Emilio Pettersen had a goal and an assist and Magnus Chrona made 22 saves to lead 6^th-ranked Denver past Colorado College, 5-1, Saturday night at Magness Arena.
 
The Tigers looked sharp in the first period and Nick Halloran opened the scoring with his 12^th goal of the season at the 4:29 mark of the opening frame. Chad Sasaki found Halloran behind the DU defense for a breakaway and Halloran placed a backhander over Chrona's shoulder.
 
Tiger goalie Matt Vernon was spectacular in the first 20 minutes, making 14 saves, including a beautiful stop on Liam Finley during a shorthanded 2-on-1 opportunity with seven minutes left in the frame.
 
The Pioneers exploded for three goals in the second period and two more in the third to take control of the game. Pettersen, the Pioneers' leading scorer, connected on the power play at the 3:29 mark to even things up at 1-1, then Michael Davies broke the tie by completing a give-and-go with Jake Duflinger to make it 2-1 at the 11:31 mark.
 
With CC on the power play, Ryan Barrow collected the puck after a Tiger turnover and scored on a breakaway at the 15:13 mark for a two-goal advantage.
 
Hank Crone made it 4-1 at the 2:43 mark of the third when he knocked in a rebound in front of the net, then Cole Guttman scored on the power play at the 10:15 mark for the final goal of the game.
 
What Head Coach Mike Haviland Said
"I thought the first period we played well. I think they came out, we knew they were. I thought the second they put us on our heels and we never kinda recovered." 
 
"I thought, OK, 3-1, maybe we can come back after last night. That was the message, they got the early one. Then Halli goes down so you're trying to mix and match lines now, figure out combos. We have to regroup and get ready for Monday."
 
Colorado College Notes
With his goal tonight, Nick Halloran now has 97 career points
Bryan Yoon missed the first game of his career
Matt Vernon finished with 40 saves, his fourth career game with at least 40 saves
Vernon's 19 saves in the second period tied his career-high in one period (3rd period vs. Miami, 1/11)
Chris Wilkie led the Tigers with four shots
Denver outshot the Tigers, 45-23
CC was 0-4 on the power play, Denver was 2-4
The Tigers enter the 2020 NCHC playoffs as the eighth seed
 
Up Next
The Tigers will travel to Grand Forks, N.D., next weekend for the first round of the NCHC playoffs against the top-seed, North Dakota. Game one of the best-of-three series will be Friday, March 13, beginning at 6:30 pm (MT).