Complete release

Colorado College is on a mission this week.

Intent on reclaiming possession of the coveted Gold Pan they surrendered last season despite prevailing in three of their final four showdowns with the University of Denver, the Tigers aim to get a leg up on DU in a home-and-home series this weekend.

Faceoff is 7:37 p.m. (MST) Friday as the teams meet at the World Arena. The rivalry shifts to the Mile High City on Saturday, with a 7:07 p.m. (MST) rematch at Magness Arena.

The games are the first ever between CC and the Pioneers as members of the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

The Tigers head into Friday's series opener with 1-5 overall record and 1-3 mark in league play. Denver is 3-5 overall and 0-2 in the NCHC.

Scott Owens, now in his 15th season as head coach at Colorado College, is 33-23-8 (.578) in 64 encounters with DU during his tenure at the helm.

The teams have officially played each other 290 times altogether since the rivalry began in January 1950. While Denver leads by a 160-114-16 margin overall, CC has won or tied 23 of the last 32 meetings dating back to the 2005-06 season, going 15-9-8 against the Pioneers since then. The Tigers are 20-9-4 (.667) in 33 all-time meetings at the World Arena, including a 6-5 overtime decision in the fourth and final 2012-13 regular-season game between the teams last March, after which they also went on to win a best-of-three playoff series at Magness. Colorado College is 17-11-5 (.591) in 33 all-time showdowns there.   

Tiger Bytes: Established by former head coaches Don Lucia of Colorado College and Frank Serratore of Denver back in 1993-94, the Gold Pan has been awarded every season since to whichever team prevails in the regular-season series between the CC and Denver. In the event of an even split of the four games, the team currently in possession of the trophy keeps it. This season marks its 21st anniversary. The Tigers last won it in 2011-12 after finishing with a 2-1-1 edge in the four meetings, and have hoisted the hardware 11 times in its 20 previous years of existence.