Box Score | Updated Stats | Saturday's Game Notes

Ninth-ranked Denver scored three unanswered goals to break a 3-3 tie and captured the prestigious Gold Pan with a 6-4 victory over Colorado College Friday night at The Broadmoor World Arena. Danton Heinen and Zac Larazza each had three points for the Pioneers, which improved to 17-10-2 overall and 10-8-1-1 in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.  
 
The Tigers, who got a career-high three points from junior Peter Maric, fell to 5-22-1 overall and 1-17-1 in league play.
 
CC's Sam Rothstein found Peter Stoykewych with a nice centering pass from behind the net and Stoykewych buried a shot from right in front past DU goalie Tanner Jaillet with 2:35 remaining in the first period to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Maric also gathered an assist on the play, his first point since the first weekend of the season.
 
The lead only lasted 45 seconds as the NCHC's leading scorer, Heinen, had a step on the CC defense after taking a lead pass from Nolan Zajac and put a shot past CC netminder Tyler Marble.  
 
The Tigers had several point blank chances in the first period, including four by Charlie Taft, and Jaccob Slavin and Alex Roos each had a shot clang off the pipe in the first 20 minutes.
 
The teams combined for five goals in the second period, three by Denver and two by the Tigers. Rothstein put CC ahead 2-1 with his sixth goal of the year at the 3:04 mark. Cody Bradley and Scott Wamsganz each had a shot saved by Jaillet in front of the net before Rothstein knocked it in for his team-high fourth power-play tally.
 
Denver scored the next two goals, the first from Daniel Doremus at the 7:45 mark and then Larazza capitalized on 2-on-1 with 3:46 remaining in the period to give the Pioneers a 3-2 lead. Christian Heil evened things up just 17 seconds later with his second goal of the season. He put a shot past Jaillet following a scrum in front of the net. Maric earned his second assist of the game and fifth of the season and Luc Gerdes notched his fifth helper of the season.
 
It looked like the teams would head to the third period tied at 3-3, but Heinen gave DU a lead it would not relinquish with his second goal of the contest with just 30 seconds remaining in the frame off passes from Larazza and Adam Plant.
 
The Pioneers put the game away by scoring the first two goals of the third period to take a 6-3 lead. Larkin Jacobson scored the game-winner with a shorthanded goal on a 2-on-1 rush with Gabe Levin at the 5:47 mark. Doremus then scored his second of the game at the 14:46 mark as Heinen and Larazza each notched his third point of the game with assists on the play.
 
Maric closed the scoring with 1:20 left in the game, scoring his first of the season with a clean shot from a faceoff that beat Jaillet.
 
CC put 38 shots on goal Friday, the most since placing 45 on net vs. Alabama-Huntsville on Oct. 11. Jaillet made 34 saves while Marble had 21 for the Tigers. The Tigers were 1-for-3 on the power play and held DU scoreless on three extra-man opportunities.
 
The two teams battle at Magness Arena in Denver on Saturday, beginning at 7:07 p.m.