff finished with four goals and three assists. Chris Haimbaugh netted a hat trick with three goals on four shot attempts.
Henry DeCamp led Denison with six ground balls while Broderick followed with five. DeCamp was 16-of-24 when facing off.
This marks the third-straight win by Denison over Roanoke in as many years. The previous two wins were both one-goal affairs.
Denison (2-1) opens North Coast Athletic Conference play next Saturday when they travel to Greencastle, Indiana for a 3 p.m. faceoff against DePauw. The following week, Denison will take on a pair of nationally ranked opponents in No. 9 Dickinson and No. 20 Franklin & Marshall at the Mustang Classic in Owings Mills, Maryland.
