Noah Raba They scored two goals and held off a third-period comeback from No. 10/12 Colorado College, trailing by four.NumberNo. 1-ranked Denver defeated the Pioneers, 4-3, on Senior Night at Ed Robson Arena.
With the win, the Tigers (20-10-3, 14-7-2 NCHC) earned home ice in the first round of the conference playoffs for the first time since 2012 and defeated the Pioneers for the first time at Robson Arena.
The game started with a bang as Jack Devine led the Pioneers (23-9-3, 14-7-2 NCHC) to a run just 17 seconds into the game. The Mules were penalized for a fall 12 seconds later, but the Tigers were able to hold off and score. Drew Montgomery Mules burst out of the box and the sophomore beat DU goalie Matt Davis to tie the score with 2 minutes, 38 seconds left in the game.
The game calmed down a bit, Gleb Veremyev I took the pass The Wisdom of Zaccaria Then he beat Davis with a backhand shot from in front of the net at 13:25 of the opening frame.
Mule scored his second shorthanded goal of the game and third of the season at 9:54 of the second period. He forced a turnover at the Denver blue line, went at Davis all by himself and beat him with a backhand shot for a 3-1 lead.
Max Burkholder It was his third goal in the last two games, making the score 4-1. Stanley Cooley He carried the puck down the left wing and towards the back of the goal, finding Burkholder in the slot, and the freshman scored his seventh goal of the season.
The Tigers had a golden opportunity to extend their lead when DU's Boston Backberger was whistled for a five-minute boarding major with 1:52 left in the second period, but the Pioneers prevented the penalty and Riger Lorentz cut the lead to 4-2 at 13:36 of the final period.
Denver brought on Davis with just under four minutes left, and it paid off as Tristan Bross drilled a slap shot past the CC goalie. Kaidan Mbeleko Davis returned to the ice with 1:30 left and then went to the bench again with 1:20 left, but the Tigers held on and recorded their first 20-win game since winning 23 in the 2010-11 season.
Both teams kept four straight power play shutouts and CC hasn't allowed an extra-man goal in its last five games. Davis made 27 saves and Mbeleko made 20.
Colorado College is tied for third place in the NCHC standings with St. Cloud State and just one point behind Denver in the race for second place.
CC and Denver will conclude their home-and-home series on Saturday, March 9th at Magness Arena starting at 7:30pm.