The No. 17 Wisconsin Badgers (9-10-3, 5-8-1 WCHA) notched five consecutive goals en route to a 7-2 victory over the No. 2/3 Denver Pioneers (17-5-0, 12-4-0 WCHA) Saturday night before 6,089 fans at Magness Arena.

Tyler Ruegsegger (Lakewood, Colo.) and Kyle Ostrow (Calgary, Alberta) each recorded a goal for the Pioneers.

“I don’t want to simplify it by saying it just wasn’t our night or that we couldn’t control the bounces. We just weren’t good enough.” Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said. “Wisconsin played extremely well and had great energy from the start of the game.”

The Pioneers took a 1-0 lead 4:19 into the first frame when Anthony Maiani (Shelby Township, Mich.) slipped a pass into the low slot to Ruegsegger, who buried a high shot past the outstretched glove of Wisconsin netminder Shane Connelly (32 saves).

Wisconsin answered back 1:12 later as a Patrick Johnson attempt found its way past DU netminder Peter Mannino (17 saves). The Badgers then received goals from Podge Turnbull and Kyle Turris at 13:44 and 15:14, respectively, to take a 3-1 lead into the first intermission.

UW added two more tallies in the middle frame to extend its lead to 5-1. Ben Street made it a three-goal game at 14:17, while Michael Davies rounded out the second-period scoring at 17:55. After Wisconsin’s fifth tally, Mannino was replaced in goal by freshman Marc Cheverie (Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia).

The Pioneers made it a 5-2 contest when Ostrow tipped home a Chris Butler (St. Louis, Mo.) shot from the point 3:13 into the final frame with DU on the power play. The Badgers then wrapped up the game with a pair of goals. Ryan McDonagh scored on a low shot at 13:09, followed by a Turris shorthanded tally at 17:14.

Cheverie stopped 6-of-8 shots in relief of Mannino.

The Pioneers outshot the Badgers by a 34-30 margin. DU went 1-for-7 on the power play while holding Wisconsin scoreless on four attempts.

Notes: Tonight marked the 70th consecutive regular season sellout at Magness Arena...DU is now 11-5 against ranked opponents this season...DU freshmen and sophomores have netted 61 of the team’s 71 goals and 135 of 179 total points...The Pioneers have netted at least one power-play goal in a season-high four consecutive games.