The No. 2 DU Pioneers continued their winning ways on Saturday night, defeating the CC Tigers by a score of 3-1 at Magness Arena to complete a weekend sweep of their regional rivals and retain the Gold Pan Trophy for the third year in a row. Denver has now gone unbeaten in 14 games (11-0-3) and has defeated Colorado College 10 times in a row.
“Anytime you can win a trophy, especially on home ice, it’s a good accomplishment and it’s definitely great for our program to have the Gold Pan for another year,” DU head coachJim Montgomery said following Saturday’s victory. “We’re continuing to grow as a team during this run we’re on and it’s nice to see a lot of different guys contributing in different ways week in, week out. Next weekend (a home series vs. No. 1-ranked UMD) will be a good test for us and we’re looking forward to what promises to be a fantastic pair of college hockey games here at Magness – we hope to see the stands full for the two top-ranked teams in the country.”
After the Tigers scored in the sixth minute of play to take an early 1-0 lead on Saturday, San Jose Sharks prospect Dylan Gambrell (Bonney Lake, Wash.) tied the proceedings up at one apiece just 35 seconds later, hammering home a high snap shot from the slot to register the fifth goal of his sophomore season. A hard one-timer off the stick of alternate captain Evan Janssen (Green Bay, Wis.) during a late-period power play then sent the game into its first intermission with the hosts on top 2-1.
Sophomore forward Logan O’Connor (Calgary, Alta.) scored a shorthanded goal late in the middle frame to double Denver’s lead, driving hard to the Tigers’ net and burying a nifty backhander to tally his first marker of 2016-17. The visitors were unable to cut into DU’s lead during a goalless third period, with senior netminder Evan Cowley (Evergreen, Colo.) stopping all six shots he faced in the frame to capture his first win of the season and extend the Pioneers’ unbeaten streak to the fourth-best mark in program history.
Featured Image Credit: denverpioneers.com