Tyler Ruegsegger and Rhett Rakhshani, a pair of seniors who have yet to hoist the Gold Pan, made sure the University of Denver took a big first step toward winning back the trophy this season.

The two forwards gave junior goaltender Marc Cheverie all the cushion he needed at the World Arena on Friday, each scoring a goal early in the first and second periods, to lead the Pioneers to a 2-1 victory over Colorado College in the opener of their two-game home-and-home series.

The triumph left Denver all alone at the top of the WCHA standings, two points ahead of the second-place Tigers, who suffered their second consecutive loss and fourth overall, all by a single goal.

Despite finishing with a 27-18 advantage in shots on goal, CC dropped to 10-4-1 overall and 7-3-1 in league play heading into Saturday's rematch at Magness Arena.

Senior defenseman Nate Prosser injected a dose of hope into the sellout crowd of 7,672 at 2:20 of the third period, beating Cheverie from the slot during a Colorado College power play to cut DU's lead in half. But, other than that, it was a night of frustration for the Tigers and their fans.

Ruegsegger scored just 3:36 into the contest, finishing a nice passing play from linemates Jesse Martin and Anthony Maiani to put the visitors ahead to stay.

Rakhshani made it 2-0 at 2:59 of the middle frame, threading the needle to beat freshman net minder Joe Howe high on the stick side with a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle during DU's first power play of the game.

CC, which has held possession of the Gold Pan for three seasons in a row, failed to capitalize on three power plays in the opening 20 minutes of play before finishing 1-for-5 with the man advantage.