Three of four forward lines, as well as the blue line, accounted for goals as the balanced Denver Pioneers dominated Western Michigan, 5-1, at Kalamazoo, Mich., on Friday night.

The victory, No. 8 DU’s sixth in a row, and 11th in 13 games gave the Pioneers (18-8-5, 14-5-2 NCHC) points in 14 of 15 games in 2016.  They are 11-1-3 in the new year. Sophomore Tanner Jaillet made 20 saves.

DU jumped on the Broncos (8-20-3, 5-15-1-1 NCHC) from the start, outscoring the hosts 4-0 and outshooting them 14-6 in the first period.

“The game plan was all about us; us playing at our pace and our brand of hockey,” DU coach Jim Montgomery said on 104.3 FM after the game. “I can’t give enough credit to this leadership core. They did a phenomenal job preparing this team.”

Pacific Rim Line members Danton Heinen and Dylan Gambrell, defenseman Tariq Hammond and second-line center Quentin Shore scored in the first period for DU.

Heinen redirected a Blake Hillman shot 3:48 into the game for his team-high 14th goal. Linemate Trevor Moore had the first of his two assists, giving him a team-high 28 this season.

“(The early goal) gives you energy,” Montgomery said. “We’ve been focusing on getting to the net front.”

Gambrell and Hammond struck 2:29 apart midway through the first, Hammond jumping into the rush and roofing a pass from Heinen just after a WMU power play ended. It was the defenseman’s first goal of the season.

Shore scored his 11th goal of the season with just 1:13 to go before the first intermission but some confusion ensued as the Pioneers went on a power play but the goal didn’t appear on the scoreboard.

“(The goals) were all impressive,” Montgomery added. “It’s nice to see Tariq Hammond get one, that was a nice goal. We had two face-off goals.

“We’re doing the right things defensively and we’re really hard to play against offensively.”

The Broncos scored halfway through the second period but the Pioneers answered six minutes later when fourth-line center Matt Marcinew buried his 10th goal of the season for the final margin.

“It’s nice to be able to go on the road and have four lines that can play and can play 200-foot hockey,” Montgomery said. “It’s a luxury as a coach.”

Twelve of the Pioneers’ 18 skaters signed their names to the scoresheet as DU outshot WMU 40-21. DU also fashioned a slight edge in the face-off circle, 29-26.

Streaks: Gambrell extended his points streak to a team-high 10 games, and Heinen stretched his nine games. Gambrell has 17 points in that span, while Heinan has 19. Defenseman Will Butcher had an assist on Gambrell’s goal and nudged his point streak to four games. … Shore has points in five of the past seven games, and Moore’s assists gave him 18 points in his past nine games.

Let’s get physical: So much for WMU’s size advantage for one night. The Broncos dressed 10 players who weigh more than DU’s biggest skater, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound  Hammond.

“We have too many competitors in that dressing room to be intimidated by anything,” Montgomery said. “We play fast. We’re going to finish our checks and we’re going to angle through your bodies.”

The last word: “I thought our team was the first star,” Montgomery said. “Every player was on top of their game. It’s just fun to watch them go. It’s very fun to watch them go. They’re looking to do something special.”