The Gold Pan-deciding game Saturday night was expected to be a thriller. Instead, it unfolded as unexpectedly as the University of Denver’s loss at home Friday that created the climatic conclusion to the two-game series and regular-season finale.
Befitting of the country’s top-ranked team, the traveling trophy traveled back to Denver after the Pioneers pounded Colorado College 7-3 to win the season series with a 2-1-1 record. A sellout World Arena crowd of 7,746 witnessed DU at its best.
“We were really good,” Denver coach George Gwozdecky said. “Our puck possession, especially in the offensive zone, and our transition game — the guys were very sharp. I think maybe we wanted it a little more.”
In producing its NCAA-high 25th win, DU scored three times within the first 12 minutes and built a 6-0 lead midway through the game.
“When I came to Denver, I never thought it would come down to the last game of the regular season, and at CC, to get the Gold Pan back for us, but it says a lot about our team,” DU senior Tyler Ruegsegger of Lakewood said. “We wanted it bad. I’m so proud of how we came out tonight. We worked hard and deserve that trophy.”
The Pioneers (25-7-4), who previously won the Denver Cup and MacNaughton Cup as Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season champions, took ownership of the Gold Pan for the first time since 2006. They swept the three trophies for the first time since 2005.
“The frustrations that our seniors went through the last three years (with CC) have been enormous,” DU captain Rhett Rakhshani said. “They’d beat us and rub it in our face. We had enough, and we stood our ground. We had the last laugh. You never know what’s going to happen the rest of the season, but as far as the Gold Pan is concerned, we have it.”
DU junior wing Kyle Ostrow had a team-high three points, including the first and fifth goals. Rakhshani, junior center Jesse Martin and sophomore wing Joe Colborne each had a goal and an assist, and Ruegsegger had two helpers.
CC captain Mike Testwuide, who had the game-winning assist in Friday’s 2-1 upset win at Magness Arena, scored his 19th and 20th goals after the game was out of reach.
“They were good,” CC coach Scott Owens said of the WCHA top-seeded Pioneers, who host 10th-seeded Michigan Tech on Friday to begin a three-game league playoff series. “They’re deep. They played hard. They were hungry. We never got our legs going. . . . It was a reversal from (Friday) night, no doubt.”
The Tigers (18-15-3) finish sixth in the WCHA and open the postseason Friday at fifth- seeded Minnesota-Duluth. CC is tied for 21st in the PairWise Rankings and probably has to win the WCHA playoff title to advance to the 16-team NCAA Tournament.
DU is No. 1 in the PairWise and assured of an NCAA berth.
“Now the regular season is over with and the best part of the season is here,” Gwoz- decky said.
Denver 3 3 1 — 7
Colorado College 0 1 2 — 3
First period — 1, Denver, K. Ostrow 14 (Martin, Maiani), 5:50. 2, Denver, Glasser 3 (Dewhurst, Vossberg), 7:00. 3, Denver, Martin 11 (K. Ostrow), 11:53. Penalties — Marciano, CC (hooking), :45; Johnson, CC (tripping), 13:18; Colborne, DU (interference), 13:49; Wiercioch, DU (unsportsmanlike conduct), 16:09; Schwartz, CC (unsportsmanlike conduct), 16:09.
Second period — 4, Denver, Colborne 20 (Rakhshani, Ruegsegger), 1:19. 5, Denver, K. Ostrow 15 (unassisted), 9:39. 6, Denver, Gifford 2 (Colborne), 9:30. 7, Colorado College, Testwuide 19 (Hamburg), 13:25. Penalties — Wiercioch, DU (tripping), 3:37; Brookwell, DU (tripping), 4:04; Donovan, DU (hooking), 18:32.
Third period — 8, Colorado College, Johnson 13 (McMillin, Marciano), 6:59; 9, Colorado College, Testwuide 20 (Fredheim, Schwartz), 15:33. 10, Denver, Rakhshani 20 (Ruegsegger), 16:07 (pp). Penalties — Prosser, CC (contact to head), 15:45; Dewhurst, DU (unsportsmanlike conduct), 16:07; Hall, CC (unsportsmanlike conduct), 16:07.
Shots — DU 8-19-8 — 35. CC 12-11-13 — 36. Power plays — DU 1 of 4. CC 0 of 4. Goalies — DU, Cheverie (22-4-3) 36 shots-33 saves. CC, Howe (16-14-3) 8-5, O’Brien 27-23. A — 7,746.
With one shot, it was over.
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